Chosen by a Horse


Susan Richards - 2006
    Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. This gentle creature??—??malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection??—??had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. It seemed fated that she would come into Susan’s paddock and teach her how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living.An elegant and often heartbreaking tale filled with animal characters as complicated and lively as their human counterparts, this is an inspiring story of courage and hope and the ways in which all love??—??even an animal’s??—??has the power to heal.

Dog Is My Copilot: Rescue Tales of Flying Dogs, Second Chances, and the Hero Who Might Live Next Door


Patrick Regan - 2012
    Since 2008, an unlikely alliance of volunteer pilots and animal rescue enthusiasts has worked together to save thousands of death-row dogs by flying them to safe havens and better lives. Through two dozen storiesa "some heartrending, a few hilariousa "Dog Is My Copilot tells the inspiring story of Pilots N Paws, Americaa (TM)s most unique and high-flying animal rescue organization.Dog Is My Copilot tells the story of Pilots N Paws, a high-flying animal-rescue operation founded "accidentally" in 2008 when a private pilot offered to fly a mission of mercy to save an abused dog for a friend. Once on the ground, the pilot asked his friend if there was a big need to transport shelter animals from one part of the country to another. She responded, "You have no idea." Since that time, Pilots N Paws has grown to include thousands of pilots who have transported tens of thousands of "death-row dogs" (and a fair amount of cats and other animals), sometimes more than 1,000 miles away to new homes or no-kill shelters, where they have a much higher chance of adoption.The true heart of Dog Is My Copilot are the 24 real-life rescue stories collected from pilots and their animal-rescue counterparts on the ground. The short, captivating stories are accompanied by more than 100 charming, poignant, color photos--most taken by the pilots themselves--of their canine passengers in flight.Unexpected things can happen when dogs reach cruising altitude, and the stories in Dog Is My Copilot run the emotional range from hilarious to heart rending--but the endings are always happy. These dogs are the lucky ones, and most of the pilots will tell you that when they get on the plane, they know it. After all, waiting for them on the ground hundreds of miles away is a second chance at a happy life with a loving forever family.Dog Is My Copilot--it's Chicken Soup for the Soul meets Marley and Me . . . with just a dash of The Right Stuff. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Pilots N Paws organization.

Welcome Home Mama and Boris: How a Sister's Love Saved a Fallen Soldier's Beloved Dogs


Carey Neesley - 2013
    The children of divorced parents and outcasts in their neighborhood, Carey and Peter supported, loved, and encouraged each other when it seemed no one else cared. It was a bond that grew through the years, and one that made Peter’s eventual decision to enlist in the Army all the more difficult for Carey. With Peter having stepped up to help her raise her young son, Carey was closer than ever to her brother, and the thought of him serving far from home was painful. While stationed in Iraq, Peter befriended a stray dog and her four puppies, only to watch three of the young pups die in the warzone. With only two surviving dogs—Mama and Boris—Peter became determined to save the strays. Carey helped her brother with his mission, but everything changed on Christmas Day in 2007 when word arrived at the Neesley household that Peter had been killed. Amidst the grief of coming to terms with her brother’s death and the turmoil of trying to plan his funeral, Carey devoted herself to bringing Peter’s dogs home to the U.S. It was the final honor she could pay to her brother and a way of keeping a piece of him with her. With the help of an unlikely network of heroes, including an animal rescue organization in Utah, a civilian airline, an Iraqi family, and a private security contractor with military connections, Mama and Boris mad the journey form the streets of Baghdad to Carey’s suburban house. Carey’s mission garnered widespread attention and requests from other soldiers for help in bringing home dogs they had become attached to on deployment, and she continues to work with organizations dedicated to bringing home wartime strays.

Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men: Searching through Scotland for a Border Collie


Donald McCaig - 1991
    McCaig delves into the mysterious pact between dog and man, which involves trust and deep communication. Traveling from town to town, to competitions and farms, meeting shepherds and trainers, McCaig introduces us to unforgettable animal and human characters.

My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian's Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope


Suzy Fincham-Gray - 2018
    In 2000 she graduated, with honors, from the Royal Veterinary College in London, and her journey in veterinary medicine has taken her from the English-Welsh border to an inner-city Philadelphia ER to the West Coast of America, with thousands of stories collected along the way. In this unforgettable and profound literary debut we are taken into the heart of the relationship we share with the animals in our lives, and the decisions we must make when a loved one becomes sick. We meet Grayling, an Irish Wolfhound in need of intensive care; with Ned, a rescue dog from Mexico, we experience the joy of saving an animal from disease; and the story of Sweetie explores the lengths doctors will go to save a patient. Fincham-Gray is a rare breed--a clinician with an elegant literary style. She affords a view few can obtain and writes with the same tenderness she brings to her patients, whose needs she must meet with her mind, her hands and her heart. Rich in warmth and humor, My Patients and Other Animals is a memorable story of compassion, healing, and hope.

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero


Michael Hingson - 2011
     Trust.  Triumph.I trust Roselle with my life, every day. She trusts me to direct her. And today is no different, except the stakes are higher. Michael HingsonFirst came the boom the loud, deep, unapologetic bellow that seemed to erupt from the very core of the earth. Eerily, the majestic high-rise slowly leaned to the south. On the seventy-eighth floor of the World Trade Center's north tower, no alarms sounded, and no one had information about what had happened at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001. What should have been a normal workday for thousands of people. All that was known to the people inside was what they could see out the windows: smoke and fire and millions of pieces of burning paper and other debris falling through the air.Blind since birth, Michael couldn't see a thing, but he could hear the sounds of shattering glass, falling debris, and terrified people flooding around him and his guide dog, Roselle. However, Roselle sat calmly beside him. In that moment, Michael chose to trust Roselle's judgment and not to panic. They are a team.Thunder Dog allows you entry into the isolated, fume-filled chamber of stairwell B to experience survival through the eyes of a blind man and his beloved guide dog. Live each moment from the second a Boeing 767 hits the north tower, to the harrowing stairwell escape, to dodging death a second time as both towers fold into the earth.It's the 9/11 story that will forever change your spirit and your perspective. Thunder Dog illuminates Hingson's lifelong determination to achieve parity in a sighted world, and how the rare trust between a man and his guide dog can inspire an unshakable faith in each one of us.

The Hidden Life of Dogs


Elizabeth Marshall Thomas - 1993
    The author visits their minds and provides an insight into a species different from our own, but in many respects surprisingly the same.

Teaching Fido to Learn to Earn: Dr. Yin's Program for Developing Leadership in Humans and Impulse Control in Dogs


Sophia Yin - 2012
    Don't despair--there is a solution! Your dog can learn to control his impulsivity and look to you for guidance in distracting or difficult situations. It starts by training Fido to automatically say pelase by sitting for treats, then for petting, and then for everything else he wants. in this booklet, Dr. Sophia A. Yin, veterinarian and animal-behavior expert, gives you an overview of her fun, reward-based Learn to Earn training program which will teach you how to provide leadership while training your dog to be patient and to look for you for guidance. This item contains 10 copies of the Learn to Earn Booklet. Perfect for sharing with clients and friends. For more information about Dr. Sophia Yin's Learn To Earn program see www.drsophiayin.com

Good Owners, Great Dogs


Brian Kilcommons - 1992
    The only American to study and work with the renowned Barbara Woodhouse, Brian Kilcommons solves all those "bad dog" problems that drive owners crazy-and shows you how to raise a puppy into a happy, perfectly behaved dog. The trick is to understand how dogs think, read their body language, and, with the secrets Kilcommons shares in this book, be "fun, fair, and firm." A dog-training guide that gives you immediate results even with an adult dog, this manual trains you, as it gives owners everything they need and everything dogs need to become... Good Owners, Great Dogs Includes specific tips on how to: * housebreak both puppies and adult dogs * teach your dog to come to you regardless of what he's doing * end annoying habits like jumping, food stealing, and barking * prevent aggression and, in many cases, stop it after it has become a problem * use games to teach your dog to obey ...and much more.

An Angel With Fur


Russell Blake - 2011
    Rescued as a puppy from an animal shelter in Mexico, Lobo's saga is a life-affirming romp chronicling his growth, adventures and challenges. Featuring forty photos from throughout his life, An Angel With Fur is a must read for pet owners and animal lovers everywhere, and invites you to celebrate and share in the journey of a remarkable spirit who touched everyone he encountered. At times hilarious and heartbreaking, it is a unique biography of an incredible dog, unlike anything you've ever read.

Rescuing Penny Jane: One Shelter Volunteer, Countless Dogs, and the Quest to Find Them All Homes


Amy Sutherland - 2017
    But how do we find all those homes? That question sends bestselling writer and lifelong dog lover Amy Sutherland on a quest to find the answers in her own volunteer work and beyond. The result is an unforgettable and inspiring trip through the world of homeless dogs and the people who work so hard to save them.Rescuing Penny Jane introduces readers to dogs like Alfred, a loony, gorilla-sized Goldendoodle, intent on jumping on absolutely everyone at the shelter; Rugby, the crippled pit bull—mix puppy who was found abandoned on a roadside; and Brody, an overly exuberant and misunderstood German shepherd mix. Then there are the author’s own adopted dogs: Penny Jane, the terribly skittish stray from a Maine farm who repeatedly pushes Amy’s patience to its limits; and Walter Joe, who acts like a rabid dog in the shelter only to become a marshmallow in his new home. She also delves into the history of rescue dogs, like Sido, the sheltie mix who inspired the no-kill movement; Sadie, the Civil War dog who braved Gettysburg; and Bummer and Lazarus, San Francisco’s famous nineteenth-century stray dogs.Through conversations with leading shelter directors, researchers, trainers, adoption counselors, and caretakers across the country, Sutherland offers a nuanced, fully informed picture of the rescue world, along with its challenges, champions, and triumphs. Rich, moving, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, Rescuing Penny Jane ultimately explores what it is to be a Canis lupus familiaris and what it is to be a Homo sapien.

The First-Aid Companion for Dogs & Cats


Amy Shojai - 2001
    And when an accident or other emergency threatens your pet, every minute counts. Don't be unprepared! Open The First-Aid Companion for Dogs and Cats and learn:* Basic first-aid techniques, such as cleaning a wound, making a splint, and performing CPR-- step-by-step!* Which over-the-counter human medications can help-- or harm-- your dog or cat* What to keep in your pet's medicine chest (many essential items are probably in your house already!)* How to quickly pinpoint what's wrong with your pet, using the First-Aid Symptom FinderPlus, you'll discover a comprehensive A-to-Z guide to more than 150 common-- and not-so-common-- injuries and conditions, including:* Abscesses (page 60)* Bites from Animals (page 90)* Car Accidents (page 117)* Choking (page 131)* Gunshot Wounds (page 224)* Heatstroke (page 237)* Hot Spots (page 245)* Jellyfish Stings (page 269)* Poisoning (page 311)* Snakebites (page 350)Each at-a-glance entry tells you when to call the vet, which supplies or medications you'll need, what immediate action you should take, and what you should do as follow-up care.By knowing what to do in an emergency and then acting quickly and confidently to take the proper steps, you could save your pet's life. The next time medical help is not quickly available, reach for The First-Aid Companion for Dogs and Cats. It's a pet owner's second best friend.

The Fur Person


May Sarton - 1957
    Prior to making the author’s acquaintance, he is a fiercelyindependent, nameless Cat About Town. Growing tired ofhis vagabond lifestyle, however, he concludes that theremight be some appeal in giving up his freedom for a home.Finally, a house materializes that does seem acceptable andso do the voices that inhabit it. It is here that he begins histransformation into a genuine Fur Person. Sarton’s book isone of the most beloved stories ever written about the joysand tribulations inherent in sharing one’s life with a cat. It isnow reissued in a gorgeous edition featuring David Canright’sbeautiful illustrations.

A Marriage in Dog Years


Nancy Balbirer - 2018
    She and her husband had gotten Ira as a puppy—a wedding gift to each other, and their first foray into “parenthood.” Now, her dog is terminal, her marriage is on life support, and Nancy is desperate to save them both (whether they want it or not). In a single year, she loses her two best friends, but Nancy’s life is about to take yet another unexpected turn.With humor and heart, Nancy Balbirer shares her story of relationships, loss, and canine friendship in this illuminating memoir about the lengths people will go to keep love alive…and the power of finally letting go.

Pound for Pound: A Story of One Woman's Recovery and the Shelter Dogs Who Loved Her Back to Life


Shannon Kopp - 2010
    They don’t rush me to heal or grow. They sit in my lap and lick my face and make me feel chosen. And sometimes, it hits me hard that I'm doing the exact thing I say I cannot do. Changing.”Pound for Pound is an inspirational tale about one woman’s journey back to herself, and a heartfelt homage to the four-legged heroes who unexpectedly saved her life.For seven years, Shannon Kopp battled the silent, horrific, and all-too-common disease of bulimia. Then, at twenty-four, she got a job working at the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, where in caring for shelter dogs, she found the inspiration to heal and the courage to forgive herself. With the help of some extraordinary homeless animals, Shannon realized that her suffering was the birthplace of something beautiful. Compassion.Shannon’s poignant memoir is a story of hope, resilience, and the spiritual healing animals bring to our lives. Pound for Pound vividly reminds us that animals are more than just friends and companions—they can teach us how to savor the present moment and reclaim our joy. Rich with emotion and inspiration it is essential reading for animal lovers and everyone who has struggled to change.