A Dog’s Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

OK, so it’s a bit soapy, but A Dog’s Way Home by Bobbie Pyron made me mist at the ending. You’d have to be a totally unfeeling person not to mist up after reading about a dog traveling 300+ miles, through rain, sleet, and snow, battling humans, coyotes, and starvation to get back to his 12 year old owner, Abby. And that’s what Tam does.

In chapters alternating between Abby’s unwavering belief that Tam is alive and Tam’s unwavering love of his owner, A Dog’s Way Home is heartwarming. It’s the movie Homeward Bound without the humorous interplay of Sally Field and Michael J. Fox.

Tam is show quality Sheltie. On the way home to Harmony Gap, NC from a show 300+ miles north near Roanoke, VA, Tam’s in a crate in the back of a truck driven by Abby’s mother. She swerves off the road to avoid a deer and dog and crate go flying off the truck and down a major hill, landing in a rapidly flowing creek. Lucky to escape, Tam begins his long trek home.

Abby and her mother are injured and taken to the local hospital. They can’t go back to the scene of the accident. Abby’s father, Ian, a musician, is on the road a lot. To make matters worse, some months later, the family must move to Nashville to further Ian’s career. Now, how will Tam ever find Abby?

I must admit I wasn’t expecting much after reading the first chapter, but boy this book grows on you. Yes, you know the ending, but traveling Tam’s road to get there was as stressful for me as it appears to be for him. This is a great book for middle school age dog lovers. It captures the awkwardness of those teenage years. It captures the reciprocal love of a girl and her dog and it’ll capture your heart.