A Dog Story: The Life of a Mighty Beast and a Best Friend

My name is Jim Rodgers, and I have had a very interesting life. My wife left me with two small children (one who had been devastated by spinal meningitis) to go to California and chase a life of drugs and alcohol. I was forced to pick up the pieces and raise my children alone, which I did for 10 years before remarrying. In spite of being a single dad and a full-time high school English teacher with two kids, I felt like my family was incomplete, and I decided my kids needed a big dog, and so I bought Conan, a huge Bullmastiff, when he was four weeks old. After a near-death struggle with e-coli, Conan would change our lives in ways I could never have imagined during his 12 years with us, and my book tells how that happened. More than that, it tells the story of a single father and former college All-American football player trying to raise his kids (and 2 dogs and even a rescued cat) alone while teaching high school English full time. I think it’s a story that many people would relate to, including pet owners, single parents, people with families, teachers, teens, and anyone who has faced adversity in life. I wrote the book as a tribute of sorts to my dog, but it’s really the story of how pets can complete a family, even one that’s been devastated.