If you’ve ever owned a pet – or as I prefer to say, only half-jokingly – if you’ve ever been owned by a pet, the stories from this wonderful book will not surprise you. They will – and they should! – delight you and inspire you, but I bet any "pet parent" will nod and smile while reading about the amazing healing and comforting powers of Baxter, the miracle worker among service dogs.
All of us should pause for a moment and take a really good look at the way most pets interact with us – with pretty limitless patience, gentleness and devotion, unparalleled by anything one could routinely find among humans. They expect little in return, and they keep lavishing their attention on us and giving us so much joy. In the past I’ve read numerous studies about the beneficial influences of animals on ill people and I’ve experienced the calming and steadying effect a devoted pet has on me. The absolutely beautiful "Moments with Baxter" by Melissa Joseph takes those observations of mine several steps further. Through a series of thirty-six true stories of Baxter’s interactions with terminally-ill patients at San Diego Hospice the author paints a wonderful portrait of a truly miraculous health worker who just happens to be a canine. Baxter is a certified therapy dog and his ability to comfort and ease the suffering of the patients at the hospice is absolutely phenomenal. As wonderful as the stories are, it was the photographs that truly stole my heart. Although Baxter is over 19-years-old now, he has a sweet, innocent face of a puppy and incredibly kind eyes. Now that he’s older, he actually has the look of a well-loved and appropriately "worn" teddy bear or one’s favorite blanket. The more stories I read, the more I was in awe of Baxter’s innate ability to find just the right way to approach any of the diverse and always difficult situations. Even under the toughest of circumstances, where the trained human health professionals were at a loss of how to ease the patient’s suffering, Baxter seemed to find just the right approach.
Written with immense compassion, warmth and respect for privacy and dignity of those involved, "Moments with Baxter" by Melissa Joseph is a book that could teach us a lot about the extraordinary bond between humans and animals as well as a number of valuable lessons about dealing with pain, suffering and death. I feel certain that those readers who will find themselves inspired by Baxter’s story, and who might want to become involved in similar ministry together with their canine companion, will find the concluding chapter on Therapy Dog Team Training very helpful and informative. "Moments with Baxter" is a book that is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming and I would decidedly recommend it to all animal lovers as well as anybody who might be dealing with issues concerning terminal illness.
Moments with Baxter: Comfort and Love from the World’s Best Therapy Dog
Melissa Joseph
Sage Press (2009)
ISBN 9780981881300
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/09)
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