Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul: Celebrating Pets as Family with Stories About Cats, Dogs and Other Critters

I love the chicken soup for the soul books and of course especially the ones centered on dogs. This one is on pets so includes cats, horses, and other animals but close enough. Especially now that I have a cat in addition to the dog, I can appreciate them as well. This one had exceptionally good stories in it that often pulled at my heart strings. I am pretty sure some of the stories I have read before, but as they are great stories I don’t mind. These stories were great enough to go into my ‘dogs-favorite-books’ shelf, but as it is not just about dogs, will need to settle for just having 5 stars. I will provide excerpts from some of my favorite bits but first wanted to list the dog related Chicken Soup books I have and have read show more with my ratings.

Title My Rating
Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul: Celebrating Pets as Family with Stories About Cats, Dogs and Other Critters 5
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage 4
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: Stories about Pets as Teachers, Healers, Heroes and Friends 5
Chicken Soup for the Soul: I Can't Believe My Dog Did That!: 101 Stories about the Crazy Antics of Our Canine Companions 4.5
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog 3
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Loving Our Dogs: Heartwarming and Humorous Stories about our Companions and Best Friends 6
Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Dog: 101 Heartwarming Stories about Our Happy, Heroic Hilarious Pets 3.5
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dog Really Did That?: 101 Stories of Miracles, Mischief and Magical Moments 4
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs: 101 Tales of Family, Friendship & Fun 5.1

These first bits are from ‘Weep Not’ by Richard Severo. It is about a lady who helped dogs and cats for a long while. Love hearing about people who did this kind of thing before all the rescue organizations had really got started and it was so much more in the public awareness.

Mrs. Stradtner looked for stray animals: the thousands of dogs and cats abandoned every year by people who, having tired of their pets, thought not of bringing them to an animal shelter but of leaving them in a cemetery. Humans may think of cemeteries as woodland-like sanctuaries. But for animals, they are only places to starve to death in the wild.

But Gloria—as everyone called her—was determined that this was not to be. Not for her strays.

And so for fifty years or maybe more (nobody can remember when she did not make the rounds of the graveyards at night), she would go forth, lugging large bags of dog food and cat food and big and small traps of the type that cannot hurt animals. She would bait these traps and go back to her car and wait. In an hour or so, she would return to her traps. Sometimes, she would entrap a dozen animals or more in a single night, her prisoners of love. And then she would feed them.

A poem she was believed to have written was read at her funeral. It was entitled “Weep Not” and began this way:

Do not weep for me when I am gone
For I have friends in the great beyond.
All the little ones I used to feed
Will come to me in my time of need.
They will purr and bark in great delight,
And I will hold and hug them tight.
Oh what a great day that will be
When my furry friends all welcome me.

From the story ‘Fifteen Minutes of Fame’ by Marty Becker, D.V.M I liked this quote. Similar stuff is said about dogs all the time but I still like to hear it.

‘Everybody gets fifteen minutes of fame once in his life. time. We pet owners get our fifteen minutes every time we come home—or even return from the next room.’

From Letters from Vietnam’ by Joe Fulda, we learn of a dog that hijacks and hides letters sent from his owner in Vietnam. Here is a bit from the wrap up at the end after he came back from Vietnam and the dog didn’t need to steal the mail away:

‘However, while packing and preparing to move our next duty station, we did discover a few more postal hideaways containing unopened letters from Vietnam—a reminder that as far as a dog’s nose is concerned, a small object sent by a beloved human that travels nine thousand miles, though handled by dozens of other people still bears a treasured message. I had never realized during all those months when I thought I was writing just to Mycki that I was also sending a uniquely personal greeting to one smart and sharp-nosed little poodle.’

Now that I am a first time cat owner, I can appreciate some good details on a cat from a story A Cat Named Turtle by Ellen Perry Berkeley:

‘Very soon it was also Turtle’s house as she figured out the best spot on our bed (between us, lengthwise) and the sunniest corner of our living room. She had a lot to learn. How to sprawl across my in-basket. How to awaken us for her breakfast. How to keep the house free of the tiny mice sneak inside every autumn, when the cold air ruffles their rodential dispositions. How to launch a steady stream of complaints at the snow. How to stand guard at the bathtub until I could be meowed safely from the water. How to settle her weight on precisely the document might be reading from, or typing from, or writing on.’

From the story ‘Three-dog Night’ by George Feifer we learn of someone going unconscious on a cold night while talking the dogs for their romp.

He had no idea how long he lay there before he sensed that he was not alone. His dogs were breathing above him. They circled him and barked. They're here, he thought. They will not abandon me.

From Prince’s Golden Season by Irving Townsend, about a horse they saved, I like this quote in the end:

‘The life of a horse, often half our own, seems endless until one day.’

And for those who always want to know if Kleenex is needed, I would say a lot for happy stories, but some for the inevitable ending of some dogs in the stories. I still think people need to get over it, like dogs, you miss out on the good if you don’t want to have the sad part that comes with it. We all share the same sentiment when they go like in this story Banjo by David C. Hoopes:

‘All i could think of, as tears ran down my cheeks, was that I wanted him back.

I wanted him waiting for me at the door, barking up a storm and acting as if after ten years he was still amazed that I actually came home to him every day. I wanted to see him wriggling down the hill behind our house on his back, making the first tracks in a freshly fallen snow, | wanted to hear that long, moaning sigh as he fell asleep next to our bed, a sound that clearly said, “This is a fine place to be.”’

I recommend all the Chicken Soup for the Soul stories, but some are better than others like this one. Love how with their short stories they are so easy to pick up and down and so good you don’t usually want to put them down. show less

I love the chicken soup for the soul books and of course especially the ones centered on dogs. This one is on pets so includes cats, horses, and other animals but close enough. Especially now that I have a cat in addition to the dog, I can appreciate them as well. This one had exceptionally good stories in it that often pulled at my heart strings. I am pretty sure some of the stories I have read before, but as they are great stories I don’t mind. These stories were great enough to go into my ‘dogs-favorite-books’ shelf, but as it is not just about dogs, will need to settle for just having 5 stars. I will provide excerpts from some of my favorite bits but first wanted to list the dog related Chicken Soup books I have and have read show more with my ratings.

Title My Rating
Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul: Celebrating Pets as Family with Stories About Cats, Dogs and Other Critters 5
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage 4
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: Stories about Pets as Teachers, Healers, Heroes and Friends 5
Chicken Soup for the Soul: I Can't Believe My Dog Did That!: 101 Stories about the Crazy Antics of Our Canine Companions 4.5
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog 3
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Loving Our Dogs: Heartwarming and Humorous Stories about our Companions and Best Friends 6
Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Dog: 101 Heartwarming Stories about Our Happy, Heroic Hilarious Pets 3.5
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dog Really Did That?: 101 Stories of Miracles, Mischief and Magical Moments 4
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs: 101 Tales of Family, Friendship & Fun 5.1

These first bits are from ‘Weep Not’ by Richard Severo. It is about a lady who helped dogs and cats for a long while. Love hearing about people who did this kind of thing before all the rescue organizations had really got started and it was so much more in the public awareness.

Mrs. Stradtner looked for stray animals: the thousands of dogs and cats abandoned every year by people who, having tired of their pets, thought not of bringing them to an animal shelter but of leaving them in a cemetery. Humans may think of cemeteries as woodland-like sanctuaries. But for animals, they are only places to starve to death in the wild.

But Gloria—as everyone called her—was determined that this was not to be. Not for her strays.

And so for fifty years or maybe more (nobody can remember when she did not make the rounds of the graveyards at night), she would go forth, lugging large bags of dog food and cat food and big and small traps of the type that cannot hurt animals. She would bait these traps and go back to her car and wait. In an hour or so, she would return to her traps. Sometimes, she would entrap a dozen animals or more in a single night, her prisoners of love. And then she would feed them.

A poem she was believed to have written was read at her funeral. It was entitled “Weep Not” and began this way:

Do not weep for me when I am gone
For I have friends in the great beyond.
All the little ones I used to feed
Will come to me in my time of need.
They will purr and bark in great delight,
And I will hold and hug them tight.
Oh what a great day that will be
When my furry friends all welcome me.

From the story ‘Fifteen Minutes of Fame’ by Marty Becker, D.V.M I liked this quote. Similar stuff is said about dogs all the time but I still like to hear it.

‘Everybody gets fifteen minutes of fame once in his life. time. We pet owners get our fifteen minutes every time we come home—or even return from the next room.’

From Letters from Vietnam’ by Joe Fulda, we learn of a dog that hijacks and hides letters sent from his owner in Vietnam. Here is a bit from the wrap up at the end after he came back from Vietnam and the dog didn’t need to steal the mail away:

‘However, while packing and preparing to move our next duty station, we did discover a few more postal hideaways containing unopened letters from Vietnam—a reminder that as far as a dog’s nose is concerned, a small object sent by a beloved human that travels nine thousand miles, though handled by dozens of other people still bears a treasured message. I had never realized during all those months when I thought I was writing just to Mycki that I was also sending a uniquely personal greeting to one smart and sharp-nosed little poodle.’

Now that I am a first time cat owner, I can appreciate some good details on a cat from a story A Cat Named Turtle by Ellen Perry Berkeley:

‘Very soon it was also Turtle’s house as she figured out the best spot on our bed (between us, lengthwise) and the sunniest corner of our living room. She had a lot to learn. How to sprawl across my in-basket. How to awaken us for her breakfast. How to keep the house free of the tiny mice sneak inside every autumn, when the cold air ruffles their rodential dispositions. How to launch a steady stream of complaints at the snow. How to stand guard at the bathtub until I could be meowed safely from the water. How to settle her weight on precisely the document might be reading from, or typing from, or writing on.’

From the story ‘Three-dog Night’ by George Feifer we learn of someone going unconscious on a cold night while talking the dogs for their romp.

He had no idea how long he lay there before he sensed that he was not alone. His dogs were breathing above him. They circled him and barked. They're here, he thought. They will not abandon me.

From Prince’s Golden Season by Irving Townsend, about a horse they saved, I like this quote in the end:

‘The life of a horse, often half our own, seems endless until one day.’

And for those who always want to know if Kleenex is needed, I would say a lot for happy stories, but some for the inevitable ending of some dogs in the stories. I still think people need to get over it, like dogs, you miss out on the good if you don’t want to have the sad part that comes with it. We all share the same sentiment when they go like in this story Banjo by David C. Hoopes:

‘All i could think of, as tears ran down my cheeks, was that I wanted him back.

I wanted him waiting for me at the door, barking up a storm and acting as if after ten years he was still amazed that I actually came home to him every day. I wanted to see him wriggling down the hill behind our house on his back, making the first tracks in a freshly fallen snow, | wanted to hear that long, moaning sigh as he fell asleep next to our bed, a sound that clearly said, “This is a fine place to be.”’

I recommend all the Chicken Soup for the Soul stories, but some are better than others like this one. Love how with their short stories they are so easy to pick up and down and so good you don’t usually want to put them down. show less

This book will be enjoyed by any animal lover, especially those who have cherished pets. If you've never read any of the "Chicken Soup" books, it's a good one to start with. I liked it better than the other ones I read so far. These volumes are collections of short stories on a theme, gathered people across the United States. All are uplifting, inspiring tales and they are each true (although "Jim the Wonder Dog" really stretched my credulity). What touches me most about them is to know they all came from someone's life experience.

review from Dog Ear Diary

Chicken Soup books always make you feel better after a hard day.

A collection of true short stories about cats and dogs.

Stories about cats, dogs and other critters.