She had a tail when we started. Now she does not.

When we started this book, my dog had a tail. By the time we finished it, she had none.

A book takes you on a journey. It is a physically safe journey. You can put the book down and stop the journey. This is not at all like real life. When living, there is no stopping the journey of life and picking it up later. When life's journey stops, it does not allow the option to unstop.

Much like real life, this book contains some surprises. I read this book out loud to the kids. (No trial in the kitchen was needed...this time. See the blog post about "The Education of Ivy Blake" for an explanation of sorts.) Was it the situation with our dog or the book itself, which caused tears? Maybe both?

Then the final question. What happened to my dog's tail? We have guesses, but no certain answers. She was let out of the house to go to the bathroom. I walked away from the door. I heard her cry. My husband ran to the front door. He saw noting. No dog. No humans. No animals (think bear/deer/etc.). No car or ATV. Quiet. I was at the deck and equally saw the same nothing. But her tail was not wagging and she did not want to go back outside. She had a few scratches on her ear and the side of her face. The tail required emergency amputation surgery.

As always, visit your library, borrow a copy from a friend, buy a second hand copy of this book (which is what I did), if you can. Sometimes books are hard to come by. Here is the link to the book: