Book Spotlight (and a Giveaway!: Wonder Dogs by Maureen Maurer with Jenna Benton

“Liliana loved dogs more than anything in the world,” the young mother said as she stroked her daughter’s hair. My chest tightened and I fought back tears as I heard her speak of her daughter in the past tense. I almost couldn’t bear the sadness.

She bowed her head and shared with us that Lili had an incurable disease and had not responded to anything in weeks. “She was taken off life support two days ago,” she whispered.

“I’m so sorry,” I replied, wishing I could think of something better to say. Will leaned in toward Lili with Tucker in his arms. The woman placed her daughter’s hand on Tucker’s head, guiding it, as she stroked his soft fur. We all watched in silence. Tucker was completely calm, but his twinkling brown eyes stared intently at Lili’s face.

The sound of steady beeping from the machine above her head suddenly grew faster. I glanced up at the screen and noticed that the zigzag line on the heart monitor was changing too. I looked at Lili, whose hand was still resting on Tucker’s ear. Almost imperceptibly, her fingers began to move. Her mother stared in disbelief as we watched Lili move her fingertips over Tucker’s ear. “NURSE, NURSE!” the mom’s shout echoed down the hallway.

“What is it?” a nurse asked as she rushed in and checked the screens above the bed.

“She’s moving!” cried the mother. “Her hand. LOOK!”

We all looked—Liliana’s fingers were deliberately touching the crimped hair on Tucker’s ear. The nurse’s eyes widened as she checked the numbers on the screen and pushed a button attached to the bed. Suddenly there was commotion every–where, as doctors were paged, and more hospital staff came rushing into the room. Will picked up Tucker, who smiled at Lili and seemed unfazed by all the activity.

“I’m sorry, you’ll have to leave,” said the nurse as she herded us toward the door.

“Wait,” said the mom. She came over and hugged Tucker as tears spilled down her cheeks onto his soft fur. “Thank you, Tucker. You’re our Christmas miracle.”

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2021. Used by permission.