Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure

There are two likely reactions to Dogtripping, David Rosenfelt's account of driving from California to Maine with 25 dogs: "That man is crazy" or "What a blast!" Either one is reasonable.

After 20 years as a marketing executive in the movie business, Rosenfelt lived a quiet, pet-free life in Southern California writing mystery novels (starting with 2002's Open and Shut). Then he met Debbie, his future wife, who came with a golden retriever that died of cancer two years later. In an attempt to honor the loss of their beloved dog, the couple began volunteering at a local animal shelter and eventually established the Tara Foundation, a rescue organization named after the retriever.

When Debbie retired, she and David decided they were ready for "real weather" and to be closer to family. They bought a remote, 10-acre wooded lot with a lake in Maine--and then moved 25 dogs (most weighing more than 50 pounds) cross-country. A group of generous dog lovers volunteered to help, Cruise America allowed them to rent three RVs and, after a lot of planning, the crew set out.

Rosenfelt is an entertaining, self-depreciating storyteller. He intersperses the tale of the journey with vignettes about the dogs they have rescued through the years--each pup's portrait is only a few pages long, but even readers who aren't dog people will soon see how Rosenfelt found himself in such a crazy predicament--and find themselves wishing the journey was much longer. --Kristen Galles, blogger at Book Club Classics

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