The Mountaintop School for Dogs And Other Second Chances
Ellen Cooney, 2014
304 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
October, 2014
It's been done before—so many times, in fact, that we know the outcome of this book from the get-go. But it doesn't matter because of the pure pleasure derived from Ellen Cooney's charming story of dogs and people—a tale in which healing one leads to healing the other.
The action takes place in a single locale: an isolated mountaintop refuge, known as the Sanctuary, which takes in dogs rescued from inhumane conditions. Traumatized, unfit for adoption, and at the tail end of their journey toward euthanasia, the dogs are given a second chance for rehabilitation—and life.
Into this world comes Evie, a 24-year-old aspiring dog trainer. Evie has her own history of alienation and despair, including a recurring cycle of drug-abuse and rehab—all of which give her special insight into her canine misfits. In fact, as she develops her own glossary of terms and descriptions of each of the dogs, it's pretty clear we're reading about Evie herself. Like the dogs, she too is a misfit looking for a second chance at life.
Despite a vaguely sinister ambiance, (there's even a wry nod to Stephen King's The Shining), Cooney's humor reveals itself early on: as dusk falls one evening, the dogs begin their panicked barking: "Oh no, here comes the dark, hurry up, take me in, take me in." Or more obnoxiously: "Hey, don't you know its time to feed me, feed me, feed me?"
Although realism is Cooney's milieu, not fantasy, she's willing to smudge the border between the two. Her Mountaintop dogs take on distinct human personalities. They understand human language, form alliances, and exhibit both disgust and sympathy toward one another. Anthropomorphic or not, any pet owner will attest to the truth of all of this.
A real reat, this book. Read, enjoy and have a wonderful discussions about animals, the people who mistreat them, as well as their resilience and uncanny desire to bond with our own two-legged species.
See our Reading Guide for The Mountaintop School for Dogs.