Why this book exists
I didn't want to keep it to myself.
For fifteen years I worked the floor of a county shelter. Kennel tech first, then adoption counselor. I have watched that moment at the kennel door more times than I can count: a family leaning in, a dog leaning away, and nobody in the room reading it.
Most of those dogs were not bad dogs. They were dogs doing dog things in a house built for people. The people had simply never been shown what to look for. The ears. The mouth. The way a tail moves, not whether it moves.
I'm not a vet. I teach high-school shop now and still volunteer on Saturdays. What I have is years of watching, and a French Bulldog named Milo who still catches me out. Those years sat in my head doing nobody any good, so I wrote them down. One move per page. One red line to remember. No lecture, no hype.
This is the guide I wish somebody had handed every family at that door. Read it tonight. Then go sit with your dog for ten minutes. You will see it.
George Harlan, with Milo
