This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, this touches on the universal quest for an answer to life’s most basic question: Why are we here?

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey’s search for his new life’s meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8 year old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey’s journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders, will he ever find his purpose?

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh out loud funny, this book is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog’s many lives, but also a dog’s eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man’s best friend. This story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

This book was one that stayed on my TBR a little longer then I originally intended for a few different reasons. The biggest was that there was more then a little scandal attached to the movie when it was made. The fact that dog’s were forced into rushing water and nearly drowned for the sake of a movie, upset me. I was able to put that aside finally after all it wasn’t the books fault and I happily finally dug into this read.

My Review:

Anyone who has had a dog as part of their life and had pawprints left on their hearts knows what it feels like to have joy and pain all in one. You get so much joy and love and life from these beautiful wonderful friends, but we go into the relationship knowing full well that in the end our hearts will be broken. We know that more often then not we will outlive our wonderful beautiful friends with fur. The bottom line is I have often felt we don’t deserve dog’s (or cat’s either). Yet even in this I have also felt that within the love of our pets there are a few special ones. Here and there while all of them are full of love and life, some hold that bit of something extra for us.

A dog’s purpose addressed that notion and I loved it. Bailey goes on so many adventures and had so many lives to live through. However, the one that meant the most was his life as Bailey, with his special boy Ethan. It took many lives then beyond that and Bailey learned many things as he went on these adventures. However, the most important thing in the end was finding his way back to Ethan and finding a way to show the human that it was indeed his wonderful Bailey. I love every bit of that idea, because I believe my childhood dog has found me again. I also believe my beloved familiar cat has found me again too. So perhaps dog’s and cat’s have similar purposes and no matter what we should love them even half as much as they love us.

My Gemstone Rating: