If It Wasn't For That Dog!

A delightful and hugely enjoyable true life story of how an assistance dog changed a life – I loved it!

Sir Anthony Jay, writer of Yes Minister

It’s amazing what you can achieve with persistence, a bit of chopped liver and a second hand teddy bear...

New Forest author, Michael, began losing his hearing at the age of 30 due to a genetic condition. By the time he was 46 his hearing was all but gone and he was ready to try anything that might help. Then someone suggested that getting a dog might be a good idea – not just any dog, but a hearing dog from Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. And when, two years later, he was presented with a Hearing Dog of his own called Matt, Michael just knew life would be so much easier. Amazing how wrong you can be, isn’t it! If It Wasn’t For That Dog is the story of Matt’s first year with Michael, the challenges and accomplishments of climbing the Hearing Dog learning curve, the profound changes he stimulated and the inestimable joy he confers magically on everyone who meets him. But most of all it is the story of the strange power of meaty treats to work miracles in doggie behaviour.

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review

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Well this wasn’t how my day was supposed to start!! I am SUPPOSED to be preparing for an international move, dogs, cats, household effects, the lot! NEXT MONTH. This morning I was supposed to start by sorting our air shipment, this book was quietly unread on the shelf (intention to read it on the long flight to San Francisco). It wasn’t supposed to find it’s way into my hands, it wasn’t supposed to invite me to flick through the pages “I’ll just look at the pictures “ it wasn’t supposed to make me put the kettle on “I’ll just read the Preface”………..now………a couple of hours, no sorting done, no lists written and two cups of tea later I CANT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!!!! Aaaarrrghhhhh. Seriously though, what a great read! I’m totally in love with a small black and white dog I met very briefly at the Romsey Agricultural Show where I bought a signed copy of “If it wasn’t for that dog”. My willpower escaped in the end, I had always intended for this to be my flight book. Ho hum. Loving every page, one of those books you never want to end…….I hope there’s a follow up book!

Katie Cook

read an excerpt

I was innocently pottering round the flat one morning attending to this or that largely insignificant task, when the post dropped through the letterbox. Being the nosey type, I always open the post as soon as it arrives if I possibly can, just in case I’ve won the lottery (which I don’t do) or the premium bonds(which I don’t own) or a rich uncle (which I don’t have) has left me a fortune.Well, we can all dream, can’t we? So there I was, working my way through the brown ones (definitely bills – put aside to open with a double strength coffee later) and the little white ones (mostly mail shots, not worth opening, but let’s see just in case) to the big white ones (definitely junk mail selling gas fired artichokes or guaranteed return investment bonds in the Strangeways stockmarket). Eventually I reached the bottom of the pile of big white ones and tore open the last envelope. I extracted a pile of papers including a covering letter which was upside down. As I turned it round to read it, out of the pack dropped a photograph which froze me to the spot. It was a picture of a dog. M ynext thought was:

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Got to have that dog.

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Black and white and seated obligingly for the photographer he gave exactly the impression you’d get of small boy having his first school photo taken, tie badly knotted, collar open and cap on lopsided. The appeal was overwhelming.

GOT TO HAVE THAT DOG.

His head was slightly to one side and his lip seemed to curl up in a wise-guy kind of smile that said “I’m on best behaviour – please adopt me.

GOT TO HAVE THAT DOG!!!!!

I was riveted to the floor. I stood there motionless for a few minutes just staring at the photograph. At this stage I couldn’t think straight enough to read the letter.But I presumed that I was being offered a chance for this endearing scruffy urchin of delight to become my hearing dog. And from that point forward it was exactly like falling in love. Nothing whatsoever else mattered. I had

GOT TO HAVE THAT DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!

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