Thank you for providing a review copt of this book. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped and did not finish. I appreciate the opportunity.

This book was one of my favourites last year. Warm and sad and funny, I’ve thought about it a lot since reading.

This book is a great one for dog lovers, and maybe a few who sit on the fence! It tells the true story of the author trying to change her life and bring some order to a rather drug and drink fuelled existence. When she adopts Wolfy, a lurcher, he provides the change she needs. But when Wolfy goes missing, she is devastated and does everything she can to find him.

I have to confess, I am not a dog lover (and expect that this will not go down well with most people reading this review!) so I while I couldn’t completely relate with Spicer’s adoration of her dog, I have lost beloved pets so the loss part definitely resonated. And the story, particularly the first part where Wolfy is adopted, is told with a good amount of humour.

I would definitely recommend this to dog lovers but not sure it would appeal much to others, even though I found it to be an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I listened to this book on audiobook, narrated by Kate Spicer.

Journalist Kate Spicer was at the start of a downward spiral of alcohol and drugs when she decided to make a change to her life, and adopt a dog called Wolfy. Pretty much instantaneously Kate's life took on a new meaning, as she adjusted to having a hairy companion and her love for him grew every day. In Lost Dog, Kate documents what life with Wolfy was like during their early years, as well as the terrible time when Wolfy ran away and was missing for over a week.

I enjoyed the narration of this book and because Kate reads the book herself, she does a good job of it (I don't know if she's narrated audiobooks before but I would listen to her again). I also enjoyed learning about Kate's life with Wolfy and I found the latter half of the book when the dog was missing very interesting due to all the things Kate tries to bring him home (dog detectives and dog physics), as well as the people she meets along the way plus the stories they share. There's no doubt that Kate can write a story.

My only problem with this book was that because going into it I didn't really know who Kate was, not growing up in the UK and reading/hearing about her columns and investigations etc, I had no investment in her life and I didn't really care about how she was boo-hooing about her privileged time in London. Kate definitely recognises her privilege and she does admit that she complains about silly things at times (and don't we all complain about our silly, privileged lives at times - she's not the only one) but I just didn't really care enough.

There was also a section in this book when Wolfy is missing about travellers and people's insistence that local travelers may have taken Wolfy in. While Kate didn't show any prejudice unlike some people who talked to her about the possibility, there was a consistent use of a slur to describe the traveling community and I think it could have been left out.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

I like Kate having seen her on the tv and also having read about her dog, I loved this book thank you so much for the copy - I now want a dog x

Bored of her life of casual drink and drug (over) use and her unreliable work as a freelance writer which is at odds with her boyfriend’s steady job and sensible home, Kate decides (on the spur of the moment) to adopt a dog and Wolfy, a shaggy cross lurcher, enters her life, turning it upside down. Quickly she realises that partying is not as fun as going to sleep and waking up early with Wolfy, and the responsibility turns her life around. However, her life is turned upside down when Wolfy goes missing.

An enjoyable, sassy and fresh read which many dog (or pet) lovers will relate to.

My thanks to NetGalley and Ebury Publishers for a copy of “Lost Dog” for an honest review.

Unfortunately I really struggled with this book , it wasn’t really as I expected it to be from the write up..
I’m a dog lover and really enjoy autobiographies but I couldn’t engage with Kate Spicer at all.
This might be perfect reading for someone else but just not my ‘ cup of tea ‘

The thing that I liked most about this book is the honesty.
There is no glossing over the drugs and drink to make them seem glamorous, just the truth of a dysfunctional life.
I’ve never had a dog but we did lose a cat once – for about a week. He crossed a main road and lost his scent markers on his territory and yes there is great sadness and ‘hopeless hope’ as the posters go up, and the vert notices. We found him – or rather he was recognised as he begged for food and was safely returned.

An unusual premise for a book. It does work, and is beautifully written in parts, but I think it is rather long. And a bit self indulgent.

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I found it difficult to get into and fully engage with this book although. I liked how the dog help create a new way of living for the author but I didn't feel the urge to continue reading, I had to work hard to finish reading this story.

I really wanted to love this. I love dogs. And stories about dogs. But I really struggled with this book.

It was interesting to see how Wolfy the dog changed the author's life, and yet at the same time, I struggled with the author's selfishness, and how spoilt she sounds through the story. Despite claims of having no money throughout the story she is living in Notting Hill, swanning around buying herself coffees, and lunches out, and so whenever I began to like her, she'd say something that put my back up again! I don't want to be mean, and there were lots of other moments when I enjoyed her writing, but there were also plenty of moments where I was on the verge of putting the book down and not carrying on.

Wolfy sounds adorable, however, and lots of the book is very readable. The anxiety over losing her dog is understandable, and terrible, and the race around London, with the help of Twitter and local dog walkers, is interesting to read. It went on a little too long for me, but the guys who find Wolfy at the end...that bit made me happy cry.

Ah, what a lovely story. I felt Kate’s pain throughout, and I wish I had a dog to cuddle while I read it!

I’ve been a fan of Kate’s for a long time - her film Mission to Lars is one of my all time fave feel-good melancholy documentaries. Lost Dog has a similar feel. Recommend highly!

Kate, a well known journalist, has quite a messy life. She lives in a London flat with her boyfriend Charlie and has issues with drink and drugs. She decides that what her life needs is a dog and she falls in love with a lurched called Wolfie. This rescue dog is a saviour, Kate finds herself making herself making better decisions and becoming more responsible. She meets new people and starts to feel better. Then one day when Wolfie is being looked after by her brother, he goes missing. For nine days she desperately looks for him and that makes up the majority of the book.
While I enjoyed the transformational aspects to owning a dog - I have a transformational dog of my own - I didn’t find i gelled with the writer. I also felt the material was a little stretched. I think this would have been a great article but t seemed a stretch for a whole book. I think that’s just a personality thing and won’t ruin other people’s enjoyment of her journey.

What a beautiful book! Had no idea what it was about when I spotted in the Netgalley 'featured' list so I downloaded a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review and in this instance I was really pleasantly surprised. I didn't realise that it was a memoir at first, and to be honest I'm not sure I would have picked it had I known, but Kate's story of falling in love with the wonderful Wolfy is really really lovely - definitely a case of who saved who :0) x

I read this book a few months ago and so although it is not fresh in my mind, it still stirs emotion in my heart. I loved it and read it in a few happy days - sad days too as of course I cried and was moved by the love in the story.

The narrator is a woman with problems - she is happily partnered but she feels the need to escape and there are also the 'tomato wars' "You get the boyfriend you deserve, I think, mournful, resigned, self-pitying. A victim. And, it's true, the punishment cuts both ways- he has me too, a woman who judges people who keep tomatoes in the fridge'.
She also drinks too much and regularly visits a 'friend' who provides cocaine. To cap it all she has financial problems which mean she has to beg, borrow and barter.

She is also very funny. She might be a difficult and frustrating friend but she would be an excellent and witty companion. I liked her a lot.

This book is about how she was lost and then found herself. A story of redemption.

She decided to get a dog and finds deep love of the kind that can save your from yourself. Then the dog gets lost. I'm not spoiling the story to tell you that as it's in the title but after that, the book is amazing. Her search, for dog and self, her obsession to find him, her determination which won't allow for failure. And she transforms from someone with deep emotional issues into someone you would want on your side in a crisis. I wanted to go and help her. she grew into a mythic character, undergoing the mythic journey into hell and back.

Here is an example of the humour
"forget the Carlton Club, try gaining the trust of the Lurcher SOS forum members: it'd be easier to buy weapons-grade plutonium on the dark web"

I loved every word of this book. I will read it again and recommend it to friends. You don't have to be a dog-lover, which I am, but just a human with a heart. And if you have ever lost an animal you will find yourself here.

The book was easy to read and well written, but I found the search for the dog got a bit repetitive as the owner and relatives scoured the same areas.

The book was funny for some parts and easy to read. I think a long article (there might be one) or a short story would have been a more appropriate format. As much as I love dogs and cats and I have been really sad in the past when losing them, I still could not personally empathise fully with many of her very intense feelings. Obviously her drug and alcohol issues are not as serious as the writer of A street cat named Bob, but I saw a lot of parallelisms between the redemption qualities attributed to their pets. As I have lived around Archway and Arsenal for 6 years, it was also really easy to imagine all the places she was describing. I always appreciate a London book!

Kate Spicer is a mid-forties freelance journalist living a drug- and alcohol-fueled life which is starting to seem increasingly empty and meaningless, until she decides to adopt a dog - and it's love at first sight. Wolfy is a huge shaggy lurcher who completely transforms life for Kate. She soon comes to prefer snuggling up at home with him in the evening to late night parties, early morning walks instead of the once-perpetual hangover. Then the unthinkable happens; left overnight with Kate's brother, Wolfy runs away. Kate and her partner Charlie are desperate. They search the streets of London, set up a Facebook page, and through the internet attract a host of well-wishers and helpers (and sadly some trolls too). Their relationship is pushed to the limits but everything will be perfect if Wolfy can be found.


This autobiographical story is both a very personal tale of redemption, and a wider reflection on the relationship between humans and dogs. Most dog owners can't claim to have had their lives changed dramatically in the way that Kate's was, but we all understand the unconditional love that dogs bring into our lives, and the very special place they hold in our hearts.

The reader follows Kate's path from 'lost woman' to one with a new love and purpose in life - a love which looks likely to disappear forever, but miraculously is found again.Being a regular chatterer on Twitter I knew of the search for Wolfy, and its happy ending, but I was still pulled in by Kate's honesty and willingness to share the good and bad in her life; when Wolfy got lost, I almost felt as devastated as she did.

This is a lovely book about the author, Kate Spicer, and her love for her dog and how she feels/copes when he disappears.

I don't' own any pets but I could really feel her pain and loved the dry wit/humour