Author and dog lover Nick Jans shares his thoughts on Sit. Stand. Go!

Author Kate Titus is an experienced canine therapist who specializes in helping mobility-challenged dogs and their owners deal with the realities of day-to-day life. In Sit. Stand. Go!, her first book in the Loyal Companion series, her personal passion and involvement is on full display. In organized, detailed, and occasionally poetic prose, she encourages readers to overcome barriers large and small for their physically challenged companions—and in the process, deepen the bond between them.

Titus invites us to walk in the pawprints of our friends as they struggle to cope with their restricted mobility, to detect obstacles that negatively affect their ability to enjoy the daily activities that form the core of any dog’s life, including eating, resting, eliminating, playing, and exploring. She reminds us that the ability to perform these simple acts is key to independence and happiness, and by facilitating ease of movement—sometimes by so simple an act as laying a carpet runner over a patch of bare floor, or providing an extra step or ramp over a threshold—we hold the power to extend not only the lives of our dogs, but the quality of that life. And in the process, we improve our own.

Sit. Stand. Go! is more than 180 pages one reads and sets aside. It’s consciously designed as a hands-on reference, with an entire section composed of resources: a dozen pages of useful worksheets; a list of suggested reading; a glossary, and a list of specific equipment and devices for aiding dog mobility. Quite simply, Sit. Stand. Go! ranks as a must-read for the many dog lovers whose companions are mobility challenged in any way, from minor arthritis to total paralysis. Not only is it a useful guidebook, woven into the text are inspiring and moving personal anecdotes that urge readers to engage with their mobility-challenged dogs and take action.

Author and dog lover Nick Jans is author of the national bestseller, A Wolf Called Romeo.