AWAY TO ME, MY LOVE

Oklahoma horse rancher McDonald recalls her almost mystical connection to a shy border collie pup in her debut memoir.

In early childhood, McDonald coped with the frightening effects of an overbearing father and a mother suffering from mental illness. She recounts the chilling tale of how, when she was 5 years old, her father ordered a doctor not to give her a local anesthetic for stitches she needed in her forehead. When she was 7, she and her two younger brothers were taken in by her aunt. Her mother had been hospitalized after an attempted suicide and would return nine months later, but her father disappeared from her life. The psychological wounds of her childhood later haunted the author, although she married happily and become a respected trainer. Many years after first seeing a sheep herding contest, McDonald felt an overwhelming urge to add a border collie, and as it turned out, a few sheep, to her ranch. She had no idea how much she would have to learn about the rules of competitive sheep herding. Or how profound a relationship she would establish with the beautiful but very timid 9-month-old pup, Luke, who had “human-like eyes”: “I felt a sudden pulse of love so palpable it took my breath away.” Luke had been raised without training in a kennel and after what seems to have been the canine equivalent of a traumatic childhood. McDonald’s tale is infused with mystical symbolism from the beginning, when it describes how she made eye contact with a coyote. In fact, coyotes appear frequently at emotional turning points. Some readers may be put off by McDonald’s strong convictions about reincarnation, but her road to self-confidence depends heavily upon her explicit visions of an experience in a past life. Doubters notwithstanding, there is no denying that she and Luke formed an extraordinary, perhaps cosmic, connection that allowed the dog to discover his innate herding ability, and the author to appreciate her own worthiness, despite a human bully on the competitive circuit. Her informative sport-herding tidbits are a bonus.

An engaging, spiritual tale that will touch the hearts of animal lovers.