Many, but not all, humans form extremely close relationships with their canine companions and will have to learn how to negotiate and balance feelings of deep, unyielding love with the trials and tribulations—the inevitable ups and downs—of falling in love and experiencing deep pain when thinking about and experiencing the loss of these extremely special dog beings.1 Thankfully, now there’s an excellent go-to guide for everyone who will go through (or has gone through) this extremely difficult cycle of life and death, namely, Dr. Michelle Slater’s Soulmate Dog. This seminal book will move people all over the world, and that is why I am so glad to have read it. It also made me think about the five love languages applied to our canine companions.

All in all, Michelle meticulously explains what to expect as you lose a dog. It is a deeply heartwarming and revealing love story of her extraordinary relationship with her animal companion, Brady, along with being a philosophical examination of the special relationship between humans and dogs and an exploration of the expanding field of modern integrative veterinary medicine. She seamlessly and gently takes readers through the messiness of grieving the loss of a beloved canine companion. Here’s what Michelle had to say about her landmark book.

I wrote Soulmate Dog because I felt the lessons that I learned from the extraordinary experiences I shared with my German shepherd companion Brady were important to share with readers. Our relationship shed light in new ways on the relationship between non-human animals and humans from a communication perspective, and his medical experiences were revolutionary for veterinary studies. Three of Brady’s veterinarians urged me to write Soulmate Dog,........

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