Three Wild Dogs (and the truth): A Memoir – A Poignant, Funny Story of Rescue, Family, and the Joy of Connection
WINNER OF THE AUSTRALIAN INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION
“Playful and poignant . . . will be enjoyed by readers of the best dog tales, such as The Art of Racing in the Rain, for its ability to evoke both the aggravation and deep love that dogs foster.”—BookPage
In this poignant, funny, and disarmingly honest memoir, one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, the number one New York Times bestselling author of The Book Thief, tells of his family’s adoption of three troublesome rescue dogs—a charming and courageous love story about making even the most incorrigible animals family.
There’s a madman dog beside me, and the hounds of memory ahead of us . . . It’s love and beasts and wild mistakes, and regret, but never to change things.
What happens when the Zusak family opens their home to three big, wild, street-hardened dogs—Reuben, more wolf than hound; Archer, blond, beautiful, destructive; and the rancorously smiling Frosty, who walks like a rolling thunderstorm?
The answer can only be chaos: There are street fights, park fights, public shamings, property damages, injuries, hospital visits, wellness checks, pure comedy, shocking tragedy, and carnage that must be read to be believed.
There is a reckoning of shortcomings and failure, a strengthening of will, but most important of all, an explosion of love—and the joy and recognition of family.
Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth) is a tender, motley, and exquisitely written memoir about the human need for both connection and disorder, a love letter to the animals who bring hilarity and beauty—but also the visceral truth of the natural world—straight to our doors and into our lives and change us forever.
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Community Reviews
”They change our lives for the messier, but the mess is outrageously memorable.” - Markus Zusak
Anyone who reads my reviews will soon learn that I have been a long-time and devoted, doggie mama of so many adorable, and amazing doggies in my life. Anyone who personally knows me knows that I talk about my fur babies like they are my children. As a childfree couple, hubby and I dote on our doggies and spend our days loving and caring for our fur babies and, of course, talking to them like they totally understand what we’re saying. Thank goodness we have friends and relatives who are exactly the same way or we would be considered that wacky couple with the dogs. Who knows, maybe we are, but we’re certainly in wonderful company.
”At our place, we call it like it is, our dogs come from the pound. But recently, I’ve taken it further, the pound becomes the group home.” - Markus Zusak
Well, it seems the Zusak family, of Sydney, Australia is in that same wonderful company. I love how they call the pound or some rescue organization the “group home” a place where orphanedchildren doggies live until someone adopts them. That’s how hubby and I found our fur babies, at the group home. Zusak reminisces about the trials and tribulations of his family’s “three wild dogs”, Reuben, Archer and Frosty that over the course of 16yrs took over the family’s home while owning the family’s love and devotion and imprinting on them lifelong memories of joy and pain and gratitude for making life so much more fun and meaningful.
”One of the more useful parts of dog ownership is they get you out of bed every day. If you’re sick, they get you moving. If you’re down, they get you up. They’re the best personal trainers in the world.” - Markus Zusak
LMAO!!! I second that. They can’t help themselves! I loved the stories of how upon opening his eyes every morning, he was faced with some dog staring at him just waiting for him to get up. Some of the best stories were of the escapes at the various dog parks and walks around the city. I loved the story of how Reuben would always slow down when Zusak’s young children would walk him and how he was so very gentle when he was with the kids.
”One of Reuben’s better habits was he never really pulled on walks and for me that was non-negotiable. You can’t have a dog bully you on the street. The dog can’t be in charge.” - Markus Zusak
Like so many other dog parents have discovered, getting a second dog is the true definition of insanity of doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. Enter the Archer, the big, blond and beautiful scoundrel. Needless to say, Reuben and Archer had a rough start, but eventually developed into what Zusak called the “two dog mafia”.
”In all those years, I never had to pay another dog’s vet bill. Isn’t that a baseline for things to be proud of.” - Markus Zusak
Lol, I certainly know that feeling and gratitude! To a stranger or a non-dog parent, a pair of dogs rough-housing and wrestling around and using their mouths to grumble and nip each other may look scary and dangerous, more times than not, it’s just dogs playing with each other. A good doggie parent can tell the difference between playing and fighting.
There were also the incredibly devastating incidents that brought tears to my eyes and that I had to actually close the book and set it aside. One incident had me thinking that I am so grateful that in all of my doggie mama years, I never had to deal with that kind of incident. Unfortunately, the other incidents had me remember the heartache of my own experience with that type of incident.
This is only the second book I’ve read by Zusak, but it won’t be the last. I will definitely check out his other work. I love great stories, especially ones about amazing doggies. This is a really good story about three amazing doggies. I laughed and I cried and I loved how it brought back so many memories of the joy and heartache that my own fur babies gave me over the years.
I don’t rate non-fiction the same way I do a work of fiction. For non-fiction, I just rate on the material provided and the way in which it was provided. I’m glad that I listened to the audiobook. It felt more like a conversation with Zusak. I got to hear him laugh and curse and I even got to hear him get choked up. I don’t care how well written a story is, you can’t get that kind of emotion from an ebook. I listened to this in two sittings and I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review.
Anyone who reads my reviews will soon learn that I have been a long-time and devoted, doggie mama of so many adorable, and amazing doggies in my life. Anyone who personally knows me knows that I talk about my fur babies like they are my children. As a childfree couple, hubby and I dote on our doggies and spend our days loving and caring for our fur babies and, of course, talking to them like they totally understand what we’re saying. Thank goodness we have friends and relatives who are exactly the same way or we would be considered that wacky couple with the dogs. Who knows, maybe we are, but we’re certainly in wonderful company.
”At our place, we call it like it is, our dogs come from the pound. But recently, I’ve taken it further, the pound becomes the group home.” - Markus Zusak
Well, it seems the Zusak family, of Sydney, Australia is in that same wonderful company. I love how they call the pound or some rescue organization the “group home” a place where orphaned
”One of the more useful parts of dog ownership is they get you out of bed every day. If you’re sick, they get you moving. If you’re down, they get you up. They’re the best personal trainers in the world.” - Markus Zusak
LMAO!!! I second that. They can’t help themselves! I loved the stories of how upon opening his eyes every morning, he was faced with some dog staring at him just waiting for him to get up. Some of the best stories were of the escapes at the various dog parks and walks around the city. I loved the story of how Reuben would always slow down when Zusak’s young children would walk him and how he was so very gentle when he was with the kids.
”One of Reuben’s better habits was he never really pulled on walks and for me that was non-negotiable. You can’t have a dog bully you on the street. The dog can’t be in charge.” - Markus Zusak
Like so many other dog parents have discovered, getting a second dog is the true definition of insanity of doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. Enter the Archer, the big, blond and beautiful scoundrel. Needless to say, Reuben and Archer had a rough start, but eventually developed into what Zusak called the “two dog mafia”.
”In all those years, I never had to pay another dog’s vet bill. Isn’t that a baseline for things to be proud of.” - Markus Zusak
Lol, I certainly know that feeling and gratitude! To a stranger or a non-dog parent, a pair of dogs rough-housing and wrestling around and using their mouths to grumble and nip each other may look scary and dangerous, more times than not, it’s just dogs playing with each other. A good doggie parent can tell the difference between playing and fighting.
There were also the incredibly devastating incidents that brought tears to my eyes and that I had to actually close the book and set it aside. One incident had me thinking that I am so grateful that in all of my doggie mama years, I never had to deal with that kind of incident. Unfortunately, the other incidents had me remember the heartache of my own experience with that type of incident.
This is only the second book I’ve read by Zusak, but it won’t be the last. I will definitely check out his other work. I love great stories, especially ones about amazing doggies. This is a really good story about three amazing doggies. I laughed and I cried and I loved how it brought back so many memories of the joy and heartache that my own fur babies gave me over the years.
I don’t rate non-fiction the same way I do a work of fiction. For non-fiction, I just rate on the material provided and the way in which it was provided. I’m glad that I listened to the audiobook. It felt more like a conversation with Zusak. I got to hear him laugh and curse and I even got to hear him get choked up. I don’t care how well written a story is, you can’t get that kind of emotion from an ebook. I listened to this in two sittings and I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review.
