A young puppy with physical disabilities is struggling to survive on the streets of a Mexican city near the border with Belize. A kind-hearted person sees the dog, takes pity on her, and bundles her away to a rescue center on the outskirts of the city. There the pup, now named Dominica, wins over everybody with whom she comes into contact. However, her epic journey has only just begun.
A LIFE SAVED: Dominica’s Story is a book aimed at younger readers that recounts the true story of the author’s dog Dominica and how she found her way into her owner’s heart. It’s a blow-by-blow account of the struggles of abandoned and stray animals and how it’s often left to underfunded and overstretched rescue organizations to protect them from the harsh realities of street life.
Rayfield tells the story in simple prose that is easy for children to follow. Her descriptive passages add welcome texture without being overly poetic, as the initial introduction to Dominica runs as follows: “The pup was very pretty with beautiful eyes that would change colour depending on her mood. Sometimes they looked silver, other times bright blue or sea green. She had short hair the colour of sand and ears that pointed upwards.” She does not over-sentimentalize the young puppy’s life experience. If anything, there is perhaps not quite enough narrative drama to really grab the audience. Her birth defects will be addressed by skilled veterinarians, in the hopes that she will find a forever home.
Though the ultimate positive outcome for Dominica is never in doubt, there are a few ups and downs along the way that might have served as moments of drama to really grip the reader. Instead, most everything is relayed with calm assurance. Fact follows fact. Medical procedures are explained. Transportation problems are detailed. Although there are a few attempts to tell the story from the puppy’s point of view, these are quite limited and not especially effective. The young dog’s personality often seems sidelined as the author sticks to the facts. The reader is told what the dog is thinking when it might have been more interesting to provide some of the story from the imagined voice of Dominica herself.
What the book does do very well is explain the workings of rescue organizations and the vital roles they play in protecting animals. Any young reader with ambitions to work with animals, or simply has a love of dogs in general, will find much to inspire them.
Although Caroline E. Rayfield’s prose rather underplays any moments of drama, A LIFE SAVED: Dominica’s Story is an inspirational true story of the rescue and re-homing of an abandoned dog. The book may focus on one particular dog’s tale, but its real heroes are the workers in the rescue organizations that save her from the streets.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader