Miracle Dogs: Rescue Stories


Liz Stavrinides - 2014
    These are the lucky ones. Five to seven million companion animals enter shelters every year, and more than half are euthanized due to the lack of space. Miracle Dogs celebrates and honors the rescuers and the dogs whose lives they've saved. It features wonderful stories and photographs of dog rescuers, dog trainers, and rescue organizations such as The Gentle Barn and Tamar Geller's Operation Heroes and Hounds, along with celebrity pet owners such as Chevy Chase, Hoda Kotb, Bob Einstein, Amanda Hearst, Jamie Lynn Siegler, and Lance Bass. Each story includes portraits of the dog and its new family, followed by a concise, compelling narrative detailing the dog's journey to its new home.A professional pet photographer, Liz Stavrinides spends much of her time on projects related to animal rescue. Miracle Dogs was born out of her desire to collect and share the stories of the dogs she's met over the years, showcasing the incredible bravery and compassion of both canines and owners. Readers will be moved by stories like that of Wyatt, an assistance dog who helped a young boy with autism communicate with the outside world, or Fiona, who was found blind and starving and is now in a loving family. All of them have finally found their furever homes. Stavrinides' portraits are heartwarming—a loving and poignant tribute to man's best friend.

One Girl and Her Dogs: Life, Love and Lambing in the Middle of Nowhere


Emma Gray - 2012
    But while the beautiful scenery certainly offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a night out with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy future at Fallowlees Farm quickly begin to fade.Throughout the long nights of lambing, the highs and lows of the local sheepdog trials and the day-to-day chores of maintaining a large, ramshackle farm, Emma's collies are her most loyal companions. With Bill, Fly, Roy and Alfie by her side, she'll never really be alone.Emma's remarkable first year at Fallowlees - the triumphs, the disasters, the heartbreak and the glimmer of romance on the horizon - is an inspiration for anyone who has ever dreamt of changing their life and starting all over again.____________________________________________________________Readers love ONE GIRL AND HER DOGS: 'This is an amazing book, difficult to put down. A must for all thinking of living of the land, or looking to be inspired by a hard working courageous young woman''What a little gem of a book, I loved it. Emma has given us a little taste of her life in the remote Fallowlees Farm in Northumberland, her knowledge of lambing is just astonishing to me and her beautiful dogs are amazing, I must admit to shedding a tear now and then, but there was plenty to chuckle at too''An admirable book''Very entertaining and readable. A brave girl who made the decision to become a sheep farmer and farm in a lovely and lonely spot''This story is written in such a way that you feel you are actually on the farm and going through the trials too. Wonderful empathy with her dogs and an excellent storyteller'

Love Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles


Nick Trout - 2010
    Nick Trout comes another touching and heartfelt story from the front lines of veterinary medicine—the story of two dogs who forever changed the way he thought about life, death, fate and love.   Helen is an older cocker spaniel found neglected and abandoned in a restaurant parking lot one rainy night.  Despite her mangy condition and terrible smell, Ben and Eileen fall in love with the pitiful creature and decide to take her in.  But just as Helen is rescued from a sad life on the streets and enveloped in a loving home with all the creature comforts an old dog could ask for, a tumor is discovered and she's given a devastating prognosis.  All Ben and Eileen want is for Helen to beat the odds and survive for one more summer so that she can have one chance to swim in the ocean on the family's annual trip to Prince Edward Island.  In short, they want a miracle.   Meanwhile, fourteen-month-old miniature pinscher Cleo keeps breaking one leg after another which devastates her poor owner, Sandi.  While Cleo is visiting Sandi's daughter, Sonja, in Bermuda, she succumbs to yet another fracture.  Distraught that the injury happened on her watch, Sonja makes a plan to fly Cleo to Boston to get the specialist care she needs before Sandi even finds out.  Enter Dr. Trout who presides over what should be a fairly routine surgery.   What happens next forever links two families, their dogs and a beloved veterinarian and teaches them all a lesson about grace that resonates to this day.    Love is the Best Medicine immerses you in the true life drama of beloved pets whose lives hang in the balance.  Every page underscores the profound bond we have with the animals in our lives and the incredible responsibility Nick carries as their healer.  Certainly Dr. Trout has an impressive array of fancy equipment, training and skills at his disposable, but his most important tool (as he persuasively illustrates here) is a fundamental belief in the power of hope, humility, and grace.     Wry, charming, and intensely affecting, Love is the Best Medicine is a one of a kind story only the winsome Dr. Trout could deliver and is destined to become a favorite for animal lovers.

The Storm


Dayna Lorentz - 2011
    Where is his boy? Will he ever return? And what will Shep do in the meantime, now that the extra bowls of food -- not to mention all those tasty things he found in the big cold box -- are gone?Then another dog shows up at Shep's window and convinces him to escape. There's food outside, and a whole empty city to explore. Shep just wants to go home . . . but the adventure of a lifetime is just beginning.

Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat


Marion Nestle - 2010
    Nesheim, Ph.D., a Cornell animal nutrition expert, to write Feed Your Pet Right, the first complete, research-based guide to selecting the best, most healthful foods for your cat or dog.Human nutrition expert and author of the critically acclaimed What to Eat, Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., has joined forces with Malden C. Nesheim, Ph.D., a Cornell animal nutrition expert, to write Feed Your Pet Right, the first complete, research-based guide to selecting the best, most healthful foods for your cat or dog. A comprehensive and objective look at the science behind pet food, it tells a fascinating story while evaluating the range of products available and examining the booming pet food industry and its marketing practices. Drs. Nestle and Nesheim also present the results of their unique research into this sometimes secretive industry. Through conversations with pet food manufacturers and firsthand observations, they reveal how some companies have refused to answer questions or permit visits. The authors also analyze food products, basic ingredients, sources of ingredients, and the optimal ways to feed companion animals. In this engaging narrative, they explain how ethical considerations affect pet food research and product development, how pet foods are regulated, and how companies influence veterinary training and advice. They conclude with specific recommendations for pet owners, the pet food industry, and regulators. A road map to the most nutritious diets for cats and dogs, Feed Your Pet Right is sure to be a reference classic to which all pet owners will turn for years to come.