Janice Gary never walked alone without a dog by her side-a big dog. Once she was a risk-taker, a girl who ran off to California with big dreams and hopes of leaving her past behind. But after a brutal attack on the streets of Berkeley, her youthful bravado vanished, replaced by a crippling need for safety. When she rescues a gangly Lab-Rottweiler pup she names Barney, Janice is sure she's found her biggest protector yet. But after Barney is attacked by a vicious dog, he becomes dog-aggressive, making walking him almost impossible. After years of being exiled by her terror and Barney's defensiveness, Janice risks taking him to a park bordering the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. There she faces her greatest fears, including loose dogs, strange men and dangers real and imagined. As the leash of the past unravels, Barney sheds the defensive behaviors that once shackled him and Janice steps out of the self-imposed isolation that held her captive for three decades. Beautifully written, Short Leash is more than a dog story or a book about recovering from trauma. It's a moving tale of love and loss, the journey of a broken soul finding its way toward wholeness.