American author W. Bruce Cameron published a children's book in 2017 titled A
Dog's Way Home. It centers on Bella, an anthropomorphic dog who resides with her
family in an abandoned structure. Lucas finds Bella and decides to adopt and raise her.
After being taken by animal control, Bella sets out on a journey over hundreds of miles
to find her owner. She encounters many people in her corner along the way, some who
want to prevent her from seeing Lucas again. The book demonstrates how virtues and
supportive relationships like compassion and companionship can overcome neglect,
abuse, and separation. Bella is first introduced as a mutt living in an abandoned
building's crawlspace with her mother, siblings, and dog. Bella is neither aggressive nor
predatory, despite the fact that humans frequently assume because they think Bella is a
pit bull that she must be. When a nearby property developer announces plans to
demolish the building to make way for new construction, Bella's house is put in jeopardy.
The developer must first remove the building's cat colony. When Lucas, a medical
student working at the neighborhood hospital for veterans, finds out about the plan, he
tries to defend the cats. Before the animals are hurt or sent to kill shelters, he and
Audrey go to the building and try to get the animals to leave. Lucas and Bella become
friends right away after the meeting. Lucas makes the decision to keep Bella as a pet.
She also visits the hospital for veterans and consoles the patients there. Unfortunately,
not every cat in Bella's former home escapes before the building is torn down. While
Gunter, the demolition manager, opposes Lucas' efforts to halt the project until they are
safely removed, he nevertheless tries. Gunter reports Bella to animal control after their
violent altercation. Although he knows that Bella is not a pit bull, he still claims that she
is in order to get the police to get her. In order to get Bella taken away, he even pays the
responding officer, Chuck, to confirm that she is a pit bull. Bella is taken by animal
control to the pound. Bella is snuck out of the house by Wayne and Olivia, Lucas's friend
from high school. Bella is temporarily placed with a foster family while Lucas and his
mother seek a new place where pit bulls are permitted.
I really enjoyed Bella and Lucas’s relationship and their connection. The things
that Lucas would do so Bella could recover from her past were very wholesome. Also
when Bella lost her way back home while chasing a squirrel, I never thought about the
adventures that she would have. Parts that I particularly did not really enjoy was when
Bella just kept on disappearing. Never really staying at the place where everyone makes
her feel welcomed and comfortable. Those were the parts where I didn’t really enjoy
because it made me feel nerve wracking, thinking that she’s going to get in a tricky
situation. I feel like this book was a perfect book to read because it had a great amount
of everything. I would also recommend you to watch the movie after reading the book
as a reward for yourself.

Check out A Dog's Way Home from NBPL!