A Dog Year

The Story of a Maladjusted Therapist and the Homeless Shih Tzus That Rescued Her

By: Allison Hilborn-Tatro

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The obsessively controlled world of a high-strung therapist begins to come apart when she inherits a pair of old, neurotic Shih Tzus.

Ever since getting sober a few years ago, Allison Hilborn-Tatro has been dedicated to achieving what she calls "radical stability" in her life. She’s up before five each morning and asleep by nine every night. Her days as a family therapist and mother to one good-natured Labradoodle are orchestrated down to the minute, with little room for anything unexpected to barge in and knock her off the wagon.

That is, until the death of a neighbor she barely knew leaves her in possession of his two orphaned Shih Tzus. Not long after Coco and Nikki arrive at her door, Allison can feel her white-knuckled grip on her own existence start to slip. At first, her furry new wards demand more space in her life - and in her bed - than Allison’s willing to make for them. Before long, Coco and Nikki have not only barged into her tightly wound world, they’ve taken over. But instead of knocking her off the wagon, as she feared, they just might set her free.

Irreverent, honest, and utterly life affirming, A Dog Year reveals the ways in which a dog’s love can avail us to parts of ourselves we didn’t know were there. All the while Allison thought she was rescuing Coco and Nikki, she never expected they would be the ones saving her.

©2019 Allison Hilborn-Tatro (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

Critic reviews

“Allison Hilborn-Tatro is a fresh, funny, wrenchingly honest writer. I fell head over heels in love with A Dog Year.” (Gayle Brandeis, award-winning author)

"Bringing a rescue into our lives can be messy, and sometimes their quirks and needs can feel like too much, but what we find in Allison Hilborn-Tatro’s hilarious and vulnerable debut memoir, “A Dog Year,” is that by allowing a pet and rescue into our lives and our hearts, we can fix our own." (Guy Winch, PhD, author of How to Fix a Broken Heart) 

"Dog rescuer finds herself rescued by the dogs she adopts. Is there anything truer? A Dog Year is a treat." (Seth Casteel, bestselling author of Underwater Dogs)

A charming and endearing tale.

This is a beautiful listen that unveils a tender story of survival and growth, for human and canine. Anyone who has dearly loved and felt changed by a dog, will greatly appreciate this story. Well worth your time.

Rescue dogs rescue their new owner

Allison Hilborn-Tatro was 32, a recovering alcoholic, a working therapist, and owner of a goldendoodle named Buddha when one of her neighbors, Catherine, comes by with the news that another neighbor, Dennis, has died. The three all frequented the same dog park, and Dennis's two shih tzus, Nikki and Coco, are now orphans. His sister-in-law who is local can't take two more dogs. His sister in Texas would, but Nikki is in poor health and would probably not survive the flight. The family doesn't want them to wind up in the pound, which would be scary for them, and where two elderly shih tzus wouldn't be adopted. Can Allison take them?

She says yes.

She's almost immediately convinced she's made a terrible mistake. These two ridiculous little purse dogs will disrupt her tightly controlled life. Yet, she can't let them go to the pound.

She'll just have to make sure they don't disrupt her tightly controlled life.

When she meets with the local family to take the dogs, their food, and their medications, she discovers that Coco is on medication for epilepsy. That includes Dennis's late wife's dilantin. She finds this disturbing, and she's right. Dilantin isn't used in canine medicine.

The dogs are overweight, and due to Dennis's illness and death, they haven't been groomed or walked in a couple of months. They use pee pads, something Allison is determined to cure them of since she has a securely fenced yard for them to use.

She is determined not to love these dogs. News flash: These are shih tzus. Shih tzus have two missions in life, letting you know that someone is at the door, and being loved. I have lots of complaints about shih tzus, but they're all about the breeding that has given them abnormally short skulls and flat faces. That's what's responsible for the "cute" snoring and snorting, which indicate real difficulty in breathing. Having breathing my difficulties myself, I don't find it cute; it makes me sad for the dog. But darn it, they are really good at the "you will love me" thing. If you are a normal human being, and also not badly allergic to dogs, once you become the focus of a shih tzus attention, you will fall in love with that dog. You can't help it.

Allison thinks of herself as much improved from her time as a recovering alcoholic. Her tight control of her orderly life is in fact that of a woman who has stopped the alcohol and drugs, but hasn't learned to trust herself. She's closed herself off from people and from life. Coco and Nikki do, in fact, completely disrupt her orderly life, and it terrifies her, and it's exactly what she needs.

She sets about getting the dogs clean, getting their ear infections cured, their medications adjusted to what's really appropriate for these little dogs. They need to lose weight, and she transitions them to a better diet. She makes the classic mistake of thinking that Coco and Nikki should understand her explanations that they need to keep their toys in the spare room she has designated as the dog room. They do learn to potty outside, because that's what Buddha does, and Allison makes sure they get out often enough during the day, and dogs are pretty good about conforming to Local Custom.

But they are not going to sleep or keep their toys in the dog room. They're going to sleep in Allison's room. End of discussion, really.

These dogs disrupt her schedule, make her do things she thought she couldn't, reconnect her with good people she's lost touch with, and open up her shut-down emotions.

The hard part of this story sadly includes one of the dogs dying of her illnesses. This is a warning for those of you for whom this is a dealbreaker: one of the dogs dies. It's extremely well-written, and heartbreaking, and it had me in tears, listening to that part.

And yet this is in the end an uplifting and hopeful story. Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

If you have ever had a dog change your life this is the book for you!

I binged this book over a weekend, it was so good. Even though the story is an autobiographical slice of the authors life - it deals with so many things that many of us can relate to. If you’ve ever had a dog that rescued you this is a must listen!

Simultaneously thought-provoking and entertaining

Allison writes with such raw honesty...this book offers a refreshing and authentic perspective on human nature. It is hilarious at just the right moments. And if you’ve ever loved a dog, this book is for you!

Incredible story! Easy read for all audiences!

This story is so good! Even my husband loves it and got teary eyed many times.

laugh out loud funny, tear your heart out moving-

Tears: tears from laughing so hard, and tears from being truly moved. Allison Hilborn-Tatro, makes you feel. Her writting is honest and relatable. I highly recommend "A Dog Year"

Unexpectedly engrossing!!!

Hilborn-Tatro’s amazing knack for story telling and insightful internal monologue turns a simple, seemingly mundane autobiographical tale of a woman who decides to adopt two dogs into a relatable, emotional, and gripping narrative. Anyone who has ever struggled with social anxiety, tried to control things that are uncontrollable, tried to neatly divide work from personal life, kept people at a distance under the guise of personal boundaries, accepted being alone, struggled with addiction, anxiety, or loneliness will instantly relate and often commiserate with Hilborn-Tatro’s story. It was filled with comedy, drama, and fearless introspection that that encouraged me to look at my own tendencies and interpersonal relationships. I look forward to more from this author and am recommending this book to all.

Loved this story!!

I couldn’t stop listening to this story of a true life person ,her journey and her dogs!! I laughed and cried over and over! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves their dogs(or any pet) or to anyone who just wants to laugh and cry and feel good!!
I hope there will be a sequel !! Great writing!!

Review for Allison Hillborn -Tatro

Beautifully written, emotionally honest, brought tears to my eyes, and by the end I was smiling. I loved this book.

You won’t regret it!

I loved this book! This is not the sort of book I normally read, but I decided to give it a try. I listened to the whole book in a single day, not wanting to stop. There were funny moments, sad moments and heartwarming moments! It was a wonderful book!

Great book!

Loved this story. So moving and a must read for any dog lover. Highly recommend

Beautifully moving

Just lost my own dog and this book gave me much wisdom and great comfort ❤️

Hooked from the start and can’t stop

Great book
Was sure to before starting but wanted to know more and love this story
I was in tears with the bit at the end about coco
So real
Great book

Touching

I stuck this on for background noise while I was working and ended up listening to the whole thing in one go. I’m not usually a crier but I ended up very invested, in tears and taking some time to feel very very grateful for my 16 year old dog. It was a lovely story.