Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin

The book I am reviewing is a nonfiction book about a rescue Pitbull named Oogy. I found this book to be very touching, heartwarming, and inspirational. I would most definitely recommend this book.

Synopsis: This book is about a rescue Pitbull named Oogy. The book starts out with the rescue of Oogy by Larry Levin in 2002. He first meets Oogy when he is putting his cat Buzzy to sleep at the Ardmore Animal Hospital outside Philadelphia. Oogy had been in a dog fight and was missing half an ear and had half his face covered in scar tissue. He had been used as bait for fighting dogs.

The Levins: Larry, his wife, Jennifer, and his adopted twin sons Dylan and Noah, rescued Oogy and gave him a new home. The book ends with his sons graduating high school and going to college and Oogy remaining at home as a member of the family.

Review:
After reading this book, I found several themes that stood out to me:
The first theme was of adversity and survival and hope.
“Oogy embodies courage in the face of adversity, love, and dignity on the other side of terror. He reminds people that there is hope in the presence of despair.”
What this means to me is that we will all face things in life that challenge us and have difficulties, but there is always something to hope for, and each person has resilience and an inner sense of courage and bravery to survive the seemingly impossible.
“They will see in front of them living proof that the most agonizing and horrific events can be overcome without any lasting damage to the spirit, without harm to the ability to give and receive love.”
The second theme that stood out to me was the responsibility of being a pet owner to make their pet’s life the best it can possibly be.
“It has always been my belief that a pet owner has a special responsibility to do everything that can be done to make the pet’s life as fulfilling and peaceful as possible.”
I wholeheartedly agree with this and feel this sentiment with my own cat to make his life as peaceful as possible.
The final theme that stood out to me was the theme of what it means to be a good father.
“As it turns out, the only way how to be a father is to become one.”
I also agree with this and feel that this also applies to other things in life such as one’s career, that none of us is born knowing how to do certain things but you learn over time.