Top Pick Award from Litpick Student Reviews. By IPPY and Global Ebook Award Winning author.‘Jean Gill has captured the innermost thoughts of this magnificent animal.’ Les Ingham, Pyr International A dog’s life in the south of France. From puppyhood, Sirius the Pyrenean Mountain Dog has been trying to understand his humans and train them with kindness.How this led to their divorce he has no idea. … kindness.
How this led to their divorce he has no idea. More misunderstandings take Sirius to Death Row in an animal shelter, as a so-called dangerous dog learning survival tricks from the other inmates. During the twilight barking, he is shocked to hear his brother’s voice but the bitter-sweet reunion is short-lived. Doggedly, Sirius keeps the faith.
One day, his human will come.
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Sirius also known as Izzie, is a Pyrenean Mountain dog who recounts his life story, and the challenges of being a pedigree dog.
He is “chosen” at eight weeks old to stay with a couple who end up divorcing, leading to another home which is unsuitable for either Sirius or the family. Life continues to go downhill for him as he ends up in a shelter, where he recounts his story to the other dogs. Each has a sad tale to tell…
Although he is reunited with his brother Stratos, it does not last long as Stratos is destined for a different path.
Sirius dreams of returning to his first male owner but he is re-homed with his breeder, who does not want her reputation tarnished, and chains him on a hillside with a cat and other wild animals for company.
The author has created a wonderful heartwarming and heartbreaking story that will leave a strong impression on your soul.
An absolute gem of a book with such lyrical prose. Perfectly evokes life from a dog’s point of view. One of the best stories I’ve read in a long time.
I have a Great Pyrenees so I understood the personality traits of the main character. This was such a good book. It’s hard to read about abuse and abandonment because you know things like this happen all the time. I really loved this book.
Very enlightening story about the life of a pedigreed dog whose breeder and owners did almost everything wrong, written from his own perspective so easy to figure out why what they did was wrong. I only wish it had included more about what to do right to prevent a dog from developing bad habits.
An excellent reminder of how important it is to commit to the companion animals we bring into our lives! Dogs need to be trained so they grow up to be safe with humans and an enjoyed member of your family. Too many end up being thrown away or even destroyed because of lack of loving leadership from their humans.
Written from the point of view of a dog who passes through several owners. It’s believable, sad at times, but ultimately things work out. If you like dogs, you’ll probably like this book.
Different from any book I have read. Life from a dog’s perspective.
Everyone should read this book. And I mean everyone.
I found myself reaching over to cuddle Tucker, my yellow Labrador, during the parts that had me near tears.
This book have great insight as to how a dog may think and reason. Are we the ones that do the training or do the dogs do it??!!!!!
I loved this book. The parts of the story from the dog’s POV were wonderful. Highly recommended.
Full disclosure: I adore dogs and they seem to feel the same way about me. I’d often find myself “projecting” what my canine friend must be thinking: Are those deep brown eyes filled with love or merely yearning for a treat? Finally, thanks to author Jean Gill’s splendid book I’ve now had the privilege to view the world from the grand perspective of a noble hound, Sirius (named after the Dog Star).
Sirius, commonly known as Izzy, is a magnificent white Great Pyrenean Mountain Dog. His gigantic stature provides us, the reader, with an insightful and entertaining view on how humans and our doggie friends interact. Alas, in this relationship it is often the human that errs. Izzy remains the constant, but an initial doting family crumbles to be replaced with overprotective adult hysteria and over-exuberant children. What is a sane, sensible and loyal dog to do? Unfortunately Sirius doesn’t have a say, and falls victim to the selfish and thoughtless actions of those that should know better.
This is a book about a dog, but it is also an allegory for empathy, the joy of nurturing another sentient being, the pleasure in a loyal friend, and the ability to have a truly symbiotic relationship with a creature completely unlike ourselves. “Someone To Look Up To” will leave you feeling grateful to have been blessed with these grand four-legged companions in our lives; but it is also a reminder that the human must be willing to bear the full responsibility in this relationship. Dogs depend on us, in exchange they provide us with selfless joy; a vigorous wag of a tail or the offering of a returned ball. They care for us too, ever vigilant over our homes and our person.
From this unique dog’s view of our world, Jean Gill has opened my eyes further in better understanding my dog friend’s needs. For example, behavior we perceive as destructive may well be an animal filled with anxiety—worried whether their owner will be returning after a day at work. As such “Someone To Look Up To” is a most enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining read–but it should be required reading for dog lovers everywhere!
It was a cute dog story but not he best.
I loved this book of a dog’s life told from the dog’s point of view. It was witty, thoughtful, at times heartbreaking but overall a great book for dog lovers. Any true animal lover can relate to Sirius, his willingness to please, his disappointment at being misunderstood and losing his home and his sense of abandonment while waiting and waiting for his “pal” who never returns and his joy at the one human who does keep her word to him. I especially got a kick out of the misunderstandings between humans and dogs. Hopefully, anyone who adopts a dog or puppy will read this book and learn how to relate to this loyal species.
This is the bitter-sweet “autobiography” of a very large pedigreed dog and the trials he goes thru as a result of owners who don’t understand how to raise and train him. It’s a more sad than happy picture. I was looking for something uplifting, and overall, this wasn’t it. But the story also details a lot of things dog owners and prospective dog owners should understand.
didn’t care for this one at all. Didn’t finish and that is rare for me.
Everything is written expressing the thoughts of the main character, a Pyrenees dog. His mother is bred for show dogs. At one point the dog loses its owner and is taken to a shelter. There he converses with other dogs and hears some of their sad stories. One young woman caretaker is nice, the other one is grouchy. Anyway, the original owner never returns to get him back and he is taken back to that breeder where he is chained. It has a happy ending. The book really shows how much of an impact a caring owner has.
Sad tale that rings too true told from an interesting perspective. Gave several insights into this breed of Great Pyrenees Mountain dogs.
Didn’t really care for it. Interesting at times, but have read much better. Written from Dog’s viewpoint.
A very slow read.