Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs

“I am highly impressed. . . . Paws and Effect is a great book for all dog lovers!”—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

“So meaningful and straight to the heart, Paws & Effect sheds a whole new light on our communication with animals of which many people are unaware. You may listen more closely the next time your dog tries to tell you something!” – Betty White, actress, author

Dogs have always helped humans and changed our lives for the better—by herding sheep, guarding our homes, and giving us unconditional love—but our dogs may save our lives as well. PAWS & EFFECT provides individual accounts of beloved pets that have supported their families, in miraculous ways, through periods of ill health; and it reviews the science that lends credence to claims of dogs’ healing power. For the first time, the array of fascinating information on this topic has been gathered in one place.

Did you know that groundbreaking research for detecting ovarian cancer with the use of a dog’s nose has been aided by a grant from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program? Or that an Akita named Hotei is able to predict his owner’s seizures, and gets her to lie down before they take place? That an organization called X-CPR promotes the use of small, hairless Mexican dogs to relieve the pain of arthritis and fibromyalgia? That Army Sgt. 1st Class Russell Joyce and his Special Forces, aided by Fluffy, his German Shepherd, worked with the Kurds, in Iraq, to face down looters and secure the city of Mosul?

Author Sharon Sakson’s investigation took her to academic institutions, veterinarians’ offices, dog breeders, charitable organizations, and even the military—wherein she discovered documentation for what so many of us already understand: that the loving presence of a dog can avert, and transport us through, grave illness, whether physical or psychological. More importantly, her investigation took her deep into the hearts and lives of dogs and their owners. Sakson redefines the age-old bond between human and dog—a bond that is proving to be without limits.