Living with the Rescues: One Dog Lover's Dream Life

by Kristine Tonks, guest contributor

© courtesy LivingwiththeRescues.com

When I think of my dream lifestyle, I picture myself surrounded by dogs of all sizes in a large country home with plenty of space to roll around in. While for me this setting remains in the realm of fantasy, for Sharon Langford, author of Living with the Rescues, it is perfect reality.


Despite old clichés about books and covers, I think it is perfectly reasonable to judge this book by outward appearances. The photo on the front shows a very happy woman sitting in the middle of a group of equally happy-looking dogs. Eight very-happy looking dogs, to be exact, and it is hard to believe these animals ever experienced moments of fear or pain.


Sharon Langford decided to write a book about her large family of rescue dogs in order to raise money for the animal welfare organization she created, called Daisy’s Legacy. Throughout the book she illustrates the unique stories of each dog currently sharing her home, as well as the stories of the dogs with whom she was lucky to live in the past. Every single dog was rescued from a shelter or equally unfortunate situation. While some of the details broke my heart, knowing the dogs’ futures are now full of hope prevented me from feeling sad too long.


I admit to being jealous of her ability to welcome them all in to her home. One day I hope to be able to do half as much for animals in my community.


One of my favourite parts was Langford’s description of her country property. The home was designed with every dog’s needs in mind. There is a sound-proof room in the basement for anxious Hannah, she built canine condos in the garage for distrustful Barney, and painted lovely dog-related quotes on the walls of the special dog play room. It truly is a house of my dreams.


In between stories, Langford also included great tips on training and rescuing dogs. She has a lot of history working with shelters and provides some great advice for newly-formed rescue organizations. I have never read a book by a woman more determined to make sure every dog finds a permanent home.


Langford’s beautiful and fascinating rescue dogs have permanently altered the course of her life. I get the feeling she wouldn’t have it any other way.


Living with the Rescues is not a long book. An easy companion for a lazy afternoon, it is full of photos and inspirational descriptions of how each dog has taught the author something new. I found it impossible not to smile all the way to the end.

© K. Tonks

Kristine Tonks is a former history student who has recently discovered a passion for all things dog; she writes Rescued Insanity. If she hadn't adopted her dog, Shiva, from the shelter when she did, the piles of books would have taken over her house. Kristine feels that rescuing Shiva is by far the best thing she has ever done. Kristine also reviewed A Small Furry Prayer Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life here on All Things Dog Blog, among others. You can use the Lijit search widget in the sidebar to find her other great book reviews.

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Didn't Kristine do a great job of sharing this book review? Does it make you want to read the book?  Me too! I have one copy to give away, and I also can offer an Amazon option for those of you who simply cannot wait. Click this link to order yours now. 

If you'd prefer to join in the fun of a giveaway, we'd love to have you hop on board for our weekly freebie fun. Here's how you can enter to win a free, hardcover copy of Living with the Rescues:

• You may enter the giveaway once daily per method, but you must use a different Tweet, comment, photo, etc. each time. 
• COMMENTS are the primo form of entry--super simple since you're already here. Visit the bottom of the post to find the COMMENTS link and click.
• Winners will be selected from comments here on the blog that include a method of contact (URL, email, Twitter handle, etc). All Tweets and emails must be followed up with a comment here to be entered in the drawing. Random.org will be used to select the winners.
• Leave a comment here saying "I Like All Things Dog Blog and Living with the Rescues on Facebook" for another entry.
• Post a photo of your rescue dog at Living with the Rescues' Facebook page. Leave a comment saying "I live with this rescue and All Things Dog Blog sent me" Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know you completed this entry.
• Likewise, follow @AllThingsDog on Twitter and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.
• Subscribing to our blog by email using the dog house subscription box at left is a great way to keep up with our posts, giveaways, Ask the Vet and Trainer columns and more. Leave me a comment for one entry, saying "I subscribe to All Things Dog Blog." RSS subscribers may use this method also.
• Tweet "Thx @AllThingsDog 4 giving away a copy of Living with the Rescues" Don't forget to leave me a comment that you've tweeted.
• And of course, hit that Tweet/Retweet button at the top of the post, and then leave me a comment telling me you Tweeted/Retweeted this post. Leave your Twitter handle for verification and we'll be thrilled to give you another entry.
• Don't forget to include a method of contact so we can notify you if you win.
• Entries will close at 5 PM sharp on Thursday, July 14th. I'll report the winners on Friday, July 15th.

Entrants must be 18 years of age or older and have a North American address. This offer is void where prohibited.


I always enjoy meeting your rescue dogs, so feel free to post their pictures on my facebook page anytime. Don't forget to leave their name and come back often to see what's going on. Happy tails!