Cormac: The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing

Having recently lost (and found) a cat who went missing for 21 days, I can relate to the anguish the author felt when his dog, Cormac went missing. It was especially endearing to listen to the book read by the author with his engaging southern accent. I felt transported to Fairhope, Alabama and the Over the Transom Bookstore as the author recounted his heartbreaking experience of losing his beloved pet and his struggle to reclaim him. The author has been criticized for not having his pet neutered and for not keeping it fenced in (he did however have an electronic fence). How about a neighbor who would knowingly take someone's pet to the pound after removing his identification, potentially making it difficult for him to be reunited with his owner? That should be criminal!

Sonny Brewer dedicates his heartwarming and heart-rending novel, which is based on real events, to his beloved dogs, Rex and Cormac. The cover art, a full-color photograph of Cormac, is in itself a testimony to the nature of his relationship with his pet. CORMAC took more than three years to be written, so gut-wrenching it was for Brewer to accomplish. He introduces us to his dog in this manner: "Now I think about the world's handsomest and sweetest Golden Retriever, as smart as any four-year-old child, who answers to the name, Cormac..." He goes on to describe Cormac's home in an aging farmhouse on the outskirts of Fairhope, Alabama. But Brewer's agony begins upon receiving a phone call from his house-sitter while on an extended business trip. The voice rings in his ear: "Man, your dog is missing. I can't find Cormac anywhere." Stunned by the unwelcome news, Brewer is emotionally unglued. What on earth has happened back in the sleepy town of 12,000 in Alabama? He adores his wife and two children, but Cormac has found a comfort space in his heart that deepens with each passing day. Anguish now fills that void with the realization that the dog may be dead, stolen, a runaway stray and lost to him forever. Cormac's entry into the Brewer household had been a story in itself. Having promised his wife and children a puppy, they embark on a trip to see a litter of Golden Retriever puppies. The dog's sire was known as "Rock" and the grandfather was "Bear." A reddish-brown pup had shadowed Brewer from the moment he stepped from his vehicle. As he related, "The adoption seemed fated...a ball of fur the color of Ann-Margaret's hair...between red and auburn." The family agrees on the name "King," but Brewer holds out for his favored author, Cormac McCarthy. Cormac becomes king of the household. The founder of Over the Transom Bookstore in Fairhope, Brewer spends time and money investing in rare manuscripts and first editions. The bookstore is successful, but additional funds from the sale of his debut novel will feed his family. It is well-stocked and well-known, yet sales are occasionally thin. Cormac is purchased as a family pet but becomes his master's best friend in a short time. The majority of his day is spent in quiet repose at the bookstore. Thunderstorms change quiet repose to anxious roaming. Cormac, usually docile, can turn into a terrified wanderer. The family yard has boundaries, but a young dog becomes exuberant and crosses the line. Brewer hires a company to install an electric fence, buried underground. When a line is crossed, the wire will send an impulse to shock the unwitting animal. On the fateful day that Cormac disappears, the shock waves do not work. CORMAC is a story written by a deeply artistic soul. Brewer's personal anguish over the loss of his dog runs throughout his written pages. The reader feels his pain, panic and depression when his real trial begins: the business of recovering Cormac, if possible. He is a man with a mis

"CORMAC, the tale of a dog gone missing," is a truly great book for anyone who has owned or been around a special dog and friend. Author Sonny Brewer writes with love and honesty about his special Golden Retriever whom he named Cormac. His descriptions of his companion poignantly and accurately convey the close relationship between a man and man's-best-friend. Highly recommended for all dog lovers! --Ron Howe (aka Toby Martin II) / Erskine, Minnesota

As an author, I seldom have time to write reviews for other books but I LOVED this book! Sonny Brewer did a great job of presenting his story while helping readers fall in love with Cormac. I was never bored and the chapters were well rounded. As a pet detective, this book is a perfect example of why so many lost companion animals are displaced and never reunited with their families. Shelter workers wonder why many of the stray dogs who pass through their shelters don't have families showing up to look for them. I read a previous review where someone was blaming Sonny for what happened to Cormac. The shelter workers, the rescue group volunteers, and Sonny Brewer are not to blame for what happened in this story! We need to stop blaming, LEARN from this story, and just start developing lost pet services and shelter programs that help people like Sonny when they have lost a dog, cat, or other companion animal that they love! This book will be required reading for all the Pet Detectives who take our (Missing Pet Partnership's) certification course! Well done Sonny!

Thank you, reviewer 2, for saying everything I could say about the first review, and probably better. It deserved the time and effort that went into it. My enjoyment of the story was really marred only by my awareness of that undeserved review that I knew was out there since I saw it before purchasing the book. Fortunately I knew to disregard it as a review of what could be a good book. I also noticed the same review by the same reviewer on other websites, so it looks like a crusade. Quite a sad statement. I hope that the first reviewer will decide to take a step back and look it all over again, and be able to see the whole story more as the second reviewer and I both see it. I read this book because stories of dogs lost and reunited with their families is of interest to me, but I would say that I enjoy Sonny Brewer's writing style well enough to know that his other books are worth a read, as well. I can't think of anyone that I wouldn't recommend this story to.