Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson

She tenderly reveals the history that led her to seek out such lonesome work. Yet, Scent of the Missing is surprisingly uplifting and sweet.Ĭharleson artfully weaves her personal journey of growth and emotion through the magnanimous undertaking of training her dog Puzzle. They also, in an uncomfortable irony, mark the success of the search and rescue teams.Īs such, you might expect such a read to be a fascinating but overwhelmingly morbid journey. They mark the transition from “is” to “was” in the descriptions of the missing. More often than not, however, the mysteries the teams unravel by chasing scent and paw through brush and bramble end in travesty, in sadness, in the discovery of a cadaver, although even those discoveries are also celebrations of sorts. Some are found by the dog-human teams scouring the wilderness and neighborhoods, and returned safely home with sighs of relief and celebratory calls. The multitudes of missing cause the mind to swim in the murky waters of tragedy, of violence and hardship. Each story of the missing person is stitched with the threads of information passed on to rescuers and searchers by officials and facts and rumors garnished from local onlookers and passersby. It is an adventure story full of suspense and an insightful celebration of a woman partnering with a dog to create a life that her dog will love, a life full of purpose, skill and accomplishment.Ĭharleson’s tale sits astride a tapestry of other stories, other people’s stories: stories of missing teenage girls, missing children, and missing elders. It is a stirring memoire composed of elegant, palpable prose that moved me to both laughter and tears. Scent of the Missing is the story of Charleson’s partnership with Puzzle, her Golden Retriever, and their experiences training as a search and rescue team. I hesitate to call Charleson’s narrative a “dog book”, though it is very much that, as it seems an unsubstantial categorization, and oversimplification, of such a dynamic and expertly crafted book.

I thought I would give readers a break from the books about service dogs this issue (lest I bore you with my personal penchant for the subject) and review one of the most emotive, well-written dog books I have ever read, Susannah Charleson’s Scent of the Missing. Book Review: Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson Review by Sarah Meikle