Second Chance: How Adoption Saved a Boy With Autism and His Shelter Dog: Blog Tour

Second Chance is a touching story of a boy with autism and his shelter dog Chance. I liked the story itself and the idea of this book and I believe you can never have too many adoption books in your home library if your family is formed by adoption. However, for me there were slight narrative problems that detracted from the overall effect of the book. I applaud the author for choosing this topic matter and would still recommend this book to parents of children with special needs. However, I personally found the dog as narrator to be grating and, an unfortunate choice.  The author Sandra Gerencher was a special education teacher in the public school system and she adopted a son with autism. Gerencher has worked and rescued several dogs from certain death in high kill shelters. Chance is adopted by the author and her son and this is the story of how that came about. Chance is a puppy who gets a second chance when he is taken to the boy’s home to meet the many other dogs already living there.The adoption of this dog is a catalyst to talk further about themes of adoption, loss and second chances. I think the most compelling and interesting plot here is a bigger picture story, that is really just touched on here. The use of animals as service dogs and helpers has become a growing phenomenon that isn’t being fully explored right now in research or in non fiction. Chance is an example of the many ways in which animals positively impact children who are disabled, abused or traumatized. There is much anecdotal evidence that adopting an animal into a home where a child has been adopted or is being fostered, makes a great difference emotionally to the stability of the child. And dogs like Chance can be excellent candidates for bridging traumas children have gone through, similarly they can be effective therapy dogs or cats. For me personally, I think this story might have worked better and been more effective as a tool for change had it been written as a non fiction story straight up in reportorial style without the gimmicks. As it is, it’s difficult to take a dog narrator seriously. Second Chance is $12.95 and a portion of the price goes to the Humane Society.