Rescue Ink : how ten guys saved countless dogs and cats, twelve horses, five pigs, one duck, and a few turtles

by Denise Flaim. Anybody encountering these tattooed, motorcycle-riding, expletive-using, pit bull-loving men—with names like Big Ant, G., and Batso and checkered pasts that include gang membership and reform school—might be tempted to run the other way. But underneath the hard-boiled exteriors beat tender hearts moved to champion neglected and abused animals. Flaim (The Holistic Dog Book) allows the members of Rescue Ink (www.rescueink.org), a Long Island, NY-based group, to introduce themselves and recount their exploits. Their stories include rescuing hundreds of cats living in putrid conditions in the home of a hoarder, saving starving dogs housed in filthy enclosures, rehoming sweet-natured pit bulls that had been used as bait to train other fighting dogs, and preventing animal cruelty through their "Abusers are losers" educational program. VERDICT This gripping book will appeal to fans of Dewey and Marley & Me as well as readers interested in animal welfare or addicted to Animal Planet's Animal Cops TV show. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/09; the group will be featured in a new fall series on the National Geographic Channel.—