Here's what LIBRARY JOURNAL noted about this book on June 1, 2005.

HUGO, LYNNE  Where the Trail Grows Faint: A year in the Life of a Therapy Dog Team. Univ. of Nebraska 2005. 140p. ISBN 0-8032--2432-X. $22. PETS. Poet and novelist Hugo (Swimming Lessons) here shares insights she gained through the nursing home visits she made with her therapy dog, Hannah, a chocolate Labrador Retriever obtained from a rescue organization.  As Hannah's exuberance relaxes the residents and encourages their communication, Hugo learns of nursing home life's unhappy aspects: loneliness, loss of autonomy and control, and diminishing personal financial resources.  She also witnesses the problems that long-term care facilities face, including inadequate, and sometimes uncaring, staff and low wages.  To maintain her perspective after each visit, she and Hannah hike along a forest trail.  Intertwined and juxtaposed in this account are Hannah's vibrancy and the renewal of the forest with the decline of both the elderly and Hugo's own parents.  Beautiful in its use of language and unsettling in its observations, this story was the worthy recipient of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize.  Recommended not only for dog lovers interested in learning more about the training and accomplishments of a therapy dog, but also for nurses, social workers, gerontologists and anyone facing the prospect of long term care for aging parents.  Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib. Garden City. NY

To read an excerpt from the book, click on the following link:

TRAIL EXCERPT