Staff Pick
In 1998, a beloved family dog disappeared on the Appalachian Trail. Dog Gone tells the true story of the pet — named Gonker — and his family's desperate attempt to get him home. But it's more than a simple story of a lost pet. In a precise, moving narrative, Toutonghi recounts the tumultuous history of Gonker's family and all its laughter, sorrow, and love. Recommended By Ryan P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The true story of a lost dog’s journey and a family’s furious search to find him before it is too late.
Saturday, October 10, 1998. Fielding Marshall is hiking on the Appalachian Trail. His beloved dog—a six-year-old golden retriever mix named Gonker—bolts into the woods. Just like that, he has vanished. And Gonker has Addison’s disease. If he’s not found in twenty-three days, he will die.
The search begins. Fielding and his father, John, are dispatched to the field. They have the family’s other dog, Uli, in tow. Combing the trails, Fielding and his father bond like never before. Fielding’s sister, Peyton, calls and talks him through some of his lowest moments. And—at home—Fielding’s mother, Virginia, sets up a command center.
Virginia becomes a field general. With a map and a phone book at her side, she contacts animal shelters, police precincts, general stores, community centers, newspapers, radio stations, churches, and park rangers. She is tireless. The local paper in Waynesboro, Virginia, writes a small story about the family’s search. The story hits the AP newswire. Tips—many of them of questionable authenticity—pour in from across the country. But as the search continues, the Marshalls realize they may not survive losing Gonker. Even as the wounds of their past return to haunt them and threaten to jeopardize everything, they know they have one mission: bring Gonker home.
With a big heart, intelligent humor, and a deft touch, Pauls Toutonghi tells this true tale of loss, love, and resilience. Dog Gone is by turns a story about how a family comes together in a crisis—and the way heroism can assert itself in the little things we do each day.
Review
"Reader, prepare to fall in love: with Gonker, a dog unlike any other I’ve ever encountered; with the Marshall family, on their quest to find him; and with Pauls Toutonghi’s achingly beautiful prose. Dog Gone does more than demonstrate the crucial and undeniable role that dogs—or any pet, for that matter—play in our lives. It illustrates the remarkable resilience of family in times of crisis. If you have ever loved and lost a pet, rest assured. You have found the book to make you whole again. Dog Gone is simply wonderful." Julie Klam, New York Times bestselling author of Love at First Bark and You Had Me at Woof
Review
"Sensitively told....In empathetic and engaging prose, Toutonghi reveals how deeply the dog’s disappearance affected his entire human family, and, in a larger sense, how a family works." Booklist
Review
"A hugely entertaining book. It’s got humor, pathos, gorgeous prose, and its details are arranged with the precision of a jeweler." Tom Bissell, author of Apostle and Extra Lives
Review
"Dogs are us before we lost our innocence. Pauls Toutonghi has captured the joy of being a dog and the joy that dogs bring to our lives. In this moving, suspenseful, elegantly written story, he explores how a dog can be a loom that weaves together many souls into a beautiful fabric." Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of 77 Shadow Street and A Big Little Life
About the Author
Pauls Toutonghi is a first-generation American. He has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, and he has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, Granta, Tin House, and numerous other periodicals. He lives in Oregon, where he teaches at Lewis & Clark College.