Ellie had many adventures as a search dog and loved to work, but still found herself thinking of Ethan and the special bond that they shared. After changing handlers and ending up living with Maya for the rest of her years, Ellie had a fulfilling life.

Surprise again! Born as a black lab with an uncertain future, he is known as Bear.  Bear is confused as to why he is born again, when he feels that he has already fulfilled his purpose.  He ends up homeless for a while, but then finds his rightful place. I can’t tell any more or it would give away the wonderful ending.

I really like how this book came full circle and perhaps will make you look at your dog in a new light. I have heard stories about ‘the right pet, showing up at the right time’ and sometimes you may wonder if there is something bigger at work here. I recommend this book to everyone and to all ages, I really enjoyed it.

In the first week of July I will be reading the sequel to this book.

After many adventures with the boy Ethan, the dog (Bailey in this life) knows that his purpose is to protect the boy. We see Ethan grow up and we follow Bailey as he adapts to the different situations that a family goes through over the years.

Imagine the dog’s surprise when he finds himself a puppy all over again!

“No, that wasn’t quite it. it was more that I was a puppy who suddenly remembered being me again. I had this sense of drifting off to sleep, aware of nothing but the long, long passage of time, not dreaming, not even thinking, and then, in a blink, I was looking at the world through the eyes of a very young dog.”

As a different breed, and this time as a female (!) named Ellie, she finds that she has another very important job – this time as a search and rescue dog. She finds that she loves her job and although she likes her human, she struggles still with the loss of Ethan.

Next week will be the conclusion of the book!

I have to start off by saying I am late in posting this because the first book I had chosen to write about this time had to be changed. It was just depressing from the get go.  I have to be careful about books with animals. Sometimes they can just be too sad. I like to avoid those ones.

A client had so thoughtfully brought me a book to read, and that is A Dog’s Purpose, making me smile from the first page.  This book is written from a dog’s point of view and follows the emotional story of this dog’s many lives. It is laughable and just plain fun.  We start out as a pup born of a feral mother and the consequences and hardship of that short life.  Then onto another life that starts out rough but he soon finds a family with a young boy and they become tightly bonded. Where I am at now, boy and dog are lost in the woods and I have yet to find out what happens!

Tune in next week for an update, or better yet, get the book and follow along. You won’t be disappointed!

After spending years in India working the teak forests there was a war going on nearby the village.  They were taken over by militants that wanted to use the elephants for war and to travel over a mountain that was felt to be impassable!  Using Bram for his knowledge of the elephants, they traveled through the mountains which was very difficult for the animals that were used to the plush forests. This area was hot, rocky and had little water and food. Many elephants perished on this journey and as they neared the top, war planes came over and started shooting!  Modoc was hit before running for cover. The militant leader was killed and after resting for a while, they continued on to the village over the pass.  Here was a makeshift hospital where they were to recover and Bram and Mo survived again! But the bad news – Mr. North, the buyer of the circus animals was there. He had finally found Modoc and Bram.  He realized that the two needed to stick together so offered him a job with the circus in New York.

Another trip at sea for months, although this time everything went well and the circus was a hit! Everyone loved Modoc.  Bram had to teach her something unique that would show how special of an animal she was.  He actually taught her a routine for the ring where she would perform without him. It was unheard of for an animal to perform without a trainer, but he did it with music cues and of course it was a huge success.  She really was a special animal.  Since Bram wasn’t hiding from Mr. North anymore, he was able to write home in Germany and let his family and friends know he was okay. A couple of them came out and ended up working at the circus with him.

All of a sudden many of the elephants started getting sick. There was about 30 elephants in the circus and they all started having the same symptoms.  Many died but the poison was finally identified and a treatment was found and Modoc survived again!

One night a drunk ex-circus performer got into the elephant enclosure and went on a rampage. Attacking Modoc, causing lots of damage and piercing her eye with a bull hook, she ended up killing him. Even though it was self-defense, she was labeled as a killer and Mr. North had to sell her.  She was blind in one eye, scarred from a previous fire in the circus tent and now labeled a killer! Mr. North said he would sell her to Bram because he couldn’t find a buyer. As they were travelling in different trains south towards Florida, a deal was made behind Bram’s back and when her train showed up, she wasn’t on it!  Years passed and Bram had no idea what had happened to Modoc.

Gentle Jungle Exotic Animal Rental in California needed an elephant.  Answering an ad from back east he found an elephant for cheap. As he arrived he found Modoc with a chain embedded in her leg and about 1000 pounds underweight. She was never touched or cared for as the man was afraid of her.  Bringing her back to California, they brought her back to health and realized she must have been famous at one point in her life because when they turned on circus music, she did a routine all by herself!  Bram and his wife Gertie had been traveling the country trying to find a place to work with animals. They stumbled across the place that had Modoc and they found each other again!  Bram stayed on and worked with the company and had many great years.

All good things must come to an end. In their 70′s Bram passed away and Modoc did soon afterwards.  This wonderful animal had saved so many people in her lifetime and had so many adventures that it seems unreal.  The man who rescued Modoc from her miserable situation back east is the one that wrote the book about her. I hope you enjoyed the story.

**Elephant Fact**  Each elephant’s ear is unique and is used as a type of fingerprint for identification

Modoc and Bram had been at sea for about 3 days.  A handful of other shipmates were with them, all using Modoc’s ability to float to stay alive.  As long as the tip of her trunk was above the water she would be okay.  Finally! A small rescue boat comes to save them but is unfortunately to small to tug Modoc along with them. Another storm was on the way, and towing Modoc would cause them to get stuck in the storm. Bram refused to leave Modoc and stayed behind as the others all left him.  A day or two later a large ship came and rescued them just as they had given up hope and were ready to accept their fate.

Ending up in Calcutta, India, they couldn’t have come to a better place. The Elephantarium had an elephant hospital and they quickly learned of the incredible bond between Modoc and Bram.  After weeks of recovery they were doing really well.  Bram so loved this place with all the elephants and had met many wonderful people.

Eventually he had heard that Mr. North, who had bought the circus back in Germany, had heard about the rescue at sea and would stop at nothing to find Modoc and punish Bram for stealing his elephant!  As much as he loved this place he had been living at, he knew he had to leave so that Mr. North could not find him and Modoc.  With the help and direction of the people he had met there, they went walking for months and months. At one point they were surrounded by bandits that tried stealing Modoc.  Bram was able to witness Modoc’s extreme strength and dedication to him. Incredibly, they survived that attack, although the bandits did not.  Doing odd jobs and helping people with the labor that Modoc could give, he survived the journey and made his way north to the teak forest where he wanted to get a job.

As he made a home with the people of the village that worked the teak forest, ‘he realized, maybe for the first time, that he had given his life to an elephant. Warm and wonderful as Modoc was, she was still an elephant. He had forsaken all.  His mother, the girl he loved, everything for Mo.’  He realized at this point that he needed to contact them so they knew he was alive. He had to use extreme caution though, as to not give his whereabouts so Mr. North wouldn’t be able to find him and Mo.

next week will be the finishing of the book, chapters 28-41

**Elephant Fact**     Because the elephant foot has underside soft cushions, elephants can walk almost noiselessly. A walking elephant has a speed of about 5.5 mi (9 km) per hour and it “runs” with a speed of 25 mi (40 km) per hour, faster than the most rapid human athletes, despite their huge size. Elephants living in the forest are sedentary, but those in dry places migrate, traveling up to 500 km (300 mi).

I first read this book about 10 years ago and it has become my favorite book. I even have named my Sulcata tortoise Modoc. It’s those back legs of the tortoise, that look like elephant legs!

The story starts on a small farm in Germany with a boy (Bram) and an elephant (Modoc) born in the same hour of the same day. Thus a connection is born. The book does not mention dates but I am thinking this is the late 1800′s or very early 1900′s. Bram’s father, Josef, is an elephant trainer for a circus. He understands using methods of kindness and affection for training instead of brute force and will pass this info along to his son to follow in his footsteps as he had learned from his father before him. 

The babies grew quickly, with Modoc maturing more rapidly than Bram.  At five years of age, Bram was 4 feet tall and 45 lbs and Modoc was 5 feet tall and 1000 lbs. At ten years, Bram was 5 feet tall and 70 lbs and Modoc was 8 feet tall and 3500 lbs. They were inseperable and had an understanding of each other.

At one time when Bram was young, Josef awoke to find Modoc racing back and forth at the front door, trumpeting as if being possessed and had even snapped her leg chain in the barn to carry on like this. Josef ran upstairs and found Bram bathed in sweat, delirous.  Bram had a virus, that if not rushed to the hospital, he might not have survived. No one can explain how Modoc knew the Bram was in danger, but she can be credited for saving his life.

When Bram was 16 years old, it was found out that the circus was being sold to an American and that did not include the circus hands. He was beside himself with worry about what was to become of Modoc. How could they be seperated after all this time? Also at this time Josef became very ill.  His last wish to Bram was for him to take care of Modoc, that they belonged together.  So Bram uses his instinct like an animal would and  follows Modoc, becoming a stowaway on the ship sailing to America.

While crossing the Indian Ocean the unexpected happens – a hurricane!  The elephants are chained down below and the other circus animals are elsewhere on the ship.  There was a cannon stored in the same compartment as the elephants and with all the swaying and brutality from the storm, it is eventually ripped free of its chains. As the cannon is rolling back and forth and water is up to the elephants knees, Bram frees them from their chains so they can have a chance at surviving this fiasco. Eventually the cannon tears a hole in the side of the ship and the water comes pouring in.  Bram is in the open ocean getting hit by debris, trying to find something to grasp onto.  His thoughts go to Modoc, hoping she will die without pain.

What will happen next? Tune in next week, March 9th for the next installment. Or better yet, get the book and read along! Next week will be chapters 15-27.

**Elephant Fact**  They are extremely intelligent animals and have memories that span many years.  They also display signs of grief, joy, anger and play.