“In simple, touching prose… Levin affectingly weaves [his sons’] story with Oogy’s, delivering a sweet sense of the possibilities of giving—and getting—love. VERDICT: Highly recommended for anyone (that’s all of us ) in need of inspiration.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Dogs aren’t just our best friends; they’re our best metaphors. Larry Levin’s OOGY… [is] about second chances.”
—TIME
“Oogy’s story confirms what Dewey taught me years ago… that even a wounded animal tossed aside is capable of amazing joy if given love and respect by the human chosen to share life with them.”
—Vicki Myron, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
“A bittersweet reminder that we don’t own our pets; they just give us the opportunity to accompany them through their all-too-short lives, to love them, protect them, and spoil them rotten along the way. And that’s a wonderful gift.”
—Los Angeles Times
“By turns horrifying and heartwarming… As remarkable in spirit as he is distinctive in appearance, the extraordinary Oogy receives a hero’s biography from adoring Levin, who both recognizes himself in and feels rescued from the grip of his own childhood traumas by his indomitable companion’s capacity to survive.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An incredible story about an unforgettable dog. Get ready to make a very big place in your heart for OOGY. Because you’re going to fall in love with this dog. And this book.”
—Gary David Goldberg, creator of Family Ties
and Brooklyn Bridge and author of Sit, Ubu, Sit
“A joy to read… captures the essence of the human-canine bond with maturity and depth… The dog with the lopsided face is a tail-wagging example of second chances and the power of love and patience to overcome a legacy of barbaric cruelty… [The author’s] love for his family, Oogy, and the cats that also shared the Levin home resonates in every chapter.”
—Roanoke Times
“This is a story about what can happen when the worst in people meets the best in people and the best wins. In spite of its subject, this is a gentle tale of one man’s love for his dog and the angels along the way who brought Oogy into his life.”
—Susan Richards, New York Times bestselling
author of Chosen by a Horse and Saddled
“Oogy is all dog—mischievous, noisy, exasperating, voracious—but he is also a symbol of uncrushable spirit and the triumph of a loving nature. A memoir about a dog reveals as much about its author as it does about the dog. What is a dog? Our dogs are our own true selves.”
“Heartwarming… The subtitle is ‘The Dog Only a Family Could Love,’ but after reading the book, we seriously doubt that.”
“At its heart, OOGY is a love story between a kind and generous man and an astonishing dog, reassuring in its affirmation that all the seemingly random pieces of life somehow belong together. This book is well worth spending time with.”
—Mary Nethery, coauthor of the New York Times
bestseller Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt,
a Marine & a Miracle
“The inspiring story of how Oogy not only survived grotesque brutality… but kept his gentle, trusting nature.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine
“The story of Oogy proves that the human-canine bond doesn’t depend on outward beauty. Oogy’s love for the Levins, and theirs for him, will touch the heart of anyone who reads his story.”
—Sharon Sakson, author of
Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs