Dog Gone

April 25, 2016
The latest from Toutonghi (Evel Knievel Days) tells the story of Gonker, a golden retriever who goes missing on a hike with his owner, the author’s brother-in-law. Toutonghi explains that he felt the need to tell the story on behalf of his wife’s family, as he felt the deep connection Gonker had to the family, a defining connection that forged a link between his mother-in-law and brother-in-law. The search for Gonker brings the family closer emotionally, and when the story of Gonker’s disappearance makes it to the AP newswire, the outpouring of concern from total strangers helps restore the family’s faith in humankind as well. More a commentary on human nature, family dynamics, and past sorrows than a standard lost-dog story, the book uses Gonker’s disappearance to explore the gamut of human emotions that family relationships can exude.

May 1, 2016
A lost dog and the family who strived to find him.For anyone who's ever connected with a pet, the loss of the animal can be devastating. Gonker was a golden retriever with a serious illness, Addison's disease. If he didn't receive a hormone shot on a monthly basis, he would die. So when he took off into the woods along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail, his owner, Fielding Marshall, was naturally distraught. Toutonghi (English/Lewis & Clark Coll.; Evel Knievel Days, 2012, etc.) retells the family story about the days spent searching for Gonker. He also provides an incredible amount of back story to this tale, starting with Fielding's mother, Virginia, her childhood, and the dog she loved as a young girl. Because she was so deeply invested in her own dog and mourned his untimely death for years, when Virginia found out Gonker was missing, she set up a command station in her home and contacted practically anyone she could think of in a massive radius around the area where Gonker had gone missing. Fortunately, her efforts paid off, and Gonker was discovered just in time. Just as prominent as the story about Gonker are the reflections and memories of Virginia's alcoholic mother and the abuse she suffered by her hand, the dogs she owned as an adult, and the fears and concerns she had about raising her young family. These are coupled with Fielding's own childhood moments with his sister, his young adulthood, a broken heart, and an undiagnosed illness. Like many family stories, the writing meanders far and wide, and its impact may be more important to the family than to readers. However, the author shows the deep respect and love a family can have toward a faithful, friendly canine companion. Honest reflections on a beloved dog that went missing and the frantic search to find him. For more universally interesting dog stories, turn to Jon Katz.

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May 15, 2016

The simple premise of this book from Toutonghi (English, Lewis & Clark Coll.; Evel Knievel Days) is a dog's disappearance and the astonishing lengths his family goes to in order to bring him home. It's more than a rescue tale, however. Fielding Marshall is in college when he adopts Gonker, a golden retriever. Marshall is figuring out what he wants in life, has a troubled romantic interest, and is struggling with parental pressure to sort it all out. Gonker offers unconditional acceptance and is a lifeline for Marshall. When Gonker contracts Addison's disease, which requires vital monthly medication, his prognosis looks good until he vanishes during a hike with Marshall along the Appalachian Trail hundreds of miles from home. Despite strained relationships, the family comes together in a powerful way to support one another and save this endearing dog who will die without medication. The mother rallies an entire region to help find the animal, the father searches with his son, and a community responds. VERDICT This book offers a poignant reminder of the important role dogs often fill as they help their human companions traverse difficult life passages.--Gloria Drake, Oswego P.L. Dist., IL

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Gonker, a golden retriever mix, was hiking the Appalachian Trail with his owner, Fielding Marshall, when he darted off the trail. Hours later, he still hadn't returned. This tale of a lost pet roams backward and forward in time, as Toutonghi (Evel Knievel Days, 2012) portrays Gonker's family, from Fielding's mother, Virginia, who suffered abuse at the hands of her alcoholic mother, to Peyton, Fielding's sister and Toutonghi's wife, who plays in a punk band, and Fielding himself, a lost soul who adopted puppy Gonker after his girlfriend left him. The search for Gonker, who had Addison's disease (requiring a monthly shot to keep him alive) is sensitively told. While Virginia calls every animal hospital, pound, police department, and any other organization she can think of, Fielding and his father, John, put up fliers, talk to hikers and hunters, and end up on an AP news feed. In empathetic and engaging prose, Toutonghi reveals how deeply the dog's disappearance affected his entire human family, and, in a larger sense, how a family works. And yes, there is a happy ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)