Oogy by Larry Levin

I read a review about this book and was pleasantly surprised when I found it available on our shelf at the library. If you enjoy "animal stories" along the lines of "Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched The World" by Vicki Myron or any of the books written by James Herriot you will enjoy"Oogy".

The story revolves around a rescued part pit bull that had been involved in dog fights. Oogy was a dog that wouldn't fight and as a result was used as a "bait dog" to sharpen the predatory skills of the more agressive dogs. The book gives a lot of detail about the dog fighting world and its' close ties to the drug underworld.

Oogy was found during a raid and was taken to an ASPCA anima shelter. He was seriously injured and was missing an ear and part of his jaw. The vets couldn't decide whether to try to save the dog. Their reasoning was the dog would be so grossly disfigured that it would probably be unadoptable. A shelter worker saw that this particular dog even being badly hurt had a wonderful, trusting personality. Reluctantly the vets operate on Oogy and miraculously the dog survives.

The Levin family visits the animal shelter when they make the sad decision to have their ailing, elderly cat put to sleep. During the course of the visit the family sees Oogy being walked by one of the shelter workers. One thing leads to another and the Levin family adopts him.

The story takes off from there and it is a good one. If you enjoy stories about animals or stories that have themes of loyalty, family and compassion then you'll surely enjoy Oogy's story. The cover picture of the book is irresistable. I dare you not to like "Oogy".