I started reading this book a while ago, but had to put it down when deadlines hit me. Recently I was clearing out around/under/beside my bed, and I “found” it (Please tell me I’m not the only one). I have been enjoying light fiction lately (life is heavy enough, you know?), so I picked it up and finished it.
Lawyer for the Dog is a story about yes — a dog who gets a lawyer — but there’s a lot more to it than that. Sally Baynard’s ex-husband is the judge in a divorce case where the two parties are most contentious over the dog Sherman. They can’t agree on anything, and since the dog can’t speak for himself, the judge appoints counsel Sally to represent the dog’s best interests. Is he doing this because he wants an excuse to spend with Sally? Because he never stopped wondering “what if”? Maybe.
And Sally — does she accept the case because she wonders the same? Perhaps.
Things get a little more complicated when Sally finds herself interested in Sherman’s vet who is also a witness. But then again, Sally is used to complicated. She enjoys her work, even if many of her clients’ lives are trainwrecks. Her mother is living with her, and that’s getting more difficult as her mental deterioration continues. She promised her she’d never put her in a home, but would her mother even know any different?
Having helped care for my grandmother as she became less and less mentally stable, it was this storyline that really resonated with me. Author Lee Robinson (herself an attorney) must also have experience with dementia or Alzheimer’s, because the characterizations — of both the caregiver and the patient — were spot o.
Robinson’s second novel Lawyer for the Cat just came out, and I think I’ll be getting to it soon.