Official Review: Oscar: The Friendly Rottweiler

[Heidi M Simone]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Oscar: The Friendly Rottweiler" by David A Lees.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Have you ever felt the unconditional love from a dog? A love that never judges and one that is always pure? David A. Lees has felt this way and shares how his life was irrevocably changed by one dog in Oscar: The Friendly Rottweiler.

Oscar was a nearly one-hundred pound, lovable, gentle, and friendly Rottweiler. From the moment he was adopted as a puppy to the moment where his life came to an end, Oscar never failed in his love and his kind nature, even with the stigma of his breed. It was with this steadfast love that opened David’s heart in realizing that Oscar was more than just a dog. Oscar was his best friend.

Being a dog owner myself, this book struck a chord within me. There were times when I laughed at Oscar’s mischievous antics, when my heart warmed with his innocent sweetness, and when I was nearly in tears. Not only does the author expresses a pet parent’s love, but Lees also has clear talent in his ability to provoke varying emotions about his “Gentle Giant”.

Written in the first-person point-of-view, the reader truly gets to know both Lees and Oscar. The author’s honesty in his divorce, financial issues, and moving from place-to-place does not take away from the true meaning of the story. In fact, all these snippets of struggle adds more depth to his persona and his love toward Oscar.

The tone of this book was very friendly and casual, which made reading it a simple joy. It was a little surprising, when first beginning the book, to see phrases as, “I’ll tell ya”, “err”, “four-thirtyish”, but after a few chapters, I was able to settle in for a casual read. The friendly tone of the book nicely complemented Oscar’s friendly and casual nature.

Speaking of the writing, there were several grammatical errors, formatting issues, and repetitiveness throughout. For instance, on Kindle location 406, in the sentence, “...we were done - as in no longer welcome there.”, the word, “welcome” should be “welcomed”. Thinking of formatting, there were gaps throughout the book where paragraphs, and even sentences, were oddly split. Lastly, the repetition typically happened when an Oscar story was shared. One particular example can be found within Kindle location 943-955, where the author comments three times how children would run up to Oscar to pat him. It was most likely done to emphasis the author’s message, but after some time, it started to become redundant.

Without a doubt, with some tightening up on the editing and repetition, Oscar: The Friendly Rottweiler would have received a 4 out of 4 stars. However, due to the issues mentioned, I give this non-fiction a 3 out of 4 stars and recommend it to both dog lovers and those who are curious about how dogs can be such amazing furry friends.

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Oscar: The Friendly Rottweiler
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like hsimone's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Bianka Walter]

I have a 75kg Boerboel (Mastiff), so I know the stigma attached to big dogs. This book sounds so sweet - especially, as you mentioned, for dog owners. I hope the author sorts out the grammatical and formatting blunders.
Awesome review

[ea_anthony]

I never thought Rottweiler and the word friendly could go together. Yes, there is a real stigma attached to the breed. I would never want to have a Rott around any child. I would vote this book special for trying to show another side to a much maligned dog breed. Nice review and kudos to David A. Lees

[LV2R]

I am not a dog lover, but I can appreciate a good dog story. Oscar sounds like a great dog to have. It is too bad about the poor editing when otherwise it is a good story that evokes emotions from reading it.

[Ruba Abu Ali]

I could relate to this story. Despite not sharing many similarities, this book reminded me of Richard Gere's film, Hatchi: A Dog's Tale. I loved the passion and liveliness in your words. Thanks for the wonderful review.

[kandscreeley]

It's too bad about the grammatical errors, but this still sounds like a nice, cute read. It sounds like a good story to settle in for when you aren't looking for anything heavy or deep. It's definitely one I'm going to have to look at as I LOVE dogs! Thanks so much for a great review.

[Jackie Holycross]

Dog books are awesome. Thanks for sharing this one.

[Kibet Hillary]

I am curious about dogs and I might as well find this to be very useful. I like the uniqueness of the book. The author deserves a pat on the back for the level of openness he demonstrated. Writing about one's personal life to such an extent is never a simple task. Thanks for this amazing review. It is very profound. I hope that the author will be able to do some editing of the book again.

[Allyseria]

I've been obsessed with dogs recently so this book sounds like the perfect one for me! Oscar sounds like a great dog and I can't wait to read more about him. Thank you for your great review

[tarafarah7]

I just saw your mini-review for this book on your blog, and I headed right over to read about it in full. Thank you! Despite the mentioned errors, I know this is the book for me! I'm a huge dog lover, and as I mentioned on your blog, I'm especially drawn toward those labeled "bad" for some reason. We all deserve a fair chance to prove ourselves, right?! Before she passed away in 2017, my amazing Pitbull, Diamond, was my #1 BFF for 16 and a half years! I was blessed with the best dog ever, and it sounds like the author of this book feels the same about Oscar. I'm looking forward to reading it - thanks again!