Nearly one hundred Labrador retrievers, many sick or dying, are discovered one hot summer day in a rural Colorado field. They've been abandoned by Dodie Cariaso, a college-educated woman from an upper middle-class Midwestern family.

What drove this tragedy? Former journalist and prosecutor Cary Unkelbach unfolds a riveting account of how Dodie's early success as a talented potter devolves into unimaginable neglect. Along the way, Cary gives animal lovers everywhere insight into the pitfalls and responsibilities of dog ownership through uplifting tales of Max, a Labrador from Dodie's kennel, who finds his forever home with the author's family.

Heartbreak Kennel will shock you but will also give you a wealth of information for the canines in your life.