Good dog

He had dog he tried to best. Live at either end from a chane to garden

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Buy numerous boxes of tissues!

Ms Gill - what have you done to me? I am at risk of serious dehydration from the copious amount of crying that accompanied listening to this book. I started leaking at about 90 minutes in, and then never really stopped! You'd have to possess a heart of stone not to be moved by this tale of Sirius, the wonder dog. I've met about some really depraved and evil villains in my reading history, but even the worst decapitating, eye lid removing, hog tying, alive burning, limb removing murderers were more appealing than some of the dog owners in Sirius' story. I felt traumatised listening to his, and his fellow captives' experiences as they recounted their biographies from their own perspectives. Of course I kept my hands over my own dogs' ears through much of this book. I also subjected them to much weeping into their fur and endless kisses and cuddles whilst whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again. Unfortunately for the humans in my family, I was listening whilst cooking tonight's supper. That meal in now in the dogs and we'll be having cornflakes. Ian Walker's narration is excellent. His deep, gravelly voice gave no hindrance in believing I was actually listening to a 70kg Pyrenean mountain dog; surely a performance worth adding to his CV! All that crying has released a lot of tension and, in addition, I feel thoroughly cleansed. Better still, I feel extremely virtuous for adopting 3 rescue dogs, (2 had been removed from abusive owners and 1 is an ex-puppy farm breeding bitch). Of course, all I did was adopt them, they were the ones doing the rescuing. Someone to Look Up To is an extremely well thought out and insightful book and should be compulsory listening to anyone who is planning on buying, or better still, adopting a dog. But you don't have to be a dog owner to get pleasure from Ms Gill's captivating work. If you are a human being with the capacity to love in your heart, treat yourself to a copy of the combined genius of Jean Gill and Ian Walker. You can thank me later!

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2 people found this helpful

Thought provokingly lovely!

Well I’ve just finished listening to this book and I loved it.
I’ve had large dogs all my adult life and this has certainly given me a new perspective on how I think about them and how they think about me and their world as they see it.
Although heartbreaking at times, it was quite beautiful listening to stories of life, the world, dog pounds and humans as seen and told from a dogs point of view.
The narrators voice was spot on and made you fall in love with Sirius...the Pyrenean Mountain dog and teller of this enchanting tale...from the start. His story and that of his siblings sends you on a journey of highs and lows, smiles and tears...but worth it.
Not something I thought I ever imagined myself saying, but this story really makes you think!

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1 person found this helpful

A Wonderful Book about a Wonderful Dog

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely and I will be doing so immediately.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Serious of course. He had such an engaging personality and he made me feel so many emotions. I loved him!

What does Ian M. Walker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Ian M Walker brought Serious and all the dogs and other animals in the book to life. I don't think I would have felt as much of this if I had read the book instead of listening to it. He became the voice of Serious for me and he made Serious and the others feel so real.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had huge emotional reactions to this book. It made me smile, it mostly made me cry, it made me angry, it made me sad and it made me happy. All sorts of emotions abounded.

Any additional comments?

I absolutely loved listening to the audible version of this extremely heart wrenching book. I felt like I really got to know Serious, the Pyrenees Mountain dog, the hero of this story. It begins with his birth, continues with his puppyhood and on through the first 4 years of his life. It is told through Serious' eyes and you get to know him by listening to his thoughts right through the story.

For me a book that is worth its salt is one where I really care about the characters and that triggers my emotions. This book really did this for me.

As a huge dog lover myself I fell for Serious in a very big way from the start and only wish I could have adopted him myself! This book made me love him, it made me smile at his early antics when he was chosen by his first human, it made me cry (copiously) and made me angry and happy and sad and other myriads of emotions. It gave such an insight into how dogs think and what us humans should not do when it comes to training dogs.

For me dogs are such beautiful, loyal and wonderful creatures that bring us humans such pleasure and love. Serious' story broke my heart so many times but I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to listen to it and get to know him. The book has left me wishing for a sequel.

The narrator of this story, Ian M Walker, did a super job as the voice of Serious. He had the right tone and he told the story extremely well. He was an excellent choice of narrator and is definitely the right voice for serious.

I would definitely recommend the audible version of this book as listening to it really brought Serious and all his other animal friends to life for me. I loved it.

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2 people found this helpful

Different but really enjoyable read

Enjoyable read from beginning to end. The narration was excellent and made good relaxation. Parts of the story were very sad and as a real animal lover it was upsetting but hey so true to life.

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loved this book

For anyone who has ever had a dog or wondered about having a dog this book is a must. The tale of misadventure for this fella is both tearjerking and heart warning. The narration is perfect too with the voice lending depth and gravitas to Sirius the wonder dog

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2 people found this helpful

Someone to look up to.

I have just finished Someone to look up to:

The book is a story of a dogs life told from the dogs perspective,

The author really 'gets' dogs, how they think and feel and how they make sense of the world they live in.

It is beautifully narrated by a man who has the perfect voice for a story like this. Calming throughout but animated when needed it is a pleasure to listen to and kept my attention throughout.

This story made me laugh and made me cry and certainly made me go and hug my own dog a few times.

If you are a dog lover you need to listen to this book, you will fall in love with the characters - hope for them, get sad for them and celebrate their good times.
Loved it *****.

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