Book Review - Shelter Stories

For a long time now, Sophie has been a big fan of the comic strip Mutts by Patrick McDonnell. First penned in 1994, it follows a cast of loveable, furry personalities reflecting on life, and the unique dynamic between man and nature (especially the four-legged variety of nature).

In Shelter Stories, McDonnell compiles a selection of strips inspired by his work with the Humane Society of the United States and the stories of various animals he's encountered, as well as the people who have taken them into their lives. Interspersed with the always funny, often poigniant comics, Shelter Stories also includes real-life vignettes of adopted animals and their people.

Though it's definitely light reading, there's a lot of depth to McDonnell's work. People who work with animals - especially those in shelters, rescues, and such - will find many of the characters and sentiments hauntingly familiar. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry... But all of them will leave you smiling and remembering why it's important that we all pitch in and do what we can to help those who are lost, forgotten, cast aside, or just overlooked.

Mutts: Shelter Stories
by Patrick McDonnell
Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC, $16.99
ISBN: 9780740771156

Mutts official website: www.muttscomics.com
(all images copyright © Patrick McDonnell)