What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs


Cat Warren - 2013
    Solo is a cadaver dog. What started as a way to harness Solo’s unruly energy and enthusiasm soon became a calling that introduced Warren to the hidden and fascinating universe of working dogs, their handlers, and their trainers. Solo has a fine nose and knows how to use it, but he’s only one of many thousands of working dogs all over the United States and beyond. In What the Dog Knows, Warren uses her ongoing work with Solo as a way to explore a captivating field that includes cadaver dogs, drug- and bomb-detecting K9s, tracking and apprehension dogs—even dogs who can locate unmarked graves of Civil War soldiers and help find drowning victims more than two hundred feet below the surface of a lake. Working dogs’ abilities may seem magical or mysterious, but Warren shows the multifaceted science, the rigorous training, and the skilled handling that underlie the amazing abilities of dogs who work with their noses. Warren interviews cognitive psychologists, historians, medical examiners, epidemiologists, and forensic anthropologists, as well as the breeders, trainers, and handlers who work with and rely on these remarkable and adaptable animals daily. Along the way, she discovers story after story that proves the impressive capabilities—as well as the very real limits—of working dogs and their human partners. Clear-eyed and unsentimental, Warren explains why our partnership with dogs is woven into the fabric of society and why we keep finding new uses for their wonderful noses.

Tales from a Dog Catcher


Lisa Duffy-Korpics - 2009
    Reminiscent of both All Creatures Great and Small and Marley & Me, it offers the stories of everyday people who, whether by accident or design, come into contact with the sad, funny, and often profound world of an animal control officer.Â

Throw the Damn Ball: Classic Poetry by Dogs


R.D. Rosen - 2013
    A hilarious collection of poetry by dogs- perfect for lovers of literature and pups alike.

My Smart Puppy (TM): Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training


Brian Kilcommons - 2006
    And it's far simpler than people think.With the intuitive and step-by-step methods included in this invaluable book from experts Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, including tips on how to deal with every kind of personality, puppies can be trained quickly and painlessly.With humor, time-tested advice, and an arsenal of tricks, My Smart Puppy teaches new dog owners everything they need to know to raise a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog.

Oink: My Life with Mini-Pigs


Matt Whyman - 2011
    Matt Whyman enjoyed a quiet writer’s life in the English countryside . . . until his career wife, Emma, discovered the existence of a pig said to fit inside a handbag. She believes not one but two would be a perfect addition to the already diverse Whyman clan, which includes a dog, a cat, a gaggle of chickens, as well as four children. Nobody could have anticipated the misadventures two little piglets could bring. From stealing his spot on the family sofa to trashing his neighbor’s garden while drunk on fermented apples, Butch and Roxi swiftly establish themselves as “animals of mass distraction.” Funny, touching, and endlessly entertaining, Oink charts the battle of hearts, snouts, and minds between a family man and two mini-pigs.

Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process


Irene M. Pepperberg - 2008
    Pepperberg and Alex, an African Grey parrot who proved scientists and accepted wisdom wrong by demonstrating an astonishing ability to communicate and understand complex ideas. The story is much more than of an incredible scientific breakthrough. It s a poignant love story and an affectionate remembrance of Pepperberg s irascible, unforgettable, and always surprising best friend.

Always By My Side: Life Lessons from Millie and All the Dogs I've Loved


Edward Grinnan - 2017
    Edward didn’t know it yet, but Millie would change his life. In this moving memoir, Edward Grinnan writes about his life with Millie—from their first joyous meeting, through her struggle with cancer, and eventual heartbreaking death. Edward shares how her sensitivity, unconditional love, and innate goodness helped him discover those qualities in himself and put his complicated past in perspective. Edward also shares the lessons he has learned from other dogs he’s loved—like Pete, a poodle his father bought him in the wake of his brother’s death; Rudy, who introduced him to his wife; Sally Browne, a mischievous cocker spaniel who befriended the homeless in his neighborhood; and Marty, a hundred-pound Labrador whose behavioral issues challenged his and Julee’s marriage—as well as lessons he’s learned from the celebrated dog stories in Guideposts magazine. Poignant and insightful, Always By My Side is an inspiring book that explores the unbreakable bond between man and dog, revealing how faith shapes our love for our dogs, and how our dogs shape our faith.

Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale


Dan Dye - 2000
    Amid the frenzied barking and prancing of a house full of Great Danes, one pup was shivering in the corner. Gracie. But when Dan Dye reached her, she struggled to her feet like a clumsy foal, raised her forehead to his, and announced, as clearly as if she had actually spoken the words, You know I'm the one. Now get me outta here! By turns funny, moving, tender, and inspiring, Gracie's tale is a treat for every dog lover. There is Gracie's first morning, racing around Dan in the snowy yard. Gracie's first determination to prove to her step-sisters, Dottie the Dalmatian and Sarah the Black Lab, that she's one of the girls. Gracie's defiant romance with a pint-size charmer named Byron, a Boston Terrier from the wrong side of the fence. Then born of necessity, the eureka moment: When Gracie's delicate constitution starts turning into anorexia, Dan teaches himself how to cook, and in three days is baking her the cookies that will spur her appetite, launch Three Dog Bakery, and transform their lives forever. Courage. Compassion. Kindness. Soul. Tenacity. And joy, above all, joy. These qualities Gracie possessed in abundance, and shared with everyone, human or canine, who had the good fortune to cross her path.

My Dog: The Paradox: A Lovable Discourse about Man's Best Friend


Matthew Inman - 2013
    This eponymous comic became an instant hit when it went live on The Oatmeal.com and was liked on Facebook by 700,000 fans. Now fans will have a keepsake book of this comic to give and to keep.In My Dog: The Paradox, Inman discusses the canine penchant for rolling in horse droppings, chasing large animals four times their size, and acting recklessly enthusiastic through the entirety of their impulsive, lovable lives. Hilarious and heartfelt, My Dog: The Paradox eloquently illustrates the complicated relationship between man and dog.We will never know why dogs fear hair dryers, or being baited into staring contests with cats, but as Inman explains, perhaps we love dogs so much “because their lives aren’t lengthy, logical, or deliberate, but an explosive paradox composed of fur, teeth, and enthusiasm.”

A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion


Anthony Bourke - 1971
    It captures the moving reunion of two young men and their pet lion Christian, after they had left him in Africa with Born Free’s George Adamson to introduce him into his rightful home in the wild.A Lion Called Christian tells the remarkable story of how Anthony “Ace” Bourke and John Rendall, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought the boisterous lion cub in the pet department of Harrods. For several months, the three of them shared a flat above a furniture shop on London’s King’s Road, where the charismatic and intelligent Christian quickly became a local celebrity, cruising the streets in the back of a Bentley, popping in for lunch at a local restaurant, even posing for a fashion advertisement. But the lion cub was growing up—fast—and soon even the walled church garden where he went for exercise wasn’t large enough for him. How could Ace and John avoid having to send Christian to a zoo for the rest of his life? A coincidental meeting with English actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of the hit film Born Free, led to Christian being flown to Kenya and placed under the expert care of “the father of lions” George Adamson. Incredibly, when Ace and John returned to Kenya to see Christian a year later, they received a loving welcome from their lion, who was by then fully integrated into Africa and a life with other lions. Originally published in 1971, and now fully revised and updated with more than 50 photographs of Christian from cuddly cub in London to magnificent lion in Africa, A Lion Called Christian is a touching and uplifting true story of an indelible human-animal bond. It is is destined to become one of the great classics of animal literature.