This is a story about what can happen when the worst in people meets the best in people and the best wins
Oogy the dog only a family could love
I picked up the book innocently enough. Reading the jacket cover it was about “a gentle tale of one man’s love for his dog and the angels along the way who brought Oogy into his life.” What I didn’t realize is that this dog was considered garbage after he had been on the losing end of one too many dog fights and that this dog and man would speak directly to the magic of SALI’s Farm.
“For most of of us, life represents a balancing act among a series of highs and lows, the struggle to maintain equanimity in the face of so many polarities of experience. But no matter were we reside on this spectrum, all of us know that we will, eventually and without fail, have to deal with tragedy. People we care about disappear from our lives. Animals we love have to be “put to sleep.” (How’s that for a euphemism to help us deal with the loss?) Loved ones die and drift apart; illness eats up family members and friends in awful ways. Every day we stand an increased chance that our lives will in some way be diminished. And what appeals to everyone about Oogy is that his is proof that what we all know if lurking out there – the awful and, yes, inevitable tragic loss, the unexplainable savage attack, the seemingly insurmountable occurrence – can, in fact, be survived with love and grace intact, without bitterness or resentment, and with an appreciation for all that follows. Oogy is, right there in front of everyone he meets, tangible living proof that there can be happiness, love, and hope on the other side of unspeakable and unimaginable horror” (page 190)