The Man Who Talks to Dogs: The Story of America's Wild Street Dogs and Their Unlikely Savior

by Melinda Roth

Book Overview

Go to any unpopulated or abandoned area in any given urban setting, and you'll find them. Thousands and thousands of wild dogs-abandoned to disease, starvation, and inevitable death-are leading short and brutal lives in the no-man's-land between domestication and wildness, byproducts of the human destitution around them. A lucky few are saved by dedicated rescuers, and Randy Grim, has emerged as one of the country's leading dog saviors. After years...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312283970
• ISBN13: 9780312283971
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Amazing Story

Randy Grim is one of the most incredible people I have ever read about. His sacrifice of time, money and love during his attempt to save the most unwanted of the unwanted, America's abandoned street dogs, is totally amazing. The stories are incredible and moving. You face the real drama of dogs living in fear of man yet, Randy Grim goes out on the lonely city streets and into abandoned buildings to reach every dog he can. He saved them from injury, starvation and death, not only during the day but at night as well. This is a book everyone should read, everyone. Whether you love dogs or not, this book will make an impact on your life. You will do some real soul searching about the need for each one of us to help with this mission.

This is one amazing book!

Never has a book had such an impact on me. I am an avowed dog-lover, but with all the dog books I have read, I have never been so moved as I was by the story of Randy Grim and his fight to save stray dogs. I could not recommend this book strongly enough to anyone who cares about animals. Randy is an EXTRAORDINARY human being, and even though he does not want it, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves. And this recognition can only help the cause of his fight for stray animals. You go, Randy! I love you!

Couldn't Put it Down

I can't describe how much I admire Randy Grim. This book is about how one man began rescuing stray dogs - dogs not even notable rescue organizations would want to fight to save - and instead of finding it a hopeless cause like so many do, he saw hope for them all. It is such a great story and will open your eyes to the horrible truth that many people just want to sweep under the rug.

Thank God for Mr. Grim!

Mr. Grim is a living saint in the mold of Brother Francis. If you believe that a dog dumped by someone who doesn't want him anymore will end up wild and free like a wolf . . . if you think neutering your dog will somehow affect your own manhood . . . if you think your dog should have "just one litter" because "the kids should see the miracle of birth" . . . read this book and then try to sleep at night. Dogs are not wolves in Snoopy costumes, able to return to the wild at a moment's notice. Dumped dogs die slow and terrible deaths, and dogs born on the street live short and wretched lives. They need us. They can't survive without us. Our ancestors made them that way, and passed on to us the responsibility for their life and death. Randy Grim knows this in his guts.Read this book, and when you stop shivering, call your local animal shelter and ask them what they need most. And if you see a dog wandering alone, look into its eyes. You'll know what I mean when you're done with The Man who Talks to Dogs.

Read It In One Sitting!

The Man Who Talks to Dogs was an incredible book . I couldn't put it down. This is the true story of one man's desperate, heartbreaking love for dogs--of anguish, brutality and hope. Randy Grim dedicates his life to saving the big-city feral-dog population of St. Louis, single-handedly braving the mean streets to rescue God's lost angels--those half-wild, half-domesticated dogs existing on the borderlines of urban society. In this story, Randy brings to light the terrible struggle of these animals, who haunt burned-out buildings, eating out of garbage cans, dropping dead in the streets of starvation and illness, some never having come close to a human...or worse yet, falling prey to the sadistic cruelty of dog-fight rings or random violence. Thru this man's tireless efforts, many of these dogs have been saved, rehabbed and adopted to loving homes. Some of their stories are told in this book--- I guarantee that you will never forget them.Randy is an incredible human being and an inspiration to all of us....Get this book, read it and live it--it is a great lesson in compassion for the creatures with no voice--- and how one person can make a difference, one dog at a time.