Book review: When Love Wags a Tail by Carmen Leal

Our four-legged friends have huge hearts. Experience the joy of this collection of true-life stories of humans and the amazing dogs who saved them. Carmen Leal never dreamed tragedy could bring positive change. Suffering a traumatic brain injury after a car wreck, the marketing pro struggled to find her center and reclaim her life. But after finally caving in and adopting a rescue dog, her world changed forever. Flourishing on her new furry friend’s unconditional love, she turned her talents to supporting canines still facing grim futures. Working tirelessly over the course of four years, she’s helped find homes for over 6,500 dogs and collected endless tales of wonderment and triumph.

Now, she’s here to share the real-life stories of how a deep connection with these incredible animals can bring fulfillment and joy. In this heartwarming compilation, author and storyteller Carmen Leal interweaves her personal journey with those who’ve experienced renewal at the paws of the dogs they adopted. Bringing together over sixty snapshots, Leal connects both dramatic and simply sweet accounts, including her own, while advocating for help and donating a portion of each sale to a foster-to-adoption group.

When Love Wags a Tail is part emotional memoir and part treasure trove of inspirational and humorous journeys. If you like protecting loyal friends who lack a voice, feel-good adventures, and giving back, then you’ll adore Carmen Leal’s touching read. Purchase a copy of When Love Wags a Tail on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your GoodReads reading list.

My review:

I am an animal lover who spends far too much time online watching rescues of all kinds of animals, from dogs to cats to elephants and more. I also love dogs and have two rescues of my own. So, when the chance came to review Carmen Leal’s When Love Wags a Tail, I had to say yes. This book is a delightful and moving collection of stories about dogs who were rescued and who, in turn, rescued their rescuers. What is a dog? Certainly ‘not just a dog,’ as the poem says. A dog is 100% pure love, commitment, joy, and loyalty. They feel intense emotions, they love, they laugh, and they cry, just as humans do. The stories in this collection are funny, tragic, moving, enlightening, sobering, uplifting, in fact they cover the wide range of human emotions and experiences and how dogs fit into all this and how they feel. Reading this book will teach you a lot about dogs and how their experiences shape and affect them, and how the various humans learned from their dogs’ lives.

The stories also include a lovely thread of gardening, although the author makes no claim to be a gardening expert. You can pick up this book, open it anywhere, and enjoy the story you find. But you won’t do that. Like me, you’ll start reading and keep going for ‘just one more.’ I learned a lot from these experiences; I also shed a few tears, so keep a box of tissues handy. The photographs are utterly beautiful, and I wished there had been one of every single dog mentioned. At the end, there are mini bios of the contributors, who come from all walks of life, with different life experiences. At the end, you will realize that dogs are nature’s best medicine. You can’t lie around wallowing in self-pity if you have a dog. A dog is the best reason in the world to get up and go for a walk with a friend who is overjoyed just to be in your company and enjoying the time spent with you. If you are unwell, a dog is the best reason in the world to fight to get better. After all, you and your best friend need to spend quality time together. Plus, didn’t the doctor say moving around would be good for you? After reading this book you will either get or foster a dog or find yourself volunteering at the nearest shelter where they always need someone to lend a hand or walk the dogs. Dogs are God’s angels with four paws and a tail. There is no doubt about it. Besides, as W. Bruce Cameron wisely said: “God is dog spelled backward.”

 

About the Author

Carmen Leal is a storyteller, Coconut's mom, and a reluctant gardener. She is the author of multiple books, articles, devotionals, and human-interest stories. Carmen relocated from Hawaii to Oshkosh, yes, there is a story behind the move, and has become an awesome dog mom. Carmen and her husband have become reluctant gardeners and, sadly, they know a crazy amount about Wisconsin weeds. She is the mother of Coconut, the best imperfectly perfect rescue dog in the world. Carmen didn’t know enough about rescuing dogs; okay, she knew nothing, but despite her complete lack of research or knowledge, she ended up with Coconut, the rescue who was and continues to be perfect for her.

Carmen is an active member of the Oshkosh Southwest Rotary Club, part of her neighborhood association's leadership team, and is an adjunct professor for Fox Valley Technical College's award-winning E-Seed Entrepreneurship workshop. When she is not writing and speaking, Carmen reads, cooks, and is a major bargain hunter at consignment and antique shops. A portion of every book sold is donated to Second Chance North, an area foster-to-adoption group that helps to rescue more dogs. Follow Carmen on Facebook at #rescuemoredogs.

Find Carmen online at:

Her website: https://www.carrmenleal.com

Her publishing company: https://wagawaypublishing.com

Her Facebook page: https://facebook.com/rescuemoredogs

Her Personal Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/carmen.leal.794