Fascinating Authors

Book Review
by
John H. Manhold

Wagging Tales: Every Animal Has a Tale by Tim Link

ISBN 9781934572146,  Emerald Book Company,  Hardcover, 216 pages, $16.95

I was provided with a 199 page paperback ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) of Tim Link’s book and discovered it to be an unusual narrative, in some ways reminiscent of stories about Horse Whisperers. It consists of a series of tales about his encounters with numerous cats and dogs, usually at the request of their owners. The animals were missing or had developed unusual procedural activities that the humans found to be worrisome or unacceptable.

The author was called in because of his ability to be able to communicate with these various household pets. According to the incidents recounted, Tim Link has discovered that he can ‘talk’ with animals to learn where they might be, if missing, or what problems they are having that cause them to diverge from their accustomed behavioral patterns.

I found much of the material repetitive, but understandably so, considering the subject and the confining nature of the investigative efforts.The remarkable fact, however, was that the author  actually seems to have an ability to communicate with dogs and cats that is similar to that exhibited by a child I had known several years ago and, of course, by Dr.  Doolittle.

A particular fact of interest is the amount of material I learned about dealing with dogs and cats that provided answers to questions I had encountered in years past with  behavioral changes in animals I had owned.

This book is not for everyone. However, it does provide answers to questions about animal behavior for the occasional pet owner, and should be of particular interest to the real ‘pet lover’.