Booklist Review

Animals' assisting in the healing process is becoming a very common practice, and allowing animals to visit dying people in hospices is therefore becoming more prevalent. In Hospice Hounds, Rivera shares her experiences with dogs brightening up the final months and days of people who are near death. Many of the stories pertain to her being a volunteer at a hospice, charged with the responsibility to accompany two caring dogs, Woody and Katie, as they visit the inhabitants. She first realized the comfort that a dog could bring to a dying person when her mother demanded a dog while lying on her deathbed in Rivera's home. At that time, the family didn'st have a dog, so she first found a neighbor's dog to visit, and then eventually got a much needed and wanted dog for her family. Rivera, founder of the Prayer Alliance for Animals and author of many articles on dogs, has written an endearing book on the warming influence and care that dogs can give to a dying person. --Julia Glynn