The Puppy Diaries

Jill Abramson's book The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout chronicles a year in her life raising a puppy, Scout. Abramson was no stranger to dogs. She and her husband had owned and raised a dog, Buddy, but after his death hesitated to start over with a new pet.

In The Puppy Diaries Abramson shares how they arrived at the decision to adopt another pet and the ups and downs they faced in Scout's puppy days. Abramson and her husband both have successful careers that allow them some advantages and resources that not every pet owner has. They purchase health insurance for Scout, take her to a doggy day care so her husband can finish his work on time, and for a special treat take her to a swimming pool for dogs.

There is a vast difference between Scout's life and that of my puppy, Sammy. However, even with these differences I never felt that Abramson meant to flaunt her affluence, and perhaps is unaware of it to some extent, living and mingling with people much like herself each day.

This is a fast and easy read. There is no exciting plot to keep readers engaged, but I have no doubt that animal lovers will enjoy this book. While it was no Marley by John Grogan, there was a certain enjoyment I found reading about another family's account of raising a puppy.

(A little known fact that I most enjoyed is that Abramson's sister is the author Jane O'Connor, the creator of Fancy Nancy, a favorite elementary school book character).

Although Abramson had raised another puppy, she and her husband work hard to train Scout and offer some different suggestions and training theories they have looked into. As a puppy owner myself I did enjoy hearing different ideas about training a dog and the success and struggles they went through with Scout.