"Speck is not a good boy. He is a terrible boy, a defiant, self-destructive, often malodorous boy, a grave robber and screen door moocher who spends his days playing chicken with the FedEx man, picking fights with thousand-pound livestock and rolling in donkey manure and his nights howling at the moon. He has been that way since the moment he appeared on the ridgeline behind Rick Bragg's house. Speck arrived in Rick's life at a moment of looing uncertainty,...

Presents an endearing love letter to the pet dogs who have enriched the author's life, in a volume that celebrates the laugh-inducing moments, poignant exchanges, and heartfelt farewells shared by her family.

"When Connecticut veterinarian Melissa Shapiro gets a call about a tiny deaf, blind puppy rescued from a hoarding situation in need of fostering, she doesn't hesitate to say "yes." Little does she know how that decision will transform her, her family, and legions of admirers destined to embrace the saga of the indomitable pink pup. One of the most anxious dogs Melissa had ever encountered, the traumatized Piglet weighed under two pounds upon his welcome...

Describes the author's decision to convert her Pennsylvania farm into a foster home for dogs, recounting her experiences with dozens of remarkable canines throughout her first two years.

J.R. Ackerley offers a retrospective account of his sixteen-year companionship with his German shepherd.

In this funny, lovely, moving memoir, Danielle Steel tells the story of how she met a dog the size of a mouse with a personality that could light up an entire room. From Minnie's arrival at home in San Francisco to clothes-shopping jaunts in Paris, her adventures provide the perfect backdrop for a heartfelt look at the magic that dogs bring to our lives and how they become part of the family. We meet Steel's childhood pug, James; and Elmer, the basset...

Coaxed through a depression by her golden retriever, Adams, a psychologist and former English professor, was drawn to five women writers who relied on their dogs for emotional support. Flush distracted Elizabeth Barrett after her favorite brother's death. Formidable, eccentric Emily Bronte, who once savagely beat her fierce mastiff, Keeper, for sleeping on her bed, refused to sentimentalize the human-dog bond in Wuthering Heights. Carlo, a Newfoundland,...