‘A Story Filled with Hope’: ‘Sit. Stay. Heal’ Book Review

Provided by Terri Schlichenmeyer
ust a little more time.

Two months, six months, a year, two. When your furbaby’s ailing, all you ask for is for time together – not to do all those things you didn’t do, but to do things again. Whatever it takes, you’ll pay what you can afford, and step on the imaginary brakes. In the new book “Sit. Stay. Heal.” by Dr. Renee Alsarraf, the doctor completely understands what you’re feeling.

You almost need to ask how she does it.

You wouldn’t be alone: every day at her clinic, veterinary oncologist Renee Alsarraf treats pets with cancer. She sees the effects the disease has on dogs and cats, and she knows there can be good outcomes because pets don’t handle chemotherapy or radiation like people do.

She knows that because Alsarraf survived a bout with cancer herself.

There was supposed to’ve been an Independence Day celebration the day after Alsarraf learned of her diagnosis but the party was canceled and she regrets that now. She fretted about losing her hair, not wanting to “look like a C word patient.” She learned that there was no shame in leaning on her husband, their son, or friends.

Dogs, especially, don’t worry about any of those things. They bounce back in amazing ways from chemotherapy; in some cases, they respond with puppy-like vigor. They often don’t lose their hair or get mouth-sores or endure the annoyances that humans get from cancer treatments. Sometimes, the only treatment required for a dog is a pill to stave off the disease for a little more time.

Radiation has its risks but dogs don’t care, as long as they’re loved as much as was the chubby cocker spaniel service dog, as much as the K-9 hound, as much as the beagle whose owner was dying, as much as the retriever, or the ‘doodle with a painful shoulder.

As long as they’re loved as much as Alsarraf’s own boxer, who was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of her treatment for “the C word.”

Here’s the big surprise: “Sit, Stay, Heal” is not a book filled with sadness and pain. It’s not going to make you cry (much), and it’s not full of pink t-shirts.

This is a story filled with hope.

That’s an odd thing to say about a book in which outcomes are often exactly what you think they’ll be, but it’s true: author Renee Alsarraf lends grace and optimism to the agony that her pet-parent clients feel, and that comes early and strong. It’s not misplaced; because it’s very relieving to read how animals respond to cancer treatment, there’s great comfort here for dog lovers whose pups have recently received a diagnosis.

The comfort extends somewhat to humans with the disease, too, although Alsarraf makes her “C word” a secondary character, with the focus on four legs.

Bring a few tissues when you read this book but be prepared not to use them. Instead, be ready to see the hope inside “Sit. Stay. Heal.” Absolutely, this book is worth the time.

”Sit. Stay. Heal: What Dogs Can Teach Us about Living Well” by Dr. Renee Alsarraf

c.2022, HarperOne $27.99 256 pages