About the Michael Vick case: football player who was an influential part of a dogfighting operation, owning and training pit bull type dogs. When he got busted, unlike in previous similar cases, the dogs were not immediately euthanized. Usually they’re deemed too dangerous and vicious to ever live in a home setting again. This case proved it all wrong. Rescue facilities, animal sanctuaries, dog trainers and foster groups stepped to evaluate and work with these dogs, giving them a chance at a better life. Some needed serious medical treatment. Most were terrified of loud noises, the proximity of people, anything unknown. They had lived such limited lives as fighting dogs, many did not know how to walk on a leash, navigate stairs, or even play with toys.

The book begins by telling how the dogfighting operation was discovered, the state the dogs lived in, the methods that were probably used on them (brutal and uncaring to say the least), how all the pieces of the case were put together, where the dogs stayed while it was all getting figured out (some in better places than others), where they all went afterwards (varied depending on their condition and needs) and how their rehabilitation worked out. Some dogs’ stories are covered in a lot of detail, others just get a blip at the end, where there’s a section that tells what happened to each and every one of them. Fifty-one dogs were seized from the property, forty-seven of those deemed worth attempting to save. Only three ended up not making it. One had serious medical problems and was euthanized. Another died in an unfortunate accident. And only one was considered so violent and aggressive it couldn’t be handled at all. All the rest lived through their ordeal and improved with a lot of effort and patience on the part of many people. Their responses varied- ranging from timid and skittish to suspicious and guarded to outright threatening. Many were fostered out and eventually adopted into family homes. Others had to live their whole lives in a sanctuary, due to behavior issues or an inability to be safe around other dogs. But they all did far better than anyone really expected, and it set a precedent for saving other dogs from similar situations, instead of just automatically euthanizing them.

Some parts of this, of course, are hard to read due to the mistreatment and suffering of the animals. The first hundred pages in particular are rather dry and I almost didn’t continue- it starts out just all about the case, more the people involved than the dogs. I didn’t really care about what kind of coffee or beer the investigators had while conniving with each other, or who did what to further his career- but I get it, this author is more used to sports writing and the book is based on a sensational case. I suppose for readers who like reading true crime it’s compelling, but for me it was just something to get through in order to read the part I was more interested about: the dogs. I’m pleased to see the author wrote another book after this one, The Found Dogs, detailing where many of these same dogs are ten years later. I’ll be interested to read that one if I can find a copy. ( )

This is (primarily) a look at the rescue and rehabilitation of Michael Vick’s fighting dogs.

It starts off heartbreaking as we get the background of the dogs as they were kept in Vick’s yard. And there is some discussion of the trial, etc, but moreso it follows the investigation into what happened and all the behind-the-scenes stuff as they gathered evidence against Vick and the other men who bred and fought these dogs.

But the bulk of the story follows (some of) the dogs after they are rescued. These dogs, unlike other fighting dogs before them, were not immediately euthanized, There were rescues that came to help with foster homes and sanctuaries to see if they could be rehabilitated and the vast majority of them were. Many found forever homes and some (as of the publishing of the book in 2010) were living in sanctuaries where volunteers continued to work with them. It was hard to read about one of the shelters that took some of them in right away – it’s a rough shelter with not much in the way of amenities.

There are sad parts thrown in as if it’s from one dog’s point of view, as well. Some of the work with the scared dogs reminded me of my volunteering with shy/scared cats, to be honest. The end of the book did a “where are they now?” for both the dogs and the people involved. Of course, “now” was around the time of publication over a decade ago. I realized that none of the dogs are probably living now. ( )

A great book with some shaky areas

The Lost Dogs is at its best when it deals in facts: introducing the players in the legal case, for example, and explaining forensic evidence and dog-handling protocols in clear, quick prose. The first half of the book falls mostly into this category: fascinating and easy to follow, keeping the reader engaged through the legal talk with reminders about what the dogs faced during their time at Bad Newz.

Unfortunately, the quality breaks down somewhat when addressing people's thoughts and feelings, dog emotions, and other "abstract" concepts, either coming off too stiff and detached or over-compensating with sentimentality. Some of the descriptions of the dogs' lives in foster homes or in rescues fall into this trap.

Gorant's journalistic style suits a more objective tone. He is able to evoke strong images and emotions and create tension without overdoing it, which is what makes the low points frustrating. Still definitely worth a read for pit bull lovers (vindication!) or critics (this case might change your mind). ( )

This was very hard for me to read. It is well-written and seems objective.I still don't understand how someone can do this to dogs. I enjoyed reading about their successes and downs equally. This reinforced my desire to one day have a pit again and to maybe train or work with them in my spare time to change the image of what a pitbull is. ( )

It might be my issue for already knowing 90% of this story (I'm involved in the rescue world, and I share my home with a Pit Bull from a different dogfighting case), but I found The Lost Dogs enjoyable albeit a bit dry and a tad disjointed as a narrative. ( )