Rita Reynolds, internationally known pet expert and editor of la Joie, says:
Nowadays bookstores are full of books about animals. Ten years ago this was not the case. Sometimes there would be a Nature section but nothing about dogs, cats, or other companion animals. Some stores had pitiful partial-shelf space with a handful of titles. Finding a volume with really good animal stories was a challenge. Now everything from Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul to the outstanding books by Susan Chernak McElroy are everywhere, offering us inspiration and joy, giving us insight and inspiration about the world of animals.
Add another one to your shelf without delay: Pet Tales, written by Reverend Lowell D. Streiker, Ph.D. and illustrated with outrageously wonderful cartoons by Ron Rush. Quite likely you will want to keep this book at close hand, because it will make you laugh ‘til you weep. And, just plain weep for the beauty of the experience, as in the section regarding seven horses supporting the author’s friend, Rev. Ralph Roth in the burial of Rev. Roth’s beloved Beagle, Brandy. Without doubt the entire book will have you nodding vigorously in agreement with everything the author relates.
A view into the life-with-animals of Dr. Streiker and his wife, Connie, Pet Tales keeps the reader happily turning pages from the very beginning, past the author’s retirement from the ministry to the present, with his own family scattered geographically, but the animals always at hand: “…always with us; “ he writes, “loving, demanding, giving and taking, always….”
Throughout the book his and Connie’s philosophy regarding all life offers a personal spiritual practice without being invasive. From the beginning he states “If one were to be asked to describe my story in a single word, that word would be “symbiosis,” the intimate living together of dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial relationship…Each animal fulfilled many deep needs in us and we in them. We benefited each other. We cherished each other. We rescued each other.”
Pet Tales is simply a grand book, just large enough to entice you to grab a moment in between chores to relax. But beware before you know it, you will have read at least half way through it and still have a difficult time remembering there is anything else in your life needing to be done. And that’s certainly part of the joy of this volume. It holds you lovingly with laughter, gratitude, wonderment, and awe, regarding the creatures who decorate the author’s life, and ours.
Author Robert M. Rock, president of the prestigious Shasta County Writers’ Forum, observes:
Not another one of those cute pet books!
But knowing the author as a discriminating individual, I decided to try it. It was a pleasant surprise. There’s plenty in it that is cute - but I hasten to add, it is genuinely cute. You’ll meet Cuddles - not only meet her, but see her, for the many quick-stroke sketches by Ron Rush add a dimension to the book which is thoroughly enjoyable.
But, as entertaining as these Pet Tales are, this is more than just about pets. It’s also a book about people, and how they relate and how they are affected by their pets. I might add it is also a condensed autobiography since the author reveals poignant vignettes about his own life and that of his family which truly touch the heart. I’ve said many times, I can tell when I’ve picked up a good book - if it’s one that makes me cry. Well, I didn’t break down and sob, but I did moisten - and that’s good enough for me.
If you want an excellent diversion from the cares of the day, a book you can pick up and read off and on, or straight-through, this is certainly one of them. It’s even good for lowering your blood pressure, because it is definitely a relaxant. I highly recommend it.
Incidentally, for a quick read about the author look at the back cover, having appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show, and having been asked to advise the White House are no small potatoes.