BOOKS: Hiss, Whine & Start Over

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2006:

Hiss, Whine & Start Over
by Jane Caryl Mahlow, DVM
Cuppa Press (17181 FM 487, Bartlett, TX 76511), 2006.
222 pages, paperback. $14.95.

A romantic novel is always something good to cuddle up on the
couch with. And this is such a novel, about people and animals too.
Carly works in an animal shelter, three years divorced, with a
broken down house and a lonely broken down life, both of which need
fixing.
When her boss at the animal shelter has to take an extended
leave because his wife is ill, Carly is asked to take over. She is
very uncertain that she is capable of doing the job required of her.
She now must make not just work-related decisions but decisions about
the lives of the animals at the shelter where she has been elevated
to “top dog.”

Carly is a lovely character and easy to relate to. Through
her dedicated work, mistakes and achievements we meet all the
wonderful, funky, and not so great people who have a life-changing
effect on Carly as she tries to manage a poor budget, desperate
employees, and the politics that go with trying to make ends meet.
We also meet Hailey, the plain unwanted dog whose life is
saved at the last moment, the parrot whose songs always erupt at the
wrong time, and ordinary cats and dogs who are always there to
welcome their guardian home.
“The book was penned with two purposes in mind, both
expressions of the heart,” says author Jane Caryl Mahlow, DVM.
“First, the book was written in honor of animal care and control
employees and volunteers, in order that their story be told.
Second, perhaps the tale will instil in the public an understanding
of its obligation to curtail pet overpopulation and the mistreatment
of animals.”
–Beverley Pervan.
<www.cannedlion.co.za>
South Africa