Where the Lost Dogs Go: A Story of Love, Search, and the Power of Reunion

by Susannah Charleson

Overview

A New York Times–bestseller’s “inspiring” memoir of animal search and rescue work alongside her shelter dog “will resonate with pet lovers everywhere.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

In Where the Lost Dogs Go, Susannah Charleson, author of Scent of the Missing dives headlong into the world of missing dogs. The mission to reunite lost pets with their families starts with Susannah’s own shelter rescue, Ace, a plucky Maltese mix with a mysterious past who narrowly survived months wandering lost. While Susannah formally studies animal behavior, lost-pet search tactics, social media strategies, and the psychology of loss, Ace also steps up for training. Cheerful and resourceful, Ace has revealed a nose for the scent of lost pets, and together they help neighbors and strangers in their searching.

In Where the Lost Dogs Go, readers take to the streets beside Susannah to bring home a host of missing pets. Along the way, Susannah finds a part of herself also lost. And when unexpected heartbreak shatters her own sense of direction, it is Ace—the shelter dog that started it all—who leads Susannah home. Inquisitive, instructive, heartrending, and hopeful, Where the Lost Dogs Go pays tribute to the missing dogs—and to the found—and to the restless space in between.

“A moving memoir about lost dogs and their often equally lost humans.” —Cat Warren, author of What the Dog Knows

“Riveting.” —Patricia B. McConnell, author of The Education of Will and For the Love of a Dog

“Moving and profound, Charleson's book affirms the special human-animal connection and fully celebrates the healing powers of forgiveness and love.” —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328995100
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	325
Sales rank:	429,915
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

SUSANNAH CHARLESON is the author of the New York Times bestseller Scent of the Missing and The Possibility Dogs. A flight instructor, service dog trainer, and canine search-and-rescue team member, Charleson began a non-profit organization called The Possibility Dogs, which rescues, trains, and places dogs with people suffering “unseen” disabilities. She lives in Texas with her ever-growing brood of animals—canine, feline, anything that needs rescuing.
 

Table of Contents

1 Magnet Dog 1

2 The One in the Back of the Cage 15

3 In the Goodwill of Rescue 27

4 The Quality of Mercy 41

5 Welcome to the Clown Car 61

6 The Human Factor 73

7 Ghost in the Hall 83

8 A Boy and His Dog 93

9 Houdini 99

10 Survival Mode 109

11 Against the Wall 123

12 Safe Harbor 131

13 Thy Neighbor's Dog 143

14 A Little Ambition 151

15 Finding His Voice 161

16 The Bastard Search 167

17 Together and Apart 175

18 Cats in Tight Places 185

19 On Our Street Alone 195

20 Air and Ground 205

21 The Dog in Question 215

22 Good Fences 225

23 The Little Stranger 239

24 A Winter Storm 245

25 Bring Egg Home 259

26 Big Dog, Little Shadow 269

27 Love, Find Us 279

28 Next 285

Afterword 297

Acknowledgments 301

Appendix 303

Sources 310

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2019

Author of the New York Times best seller Scent of the Missing, about working with her search-and-rescue dog, Charleson here describes her new mission: rescuing missing dogs and reuniting them with their humans, whether neighbors or strangers to her. With a 30,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

★ 04/29/2019

A fitting sequel to 2011’s Scent of the Missing, about training dogs to search for humans, this moving memoir from Charleston (The Possibility of Dogs) focuses on another aspect of canine search and rescue: finding other dogs who run or wander off. It turns out that her golden retriever, Puzzle, was not only a gifted searcher for humans, but also possessed a unique canine charisma: lost dogs would emerge from hiding to greet her. That’s a highly useful skill, Charleston notes, considering that, according to the American Humane Society, roughly 10 million dogs and cats are lost or stolen every year. Charleston suffuses her tale with insight and well-earned sentiment, skillfully weaving in anecdotes of searches for lost dogs with those of her blossoming relationship with a new addition to her household, rescued Maltese-poodle mix Ace. She also offers sound advice to pet owners on how to increase the odds of their pet being found with some common sense tips, such as securing back yards and updating tags and microchips. This inspiring and informative work will resonate with pet lovers everywhere. Agent: Jim Hornfischer, Hornfischer Literary Management. (June)

Publishers Weekly

I have known lost people who could not have found themselves without the love of a dog. Our love for them and their love for us animates Where the Lost Dogs Go, a beautifully written and deeply felt memoir that I read with delight.”
—Dean Koontz, best-selling author of A Big Little Life

“A riveting book from Susannah Charleson, whose exquisite writing is an inspiration to us all, and whose courage and stamina knows no bounds. Dog lovers won’t be able to put it down, and readers of great writing will be grateful that they picked it up.”
– Patricia B. McConnell, best-selling author of The Education of Will and For the Love of a Dog

“With touching and thought-provoking honesty, Where the Lost Dogs Go describes a corner of the canine world—missing dogs—that many of us will never visit.  But if our dogs do unfortunately wander off, we can only hope that individuals like search-and-detection expert Susannah Charleson, and her dogs Puzzle and Ace, are there to help bring home our beloved, lost, four-legged friends.”
—Ted Kerasote, author of Merle’s Door and Pukka’s Promise

"Susannah Charleson brings home another outstanding book of love and loss, searching and finding. With considerable canine insight, she tracks down dogs-on-the-loose in pursuit of happy reunions. Full of love and compassion, Where the Lost Dogs Go helps you find that nice warm place in your heart."
—Peggy Frezon, author of The Dog in the Dentist Chair

“Where the Lost Dogs Go is a compelling mystery, an amazing how-to manual—and a moving memoir. Best-selling author Susannah Charleson has crafted a wonderful book that defies easy categories. It’s about lost dogs and their often equally lost humans. It’s about a challenging kind of search-and-rescue work that kept me riveted and taught me new things about animal behavior. But at its heart, Where the Lost Dogs Go is about a wounded, complex, loving family that finds meaning and solace in the missing cats and canines who find warm, safe harbor with them.”   
– Cat Warren, best-selling author of What the Dog Knows.​

From the Publisher

2019-03-03

A bestselling author tells the very personal story of how and why she became involved in lost animal search and rescue missions.

Charleson's (The Possibility Dogs: What a Handful of "Unadoptables" Taught Me About Service, Hope, and Healing, 2013, etc.) dog Puzzle had long worked by her side searching for lost people or those who had been victims of catastrophe. Then the author brought home a Maltipoo rescue named Ace whose "dignified, shabby gentility" and last-minute rescue from euthanasia became a talking point for her and the parents she kept at arm's length. Despite a harrowing existence as a lost canine, Ace showed the marks of a dog who had once been loved; he also revealed a knack for locating lost pets. Charleson familiarized herself with the tactics of lost animal search and began training Ace and Puzzle in on-the-ground location strategies. As she helped reunite pets with their owners, the author began recalling the life she had led with the parents who had "made me a rescuer." Though they were deeply troubled, both shared a common bond in their love for animals that was so strong that they often spent beyond their limited means to save strays. But the author's own life with the pet-loving parents who "had rarely been wonderful together" was difficult. The family moved often, and when Charleson was a teenager, her mother left to start a life on her own; after that, the three of them slowly drifted apart. In a touching twist of irony, the Maltipoo stray was the one who ultimately came to Charleson's rescue. Not only did he help heal the relationship with her parents; he also became a source of comfort when Puzzle and her parents eventually died. Moving and profound, Charleson's book affirms the special human-animal connection and fully celebrates the healing powers of forgiveness and love.

A warm and heartfelt memoir perfect for fans of the author's first two dog-focused books.

Kirkus Reviews