Steven J. Carino - Oliver: The True Story of a Stolen Dog and the Humans He Brought Together

Oliver is a love story of the most extraordinary kind. A mans frantic journey to find his best friend in the world leads him on a soul-searching trek to find himself through forgiveness and love. Its a story about feeling alone for so long, and then suddenly being connected to everyone. Youll need some alone time for this read, and tissuesits a deep dive into our own hearts. And its what the world needs now.

G ENEVIEVE P ITURRO, AUTHOR OF P URPOSE , P ASSION, AND P AJAMAS AND FOUNDER OF P AJAMA P ROGRAM

As a dog lover and psychologist, I consistently witness the remarkable healing power of the unconditional love and companionability of wet noses and wagging tails. When all seems lost, dogs provide emotional support, stability, and hope. Steven Carinos tender book is much more than a book about a stolen dog. It is about loss, despair, kindheartedness, friendship, and community. Steven and Oliver were inseparable; traveling companions through life. When Oliver is stolen, Steven is in crisis; forced to confront his beliefs about himself, his family, his relationship with others, and most challenging of all, with God (dog spelled backwards). Oliver is a story of loyalty, perseverance, transformation and renewal. Steven, with the consistent encouragement and ingenuity of his sisters, friends, and strangers, takes a journey to find his dog and unexpectedly, through compassion and empathy, finds himself.

D ALE V. A TKINS , P H D, PSYCHOLOGIST, MEDIA COMMENTATOR, AND COAUTHOR OF T HE K INDNESS A DVANTAGE

A lovely and inspiring story of how a community helped a man reunite with his very special soulmate, Oliver, and how their experience transformed the two of them. This book is a definite heartwarmer.

C LAUDIA K AWCZYNSKA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT T HE B ARK

Oliver

2021 by Steven J. Carino

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Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission, www.Lockman.org.

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Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are from the authors personal collection and are used with permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Carino, Steven J., author. | Tresniowski, Alex, author.

Title: Oliver: the true story of a stolen dog and the humans he brought together / Steven J. Carino and Alex Tresniowski.

Description: Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, [2020] | Summary: "The remarkable, life-changing true story of a lonely man, his lost dog, and the astonishing array of strangers who brought them back together"-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020028547 (print) | LCCN 2020028548 (ebook) | ISBN 9781400223237 (paperback) | ISBN 9781400223275 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Lost dogs--United States--Anecdotes. | Dog owners--United States--Biography. | Human-animal relationships.

Classification: LCC SF427.6 .C37 2020(print) | LCC SF427.6(ebook) | DDC 636.70092/9--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028547

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028548

Epub Edition November 2020 9781400223275

Printed in the United States of America

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To my mother, Marie Carino (19291976),
for always making me feel like your special boy.

To my father, Nunzie Carino (19211988),
for showing me the value of hard work.

To my brother, Frank Carino (19541995),
for teaching me all about the love of music.

Trust in the L ORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

P ROVERBS 3:56 NASB

Contents

On June 2, 1963, I was waiting impatiently for my fathers car to pull into the driveway of our home on Long Island. My sisters, Nancy and Annette, and my brother Frank were waiting with me. It was an exciting day for us, and down deep we were hoping the new addition to our family might make a differencemight make things better.

Three days earlier, wed received word that our brother Steven had finally arrived. Our parents told us, over and over, that Steven was a big boy, oh yes, a very big boy. I was twelve years old, and I took that literally. As I waited to finally get a look at him, I expected a giant baby.

My parents meant that Steven weighed nine pounds, eight ounces and was twenty-one inches long. When he finally came home, I could not believe how tiny he was. In an instant, I fell madly in love with my baby brother. I felt a deep and immediate bond to him. I attached myself to my mothers hip and helped her take care of Steven in any way I could. I couldnt get enough of him. Sometimes when Steven was sleeping, Id sneak into my parents bedroom and wake him up. Then I would scream, Steven is crying. Ill get him!

Over the years, our bond only grew stronger. Even as our lives went in different directions, we maintained our special bond. And we still make a point to see each other once or twice a week.

We share so many interests, and one of them is our mutual love of dogs. Stevens many dogs have always meant the world to him, as have mine. Neither of us has children, and we both think of our dogs as our babies. We think of them as our best friendsaside from each other, that is.

On February 12, 2019, two days before Valentines Day, Steven and his dog, Oliver, came to my home for dinner. As usual, Steven and I sat in the kitchen and talked while Oliver sat in my dining room, barking. Steven called for Oliver to come, even though Steven knew he wouldntfor some strange reason, Oliver was afraid of my dark kitchen floor. Steven tried to bribe him with treats, but it was no use. Oliver refused to budge. Oliver was afraid of a lot of things, and he particularly hated it when Steven or I raised our voices or there were loud sounds. He liked it when things were calm. I think it had to do with Olivers charmed and peaceful life on a farm with his best buddy, Steven.

Two days later, my home phone rang a little after eleven oclock at night. It was Steven. I knew he liked to stay up late, but he normally never called after ten. I immediately knew something was wrong, and Steven confirmed it.