When no one compare to the one that got away, and then he’s back…

Synopsis

There’s no place like home…

Although dog trainer Sally is relatively new to Wagging Tails, the team she works with have quickly become her family and the dogs her friends.

But when Andy, the one that got away, turns up for a brief respite from the city, she is at a crossroads. As tempting as a life with him is, she loves her home of West Par, and anyway, she has responsibilities here.

Number one on that list is ensuring the dogs’ home stays in business. A developer has been sniffing around wanting to buy the land, and the team is worried.

Sally will do anything to save her home and her friends’ livelihoods but the lure of reuniting with her lost love is strong. Is there a way for her to have both?

My review

Sally is a dog trainer recently started at Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home. But even if she is rather new, she already feels part of that family, and just like everyone else, her mission is to save each dog and find the perfect home for each and every one of them. And that also means to save the business, now that a developer is determined to gain the land for his own purposes.
On a personal level, Sally cannot get her ex out of her mind. No matter how many lovely men she meets, they cannot compare to Andy, the one that got away.
But when Andy suddenly appears in West Par, Sally does not know what to do, as her heart is now divided. Because Andy also seemingly hasn’t forgotten her. But his life is in the city, while Sally’s in West Par…
So with a dilemma like that, what is the right thing for Sally to do?

What an amazing return to Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home! This place for sure holds a special spot in my heart, as I truly love it how much every member of the team is dedicated to the place, the job and the wonderful, sweet doggies staying there! If I could, I would adopt each and every one of them (the dogs I mean 😊) and give them all my love!

I found Sally a very recognizable character. Because don’t we all have that one person that is ‘the one that got away’? And don’t we all wonder what our lives would look like with that person in it?
To make it even ‘worse’ for Sally, it isn’t that they had a huge fight that ended things. But it was a case of life pulling them in different directions.
So I could understand how she was a bit shellshocked seeing Andy again, and having all those feelings resurface.

But Sally is also a very recognizable woman seeing her passionate in her job. She is a wonderful dog trainer, wanting to understand the animals she is working with, and showing a lot of patience and love while working with them.
If everyone just had a little bit of Sally in them, the world would be a much better place!

I have to admit, when Andy returned, of course I was delighted for Sally, as there was this huge potential of a second chance. But it was also crystal-clear that he was hiding something from Sally. And I had a gut – feeling what that secret would be.

But that didn’t take away the fact that, beside that secret, Andy is a good person. He followed his dreams and passions initially, but he also has a great heart. Because when his family needed him the most in the past, he didn’t hesitate one moment.
Of course, he also made a few mistakes, wrong decisions. But then, haven’t we all?

I found it really endearing seeing that old flame reignite. When Sally and Andy are together, they are so in sync, it doesn’t seem they have been apart for so long. I truly wanted that Sally’s imagine of Andy was a real one, and not a sugar – coated version of him.
And it was so sweet to see how they both feel the same way!
But I could so easily comprehend the dilemma too… no matter how they have been feeling and apparently still are feeling about each other, their current lives are in total different places. And could Sally give up her life in West Par, that she loves, for the love she has for Andy? And is it the right thing to do to ask Andy to make such a ‘sacrifice’ for love?

Now, that developer… he also ignited something in me, pure anger and rage! It truly annoyed me how persistent he kept on being. I don’t think that I could muster that much patience as everyone did in the book! I would have used a lot of words I cannot ever repeat here, and wouldn’t be averse at using violence! 😊
Yet I admired the united front everyone formed at  Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home’. No matter how much money was offered, the future of the home was more important than anything else.

This was a lovely, heart – warming story, not only about second chances, but also about fighting for a right cause, family (bound by blood and otherwise), friendship and most important love in all its aspects.
Returning to West Par was returning to my happy place. Not only did I see some old friend back  but I fell in love with each new presence, on two legs but mainly I fell in love with those on four legs!