I thoroughly enjoyed both of these books. Remembering to Breathe is the story of Willard Bailey (the author) and HB, aka Honeybear, and their journey into the world of competitive obedience. It was a very touching and heartfelt journey. I love stories like this where you get to follow along as the author builds their relationship with their dog, learns to listen to them, and tries their best to do what's right for the canine loved ones in a world of contradicting advice. (It's probably why I follow so many dog blogs. :-p) By the end of the book I was dying to see whether HB would get her OTCh. I empathized a lot with Willard's struggles to find the best way to train HB, to find ways to keep her happy, so they could enjoy doing what they'd come to love. To say this book hit home would be an understatement.
OTCH Dreams is it's sequel, and is really two books in one. The first part wraps up HB's last days, and the second follows Bebop, Willard's latest competition dog: a border collie. This book tore me apart. I sobbed through Honeybear's death, having fallen in love with her in Remembering to Breathe, it was so hard to read about her passing in OTCH Dreams. Especially when a lot of what Willard went through in letting her go, I went through when we had to put our shih tzu down not too long ago.
The second half, Bebop's story was just as fraught with emotion as the first. I teared up when I read about Barbara offering to handle Bebop in Conformation, I grinned like a maniac when she set out to achieve what she wanted to do. I admit I cried when I saw the picture of Bebop wrapped around Barbara--who really hadn't wanted a male border collie, but had let Willard get him--kissing him, and saw the bond that had developed between the Bopster and Barbara. The laughter and love on her face warmed me straight to my toes. But Bebop's obedience career wasn't all Super Dog success.
The book highlighted what I see a lot with working with the rescue. A lot of people, when looking for their next dog...want one just like their 'perfect' dog at home (or their last dog). It's hard not to compare the new addition, puppy or adult, to the last dog. Watching Willard struggle to realize that Bebop didn't need the cheerleading, that he needed different approaches, and that he was a very different dog than HB both pained and connected with me. I admit there were times when I read it, where I didn't understand why Willard kept pushing Bebop to do something that seemed to scare him, but it's always easier to say something from the outside POV, or from someone reading a book. In the end, I was just as touched by Bebop's journey as I was for Honeybear's.
Now, I just wish I could find another book like these two to read. (Dog sport related, showing the author and their dog(s) grow together as a team).
Overall, I rate both books four paws out of five.
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