Such a wonderful, heartwarming book! I loved it. It has the most wonderful message about the relationship and love between a dog and their owner. It brings forth the idea that they never leave you even after they pass and how their love stays with you forever. Highly recommend!

Awe, such a neat book, like a coffee table type book or picture book with a beautiful story of a dog who has crossed over and revealing the secrets of the gift of the present moment. Here. A heartwarming read. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel publishing for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I'm still here is a story that will make you sob. I don't have a dog and I'm not a typical animal person. Never had a pet in my life coz how short their life is and I don't think I can go through the pain of losing them.

And I felt so sad but happy while reading this book. The colorful illustration are beautiful and subtle. The story is long for young readers but will be good for older kids especially I have seen that kids are crazy about dogs, no exceptions.


Highly recommend it to everyone.

I absolutely loved this book. It's a beautifully illustrated story of an angel dog that explains "here" and "there " It's a story about the endless love between a dog and their person. There is humor as the angel dog explains some parts of their life that are less fun such as "sit" and "stay."

Michon has written a masterful tale that will warm the hearts of anyone that has had a dog in their life. It is appropriate for all ages. I highly recommend it.

This book is beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated. I love that the story is told from the dogs perspective of being in heaven, yet always by our side. Having lost my dog of 17 years, it brought such comfort to me. I loved seeing the beautiful pictures on each page. The author really knows how to get into my feels. I will be buying several of these books to give to my friends and family who have lost their beloved dogs. It is a book for all ages. I cannot stress
enough how wonderful this book is. If I could give it 10 stars I would. Thank you, Catherine Michon for writing this story and for an ARC. I truly love this book
Cindy DiMaggio

This is a beautiful book! I lost my “ precious pup” , Lupita, almost a year ago. I still miss her every day. Cathryn Michon gets it - I miss her, yet I feel she is still here! I find myself listening for her to come running down the steps when I come home, or sitting patiently to get the tip of the sweet red pepper I am cutting to put in my scrambled eggs in the morning. I love how Cathryn points out that our dogs are still with us in spirit , and will be waiting for us when we cross over the bridge to “ there”. She paints such a lovely picture with her words of the joy we will feel not only meeting again with all of our loved ones, but also seeing the dog companions that we loved so much. Seth Taylor’s illustrations are absolutely gorgeous! I just love how he portrayed Cathryn’s dog, Tucker, who is listed as the “ cover model” . What an adorable dog ! This book is for anyone who has ever loved or will love a dog.

"I'm still here" tugged at all of the heart strings. (I found myself bawling and running my mascara just 20 pages in.) It is written from the perspective of a beloved, four-legged companion who has already made the journey over the rainbow bridge. There is so much wisdom and healing in this book, but the messages that resonated with me the most are to "fear less, love more" and remember that we are always loved. A sweet book that will stay with me awhile. The writing is tender and touching, and the illustrations are beautiful and capture the heart and soul of the story.

Thank you #NetGalley and #AndrewsMcMeel for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

I’m Still Here: A Dog's Purpose Forever
by Cathryn Michon, Seth Taylor (illustrator)
16812103
Jules Sterling's reviewMay 23, 2024 · edit
it was amazing

This book gives us such an important message. It comes directly from the dog's mouth at the Rainbow Bridge, in his words, and it travels directly into your heart.

If you are one of the lucky people who has known the pure unconditional love of an animal, the kind who let their dogs sleep with them, who say "Oh, I'm so sorry!" when they accidently step on them, and you have suffered the loss of this wonderful soul, this message is for you.

I cannot wait to purchase this beautiful book for a dear friend of mine who is grieving the loss of her sweet 15 year old Bailey. This is exactly what she needs. You will also need several copies, one for you, and some to give others as they walk the path of losing their animal.

The message is simple - I love you, I'm still here, I'm waiting for you. Don't sweat the small stuff so much, enjoy things. I loved you there, and I still love you here, unconditional love is eternal.

Michon sneaks this message straight into your heart, breaks it all over again, then helps mend it with gentle soothing touches on your soul.

The illustrations are so beautiful and have such meaning as they give us glimpses of this dog's soul. You could think this is a children's book, but it's not. Kids will benefit from it greatly, especially if they've lost their animal, but it's for all of us, all the Humans who have lost their beloved animal.

The art is elegant and beautifully done.

It's about love, and hope, and peace knowing they're waiting on us. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it made me cry, cry cry. . . .

A beautifully done, well written and what very well may just be the Home Run of the whole A Dog's Purpose missives.

There are a few authors I follow because I so enjoy reading their books. W. Bruce Cameron is one of them. His books helped me grieve the loss of the dogs who were a crucial part of my life. I found his books to be cathartic and they gave me hope that my angel dogs are still with me.

When I learned that his wife, Cathryn Michon, had written a free verse narrative poem about a dog who is speaking about his life experiences in retrospect and from across the Rainbow Bridge, I was certain it would somehow parallel the books of W. Bruce Cameron, notably, “A Dog’s Purpose” which helped in my healing from losing the first dog I had as an adult.

“I’m Still Here” gloriously celebrates a dog’s life which essentially mirrors the feelings of all angel dogs. Both humorous and poignant, “I’m Still Here” evoked a few tears as I began remembering the final days of my two angel dogs. “There is home and we will be waiting” is a statement near the end of this book and it’s one I choose to believe with all my heart. Michon’s book makes possible the real prospect of reuniting with my angel dogs sometime in the future. The book also reinforces that our angel dogs loved us as much as we loved (and still love) them. And that they like chicken and hate baths.

The watercolor illustrations throughout this book are exactly right - beautiful, heartfelt, and serene. Michon chose the right illustrator to enhance this book. Every page is artfully done and majestically portrays a wide variety of angel dogs having lived their best lives.

All in all, this book is for anyone who has loved and lost a dog or human close to them. It is also a book that can be gifted to someone who has just lost their own dog as a celebration of the lives they had together.

The book, and especially the title, is just what I needed to hear - that my angel dogs are still here.

This is a beautiful book from start to finish and the words and art are both spectacular in their own right. Cathryn Michon is the author and is rightfully obsessed with dogs. The story she tells in this book is heart-soothing, pain-erasing and joy-filled. If you’ve ever loved a pet, you will find this book a balm to the soul. The way the story is written shows how the author put effort into each word. You are thoroughly guided in reading the story the way she wanted you to absorb it. Chicken and all. There isn’t a story like this! The watercolor artwork by Seth Taylor is astonishing and the perfect choice to harmonize with the story. How does he capture a dog’s eyes so well? Phenomenal. This book is an ode to dogs and is a great read or perfect gift for any dog aficionado.

Beautifully illustrated, this book is another in the line for the dog's purpose books. This one deals with dog loss and how your dog is always with you after they cross over. It will leave you crying, so don't read it at work like I did. So many beautiful illustrations throughout of dogs and their favorite things (people being one of those. A good gift book for someone who has lost or will lose their best friend.

I just finished reading I’m Still Here A Dogs Purpose Forever by Cathryn Michon. I was expecting a “dealing with pet loss book” but this beautiful book was a pleasant surprise. It was written from the dogs point of view and recalling his joys and adventures in his life, he described his highs and lows and as I read it I could see any of my dogs saying the same things, it is beautifully written and reminds you how lucky you were to have a great dog or dogs in your life and they will always be in your heart. The illustrations are beautiful throughout the book. I will be reading this book over and over

Ripped my fucking soul out of my chest, heaving and sobbing. There is absolutely no pain on any plane of existence that matches that of losing a pet. This book reminded me it's okay to hurt.

This is a nice book with nice illustrations. It is, to me at least, an extended poem about a beloved dog that has gone over the rainbow bridge and is reminding its human it is still here and waiting for them. The book short, as is the prose. Maybe it's just me but I found it cute but not particularly compelling.

To start with, this is a beautiful story which is beautifully illustrated by artist Seth Taylor, whose lovely watercolor paintings add so much to this story that will appeal to all ages. A story that is both moving, and beautifully written.

This is written from the perspective of the dog, who has crossed the proverbial rainbow bridge, and wants to reassure those that loved him, that he is still ‘here’, just in a different way. That they are still loved by him, and that he is still their dog, and letting them know that even though his fur, tail and breath left, that he is always with them. That they are still ’here’, walking by their side, dreaming with them. That even though they no longer have their dog body, they still have their dog soul.

A very moving and sweetly shared story of love, and loss and the bond between dogs and those that love them, but will always be there, until we meet again.


Pub Date: 10 Sep 2024

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing

My credentials for being a subject matter expert for this book, "I am still here!" ~ I will speak to this book from a personal AND a collective, professional level.

I am the CEO of a statewide nonprofit in Arizona, (Animals and Humans in Disaster), that hosts a FEMA Medical Reserve Support Unit, which makes us National. I also volunteered with Hospice of the Valley, one of two non-profit Hospices in the "Valley of the Sun" which serves over 22 cities over 550 miles with 5 million people. for 25 years.

On a personal level:
1) last January, I just turned 70. In November 2023, I was hospitalized for a month at three hospitals and one rehab with https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/takotsubo-cardiomyopathy-broken-heart-syndrome. The medical community discovered this heart killer in 2006 in Japan, when so many people DIED...days and weeks after the earthquake. If I could attach a picture it would show me in the wheel chair when my sweetheart, brought my little chihuahua called...Angel, to visit with me when I was losing faith and hope.
2) Being a volunteer speaker and caretaker for Hospice, I would see people literally brought back from the dead to be with their beloved pets.
THEN I began walking a specific spiritual path, that lead me to experience that my beloved dogs were just on the other side, just like it was described in THIS beautiful book.

In 2010, 6 months after I and 3 other women founded the nonprofit that I spoke of above, I had the first of (what is now) 6 strokes. Wheelchair bound, unable to speak,~ when I came back to the non-profit a few months later, the other women had gone, so I decided to change a few things to match my 50 background of disaster, health and safety. Here we are, 15 years later.

Over the last 6 months, since I suffered from "Broken Heart Syndrome, as I sit-up in bed,~ part of what I do is to write on various social forms to people who have just :"lost" their pets that their beloved pets are "Still Here"! while I continue to recover thru rehab. If I could have included a chart I use of how after a disaster, people feel helpless hopeless, despair, depression have even thoughts of suicide and now we have deaths from Broken Heart Syndrome to factor in, the Hope generated from this book, I feel can make a significant difference to help people move forward!

On the collective, healing level:
1) In June 2024, I will resume doing our 175 service and community events per year in Arizona with a section of our display table devoted to featuring this book, because that is what we/I stand for~ RESILIENCY WITH THE $50,000 grant we got from the AZ Dept of Health go to the 91 AZ cities.
2) With the grant money we got this Spring of 23, we willl be including the 360 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_census-designated_places_in_Arizona , communities filled with "special need populations" filled with Seniors, Veterans, Disabled, Chronically/Terminally-Ill-Injured..,,
3). We will also join the non-profit "Homes on Wheels Alliance", Rendezvous - especially in Quartsite, AZ , next January 2025, where we can expose these 20,000 "Nomads" who live in Tents, Cars, Trucks, Vans and RVs, to help provide the mental, emotional, spiritual support with the aid of this wonderful book!!!
4) We are advocating to our Resilience Reading Book Clubs, the addition of this book to their library because it is so perfect for any kind of group, Group Reading, Grandparents to grandkids (or visa versa).. Non Profit Reading Volunteers to those with disabilities, are bed-bound, wheelchair bound, using walkers and canes that depend on service dogs.
5) We are also going to add this book to our Disaster Response Library, to help adults and youth cope with loss from Disaster! In fact, we will set up a tip jar so that that money that is donated can buy this book to go in the libraries in the 85% Rural Arizona!

I personally am going to give this book at Christmas to everyone I care about, with the suggestion of a medication on New years day for connection written inside.
The joy I felt ,when reading this book is impossible to explain! I hope to facilitate to others in the coming yea to heal and empower!!!

It is an adorable book and I think would be an amazing gift for someone overcoming grief after their fur baby passed away. It is beautifully illustrated and I was in tears reading it.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for a copy of I'm Still Here!

"Losing one’s dog is one of the most difficult experiences we go through and it’s hard to find solace. However, the profound, four-legged narrator of I’m Still Here has nothing but good news for humans. The free verse is equally rhapsodic about the eternal nature of our souls and the amazing sound of crinkly wrappers that means cheese is about to be sliced. This very good dog proclaims that love never dies, that we will meet again, and that if you ever doubted that humans are magnificent creatures, look no further than the humble ball. There is nothing to fear, because it is this dog’s purpose to pull you (like a bad dog who doesn’t know how to do “leash”) toward joy, and to remind you to relish all the naps and treats life has to offer."

A comforting book on pet loss and grief (with gorgeous illustrations). I love the message that we will be reunited with our beloved pets one day. Just the perfect little book for any pet parents out there!

If you need a book to remind you why to have a dog, this one is for you. You will cry, you will laugh, and you will remember all the fun times you had with your dog. Cathryn does a great job of giving the reader specific memories to recall and reflect on, as well as providing such a great dog perspective of how much their humans mean to them.

I cannot wait to add this book to my collection and read it whenever I'm missing my 4-legged friends who I will meet on the other side of Rainbow Bridge.

Absolutley beautiful illustrations! This book is just beautiful overall. While this book appears to be written for adults, I think teenagers and some older children (depending on the child) would enjoy this book. The loss of our furry friends is a special kind of grief and I think this book, told from the dog's perspective, is appropriate and helpful. This book made me laugh, had me thinking "aww," and, of course, had me crying. I would recommend this book to anyone who has experienced the loss of their canine companion. I think this book would be a very thoughtful gift for someone close to you who has experienced this special kind of loss. Thanks to Netgalley, the author, illustrator, and publisher for the ARC!