Where the Lost Dogs Go

A New York Times–bestseller’s “inspiring” memoir of animal search and rescue work alongside her shelter dog “will resonate with pet lovers everywhere.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

In Where the Lost Dogs Go, Susannah Charleson, author of Scent of the Missing dives headlong into the world of missing dogs. The mission to reunite lost pets with their families starts with Susannah’s own shelter rescue, Ace, a plucky Maltese mix with a mysterious past who narrowly survived months wandering lost. While Susannah formally studies animal behavior, lost-pet search tactics, social media strategies, and the psychology of loss, Ace also steps up for training. Cheerful and resourceful, Ace has revealed a nose for the scent of lost pets, and together they help neighbors and strangers in their searching.

In Where the Lost Dogs Go, readers take to the streets beside Susannah to bring home a host of missing pets. Along the way, Susannah finds a part of herself also lost. And when unexpected heartbreak shatters her own sense of direction, it is Ace—the shelter dog that started it all—who leads Susannah home. Inquisitive, instructive, heartrending, and hopeful, Where the Lost Dogs Go pays tribute to the missing dogs—and to the found—and to the restless space in between.

“A moving memoir about lost dogs and their often equally lost humans.” —Cat Warren, author of What the Dog Knows

“Riveting.” —Patricia B. McConnell, author of The Education of Will and For the Love of a Dog

“Moving and profound, Charleson's book affirms the special human-animal connection and fully celebrates the healing powers of forgiveness and love.” —Kirkus Reviews