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DANCE ON THE HEAD OF A PIN by Joan M. Maredyth

DANCE ON THE HEAD OF A PIN

by Joan M. Maredyth

Pub Date: July 10th, 2012
ISBN: 978-1466309470
Publisher: CreateSpace

Five pit bull puppies seek new friends and new homes in the Sonoran desert of Arizona.

After their mother disappears from the junkyard where they live, five pit-bull-mix puppies are forced to fend for themselves. One by one, they find new people, new animals and new places to call home, all against the backdrop of the Sonoran desert in Arizona, where life isn’t easy for people or dogs. For every person struggling with poverty, alcoholism and abuse, there are also those who do the abusing themselves, and negligence is rampant. Pit bulls in particular have it rough: People are often afraid of them or want to use them as fighters. The puppies meet many people in their journeys: would-be helpers, animal lovers who help from afar, irresponsible owners who abandon their pets and those who mean to hurt them. The author shows how people can be negligent without being evil and how truly caring and compassionate people respond to difficulty. The specter of dogfighting hangs over the entire story. As the pups meet and interact with different people, their unique personalities and stories emerge, along with the back stories of the characters they meet. All are extremely well-written; humans and canines alike have clear personalities with well-developed characteristics. This is obviously a book with a message about love and friendship—especially about pit bull rescue and the importance of providing good homes for dogs—but the message works with the narrative, never against it. The pace is good, as well: As the relationships of the dogs and people around them develop and intertwine, everything moves steadily toward the event that changes everything.

Well-developed, moving book about the importance of caring for people and animals.