The Underdogs

A profound and surprising account of the dogs who rescue children and adults from the trenches of grief, disability, and lonelinessThe Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk: felled at age twenty-four by a neuromuscular disease, she was rejected by every service dog agency in the country as ?too disabled.? Her nurse encouraged her to raise her own service dog, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life. ?How many people are stranded like I was,? she wondered, ?who could lead productive lives with a service dog??A thousand dogs later, Karen Shirk's service dog academy, 4 Paws for Ability, is restoring hurting children and their families to life. The frontiers of the human-dog bond are explored here with insight, compassion, humor, and joy. A cast of remarkable characters?scientists and felons, dog trainers and parents, children with disabilities and the great dogs themselves?together address questions about our attachment to dogs, what constitutes a productive life, and what can be accomplished with unconditional love.