I am a dog person - and a reader who enjoys a good memoir. I found both in Eric O'Grey's book, Walking With Peety. The book was written with Mark Dagostino. And thanks to Grand Central Publishing, I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader!

"In 2010 at age 51, I was 340 pounds at 5’10”, my waist was 52 inches, and I wore 4XL shirts. My doctor told me to purchase a cemetery plot, because I would likely need one within the next five years."

Instead, Eric visits a naturopathic doctor who advises him to eat a plant based diet - and get a dog. The dog will need walking, getting Eric started on some exercise. The results? Amazing. "Over the next year, my weight dropped to 180 pounds, my waist was reduced to 33 inches".

And yes, changing his eating habits was a major part of that transformation. But the real catalyst was Peety - an older, overweight dog, surrendered by his family to a shelter. He needed rescuing reducing, but in the end it was Peety who rescued Eric. (Peety also lost 25 pounds along the way a well!)

From having no friends, no partner, no joy in the everyday and failing health, Eric completely changed his life and mental and physical health with the help of Peety. Walking With Peety is an inspirational story - and a testament to the love of a dog.

O'Grey registers Peety as a service dog. He does have a valid medical reason for this designation, but I question not having the dog trained by a professional service dog trainer. Instead he trains both Peety and his next dog himself. There may be more to this aspect that was not included in the book.

Overall, Walking With Peety was a wonderfully uplifting read. And an inspiration for those looking to make some changes in their lives. ( )

At over 300 lbs Eric O’Grey’s body was a mess, everything hurt, he could barely walk, and that was really bad because he had to travel for business. It was on one of those miserable trips, dragging himself and his luggage, through the airport and squishing into too small seats that it became his wake up call. Returning home he was so depressed that he wanted to die, but God didn’t let him die, instead his life began to change, little by little, one step leading to another, and with some wisdom from an insightful doctor he found himself at the Humane Society Silicon Valley looking to adopt a dog.
When Eric adopted Peety he had never owned a dog before, and Peety had some health issues himself: an older dog, overweight with stiff joints. Amazingly he was the perfect partner for Eric, one that would walk him to health and bring joy into his life. Walking with Peety is an inspirational read that spares no truthfulness about what it is like to be obese and what it takes to get back to health. This is not a diet self help book, it is about what happened when Eric made choices to eat to live, not live to eat, and to care for someone else as he started taking care of himself. As I read this book I realized I had watched a video on him and Peety on facebook which was very touching. My only warning is that Eric’s candor about his life might make some people a little uncomfortable. I’d highly recommend reading this memoir to dog lovers, health conscious people, and anyone who needs a little jump starting to take their own health back. Author Mark Dagostino does a great job bringing Eric’s story to life. 4 stars. ( )

Eric O'Grey was a well educated, depressed, obese, type 2 diabetic. By his own admission he was becoming withdrawn and finding it easier to purchase things on-line than go out in public...searching for them.

Eric is informed in his current state, he may only have 5 years to live. He changes doctors, and changes his perspective when he is told he needs a plant based diet and to adopt a shelter dog. Eric, not having owned a dog before, contacts a shelter and ends up adopting Raider, a border collie Australian Shepherd mix, changing his name to Peety.

Over the course of the first year, we see how drastically Eric and Peety change. Both bond, consume a plant based diet and loose weight together, becoming more social in the process.

I found this book intriguing after having read The Animals Among Us How Pets Make Us Human, by John Bradshaw. As there is a section in there on the great health benefits of dog ownership ascribed to green space.

"WALKING WITH PEETY" is an inspirational relationship book. It is centered on the bonding of a man, and his dog. It is of those heartwarming stories where you learn how one rescues the other.

Reviewed for Net Galley ( )

3.5/5

See amazon.com for my review. ( )