If you love dogs, DO NOT WATCH.
935784
If you love wiener dogs (or any dogs for that matter), absolutely DO NOT watch this movie. Very dark and disturbing ending. I'll just leave it at that.
269374
This was wretched for me. I really disliked it, I love chihuahua and well the horrid obnoxious woman in the cute dog did not make the woman less annoying just spoiled the dog for me. I wouldn't recommend, even though it is probably geared to a younger audience... The acting was terrible. I didn't last 15 minutes I don't think. :*( I wanted a cute chichi movie.
2748030
I was turned off immediately by the violence. Nothing like an animated swearing dog being mistreated by man to make a bad movie.
1977767
I made the mistake of renting this and watched a few minutes -- only to discover with a little online cruising that I should have done ahead of time that two horses were killed in the making of the movie. I didn't watch any further.  Who can consider being entertained by any movie knowing animals were tortured and killed during the making of it?  It's nauseating and disgusting.
91684
Firstly, this film contains a sickening number of animals' corpses being used as props: skinned and gutted sheep hoisted on poles, a man reclining on the corpse of a bovine, the carcass of a pig used to carry cement, an tree filled with the corpses of chickens. Furthermore, there is actual on-screen animal abuse. They blow-up parts of the set with live toads on it like some deranged 12-year-old, and there is a possible real dog fight. Apparently, this director wasn't intelligent enough to get across the brilliant message that "corporations, the government, and organized religion are bad, man" without killing and abusing animals. This movie goes beyond ordinary pretentiousness, taking it to a callous level. I would not have paid t watch this movie if I had known that it contained animal abuse, and it should have a disclaimer.
4113214
This movie was depressing and horrible.  I don't see anything entertaining about watching a dog be abused and neglected and then die tragically at the end.  What a really sick disgusting mind the writer and producer of this movie must have.  The worst movie I've ever seen.
1322002
This book employs some of the most primitive antics you can imagine.  Can you imagine kneeing a dog in the chest if it tries to jump up in your lap.  This author does.  Most dogs would be psychologically scarred if you used these recommendations.  Dog training should be accomplished with love and discipline, not fear.  Don't waste you money on this book.
1410716
Thought the movi was ok until the very end. What an awful ending!!!  If your a pet owner, especially a dog lover, this is a horrible movie. If watching a dog get run over, MULTIPLE TIMES by tractor trailer trucks is supposed to be entertaining, then count me out...seriously?????!
3981284
Certainly the author is a pretentious narcissist.  He lives in Berkeley---what would you expect?  The subtitle says it all:  Reflections on the Emotional World of Dogs.  While I find the idea of acquiring pets in order to write about them a bit disturbing,  and while this is far from a scientific treatment it does have a certain sweet charm.  The guy loves his dogs.  He's convinced that they love him.  He's done a reasonable perusal of the non-scientific literature regarding animal emotions.

It's certainly not a DANGEROUS book as some of the one star folks seem to think and, if you love your dog I doubt that you'll find it boring.  If you're looking for something more serious or something which will help you understand canine emotions better, then this probably isn't for you.

Please do not pay any attention to anything the author has to say about training methods (page 125+) since he is clueless.  As happens so often in this book, the author blurs fact and opinion over and over again.

Perhaps three stars was too kind.
4963800
The hardest part of looking out for the best interest of all involved when considering the future of a dangerous animal, is making a recommendation that is best for all involved in the long run, including the decision whether to rehome a rescue due to the risk to all involved and whether than can be managed effectively for their lifetime or euthanasia.

The rescue origanization woman who left a 1 star review for the book as a personal vendetta is patently unfair and vindictive.  She openly admits laying in wait for a book, ANY book, by Ms. Peak to target her based on the reviewer's own poor decision making and assessment of a dangerous dog in earlier years.  It is NEVER OK to put others at risk in the name of "saving every dog."  If the reviewer read and gave a balanced and fair assessment of the book, perhaps knowledge would be gained that would prevent the reviewer from adopting out dogs who put humans at risk of physical injury.

There is a lot to be gleaned from the book and pet adopters are well-served to be as knowledgeable as possible when adopting a dog.  It is never a good idea to assume all rescues organizations have the skills and education to take in and adopt out, every dog they bring in.  If you encounter a rescue group with members who are so blatantly vindictive they admittedly lay in wait for opportunity, that is NOT the person whose opinion you want to trust or rely upon when assessing a dog for placement in your home.

Assess the source of your puppy as much, or more, as you assess the ability of the dog to fit into your home.  Always consider the source and much of the educational insight you need to make those decisions can be found in Ms. Peak's book herein.
4325443
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mohandas K. Gandhi

Saving Gracie tells three stories.  It begins with a raid on the puppy mill operation run by the ironically named Michael Wolf.  Once famous in the world of show dogs, Wolf became notorious when, in 2004, 337 dogs were seized from his Mike-Mar "kennel" in 2004.  Both the puppies and their parents lived in squalid conditions that would turn the stomach of any right-thinking person: 24/7 confinement in small wire cages, which were stacked 4-high - the feces from the dogs in the higher cages literally dropping on other dogs and getting caught in the mesh flooring; no ventilation in the room, leading to unbearable odors; dogs forced to breed non-stop until they were spent.  Some 2.5 million dogs are pumped out of puppy mills every year, and 4 million shelter dogs are euthanized each year.  Do the math.

The book also details the ongoing problem of puppy mills, most obvious in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a location with a high number of Amish and Menonite breeders who regard the dogs as nothing more than a crop, comparable to an ear of corn.  The standard Amish practice of shooting a dog which has reached the end of its pup-bearing life blows the lid off their bucolic image.  While Pennsylvania, where reform legislation has been enacted, is the focus of this book, other states with similar issues - Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and I'm ashamed to say Ohio - are also discussed.  The American Kennel Club, which lobbied against reform until the publicity damaged its public image, is also briefly mentioned.  If there is one weakness in the book, it is the lack of writing on the way the AKC exploits the "snob factor" in pet ownership to the detriment of both canines and their owners - all for the sake of profit.  Ultimately, pet owners have to confront their own priorities when acquiring a companion animal (a genetically "pure" breed which may have defects from inbreeding, diseases stemming from unsanitary conditions and lack of socialization versus a healthy mixed breed pup who may have been a "happy accident").  I would have liked to have seen the book discuss this issue in more detail.

Of course, the book is also about Gracie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the 132nd dog rescued from Wolf's operation.  Gracie's story runs from tragic, to heartwarming, but is ultimately cautionary.

The author, Carol Bradley, is a former newspaper reporter, which shows in her organized and highly readable prose style. This is a must read for all who care about dogs or are contemplating getting one.
365061
I should have known better.  A friend who recommended this movie also loved "Magnolia" which is probably the worst movie I have ever seen.  "A symphony of human suffering" is what he called that one.  Well, for those of us who love symphonies, this movie is, like Magnolia, in the realm of Mahler and Bruckner in length.  Unfortunately, the whole time is spent in ugliness.  There is not a moment of sublimity or beauty.
OK, I will cut the film a break for depicting the desperate and disparate circumstances of people in Mexico.  Its best quality is in showing how the impoverished situation of a young man leads to tragedy for a beautiful young model, then to a kind of redemption for a hardened criminal.  But this thing really needed an editor! There is way too much violence, to begin with.  Dog lovers are likely to walk out or turn it off in the first fifteen minutes.
At close to 150 minutes, it gets tiresome, most especially in the ludicrously illogical story of the model.  To begin with, how likely is it that the floorboard of her luxury apartment is going to collapse?  Then, when a gaping hole appears, are she and her lover really going to leave that as is, when her little (terrier) dog is running around the place?  Anyone who has a terrier knows that they are explorers and hunters.  And when the little guy finally explores the subflooring, is it really believable that his owner is not going to go ballistic until he reappears?  Gimme a break.  I am a dog lover (and terrier owner), and this movie tries to depict love for dogs only in the final segment, but the second segment is totally inconsistent with that.  It would have been easy to just show the dog, now in unfamiliar surroundings, just getting lost.  Maybe even suggest that the model is incapable of loving another human.  We don't even get that.
Important to any film is whether we care about the characters.  Here, it is difficult to say. None of the characters are ideal, and that is one kind of realism.  But it is difficult to understand the motivations of the desperate young men who get into dog-fighting; aren't there a lot of other things they could be doing?  Drug-running, gun-running, pimping?  And we never get to see much in the way of the protagonist's  affection toward the fighting dog who in a way is the center of the story.  Not even a single reservation about entering the dog in one fight after another.  Yet we are supposed to believe that he has profound feelings for his brother's wife and offers her tenderness whereas her husband is an insensitive brute.
Graphic, gratuitous violence among fighting dogs is depicted.  I had to listen on headphones because my little guy was so upset to hear the noise of dogs fighting and suffering.  There was way too much of this.
And that kind of sums up the movie--way too much of everything, including the same old story about how nasty characters, sordid circumstances, greed, lust, selfishness, ruthlessness, and, in the end, regrets and bitterness are everywhere, and that people don't work hard enough in their relationships.
Well, I don't need to be reminded of that.
Do yourself a favor and skip it.
777927
Stupid is as stupid does.  Not fun, funny, or interesting - just stupid.  I'm a "dog person", been one all my life.  Whoever wrote this movie is not a dog person.  Couldn't get through 3 minutes of idiotic dog monologue.  Stupid.
910239
Not much good to say about this book. First, if you care about dogs, Id strongly advise avoiding this book. The neglectful and condescending treatment and objectification of the dog is heart wrenching-literally. I nearly put the book down twice b/c of it. Second,  about half of the book is filled with mind-numbing dull sub stories irrelevant to the plot. And the infidelity and betrayal of several characters was distasteful, and the entitled personality of one of the main characters was nearly unbearable. The ending isn't worth suffering through the 450 pages. The interesting plot had potential, but failed to deliver.
4611327
It was good until she killed the dog.  I turned it off then. A real shame because it was excellent.  I'll be remembering the name of this director and won't be watching any more of their movies.
251784
I usually love indie films, quirky films, dark humor films, etc, and I like the actors in this movie so this had the potential for me to really like it. However, I hated this movie (which I almost never say). I hated it mostly because of the suggestion of animal cruelty. I don't even care if this is a spoiler but when she kills the man's dog by kicking it to a bloody pulp, I was disgusted & couldn't shake it. Is that entertainment? Hell NO! I finished watching the movie in hopes that it would redeem itself but it just kept getting worse. Lots of cruelty & disrespect to life in this movie & weird unnecessary mutilation type stuff. I don't recommend this movie & im sorry I watched it.
1604867
Watched maybe 5 minutes of it...animals do not maul and kill for fun, only humans do that...bad movie