The Book About Tova

A Very Special Dog


Tova is the story of an extraordinary bird dog and her owner Joe Smiga. It is about their journey together, and it is written as a tribute to Tova’s life.
In Hebrew, Tova is a girl’s name that means “beautiful” or “good.” The name perfectly fits the German shorthaired pointer that Joe Smiga and his wife, Linda, came to know and love.

Through the years of her life, Tova brought love, devotion, fun, and joy into Joe and Linda’s life, and then her life was cut short by a hidden disease. It was a disease that puzzled veterinarians and internal medicine veterinarians; a disease that destroyed her immune system, and yet no one seemed to even know it existed. The disease was called Cryptococcosis, and it robbed Tova of her life at the age of nine.

Author, Joe Smiga is on a mission to educate veterinarians and dog owners about Cryptococcosis. If caught early, it can be treated, but it comes on gradually, and the symptoms are not yet widely recognized by most veterinarians. This is something that Joe Smiga wants to change.

Author Smiga hopes that his book will serve as a wake-up call to all pet owners and veterinarians.

Uniquely original and told from not only Joe’s perspective, but from Tova’s as well, Tova is the life story of a remarkable bird dog, written as a labor of love. It is a must read for all pet owners.