Boston and Portland’s own Amy Sutherland has a new book out, and if you love dogs, please buy it and read it…you will be glad you did.   In writing Rescuing ‘Penny Jane: One Shelter Volunteer, Countless Dogs, and the Quest to Find Them All Homes, Sutherland spent a year ‘doggedly’ researching homeless animal shelters across the US.  And as a long time shelter volunteer in Boston and Portland ME, she’s spent countless hours with shelter dogs…walking them, training them, fostering them, hanging out on the couch and sharing joy rides in the car….and she clearly loves the company she keeps.  Woven into her journalistic quest are portraits, obviously affectionate, of some of the many shelter dogs she has known.  I won’t lie….you’ll probably cry more than once.  But while Sutherland doesn’t blink in telling it like it is…you can’t write about shelters and not talk about how humans mistreat animals….she keeps the focus on the dogs, their brave hearts (and goofy mannerisms), the people who are helping to save them, and how what we can do about it.

Please buy local first!  Here are two great book stores to check out:

Longfellow Books, Portland ME

Trident Books, on Newbury Street in Boston ME