The letter told Bob’s many human friends what they might not have known — the surprising story of how he was once a ferocious, untrusting dog named Red, and how through sheer determination he changed completely to become Tom’s best friend. Tom began receiving an outpouring of heartfelt responses to what he came to realize was actually a universal tale about the possibility of change and the transformational power of love. Friends and strangers urged him to bring the story to more people, and with a vision of how it might look, Tom designed this special book version of the letter. With a total of just more than one thousand words, this poignant story reads like a poem, underscored by flipbook illustrations of Tom's beloved Bob. Laid out with only one sentence per page, the book’s spare quality and unique design have a powerful impact and readers will return to its pages again and again.

    When Anita Salzberg marries her husband, Allen, she discovers that she’s also married his “little” turtle hobby. While sports widows merely get dragged to the stadiums or the links, the turtle wife gets hauled to the pet store, the pet wholesaler and the reptile expo. Over the course of the book and numerous improbable escapades— sheltering a snapping turtle in the bathtub, ogling turtles having sex on the living room floor, and searching for turtles in pet stores across America—Turtle Wife becomes turtle lover.

    He had never considered whether he wanted a peacock. But as an award-winning magazine writer, this kind of mystery intrigued him. So he, his wife, and their two young sons became the owners of not one but three charming yet fickle birds: Carl, Ethel, and Mr. Pickle.In Why Peacocks?, Flynn chronicles his hilarious and heartwarming first year as a peacock owner, from struggling to build a pen to assisting the local bird doctor in surgery to triumphantly watching a peahen lay her first egg. He also examines the history of peacocks, from their appearance in the Garden of Eden to their befuddling Charles Darwin to their bewitching the likes of Flannery O’Connor and Martha Stewart. And fueled by a reporter’s curiosity, he travels across the globe to learn more about the birds firsthand, with stops including a Scottish castle where peacocks have resided for centuries, a southern California community tormented by a serial killer of peacocks, and a Kansas City airport hotel hosting an annual gathering of true peafowl aficionados.

    You get the latest on feeding, tank upkeep, filtering systems, maintaining live rock, and preventing algae build-up, as well as what not to include in your aquarium. Discover how to Choose the best fish and equipment Get your tank up and running Maintain proper water conditions Keep your fish happy and healthy Avoid tank pitfalls Keep a brackish aquarium

    In Tiny but Mighty, Hannah not only outlines the dangers newborn kittens face and how she combats them, but how you can help every step of the way, from fighting feline overpopulation on the streets to fostering unweaned kittens, from combating illness to combating compassion fatigue, from finding a vet to finding the purrfect forever home. Filled with information on animal welfare, instructional guides, and personal rescue stories of kittens like Chloe, Tidbit, Hank, and Badger--not to mention hundreds of adorable kitten photos--Tiny but Mighty is the must-have kitten book for cat lovers, current-and-future rescuers, foster parents, activists, and advocates.

    Yet, while common, oak woodlands are anything but ordinary. In a book rich in illustration and suffused with wonder, author Kate Marianchild combines extensive research and years of personal experience to explore some of the marvelous plants and animals that the oak woodlands nurture. Acorn woodpeckers unite in marriages of up to ten mates and raise their young cooperatively. Ground squirrels roll in rattlesnake skins to hide their scent from hungry snakes. Manzanita's rust-colored, paper-thin bark peels away in time for the summer solstice, exposing sinuous contours that are cool to the touch even on the hottest day. Conveying up-to-the-minute scientific findings with a storyteller's skill, Marianchild introduces us to a host of remarkable creatures in a world close by, a world that rustles, hums, and sings with the sounds of wild things.

    Discovering and understanding our own strengths and idiosyncrasies while adapting to others can be an overwhelming task.In response to this common frustration, What Color Is Your Brain? A Fun and Fascinating Approach to Understanding Yourself and Others explains the similarities and differences that impact our thoughts and actions. Rather than offer an excuse for people’s behavior, this book helps to explain why our perspectives differ from or relate to the viewpoints of others. Enjoyable, insightful, and easy-to-read, What Color Is Your Brain? is a guide to exploring who we are, why others see us the way they do, and how the four “brain colors” or personality types play a role in our everyday lives.Sheila Glazov has created colorful personality profiles that simplify the complex nature of our traits and talents. With its entertaining anecdotes, innovative perspectives, and resonating concepts, What Color Is Your Brain? is a fun and fascinating book that promotes both self-awareness and acceptance of others.Written for readers of all ages, genders, and backgrounds, this book is intended to facilitate effective communication and cooperation while minimizing frustration in numerous aspects of our everyday lives—at work and home, in dating and marital relationships, with team projects, among family members and friends, and within a mixture of other interpersonal connections. What Color Is Your Brain? offers the essential pieces of the puzzle that is human interaction, teaching us how to recognize and appreciate a spectrum of personality types. With the help of this dynamic book, discovering your own brain color and learning to adapt to others is bound to be a no-brainer.

    And now, in his New York Times best-selling book, you can too! Momo and his best buddy Andrew Knapp have traveled all over—through fields, down country roads, across cities, and into yards, neighborhoods, and surreal spaces of all sorts. The result is a book of spectacular photography that’s also a game you can play anytime. Lose yourself in page after page of Andrew’s beautiful, serene, dreamlike images, and sooner or later you’ll find Momo’s sweet, eager face looking back at you. (Can’t find him? Don’t worry…the answers are in the back.)

    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.

    He never left. With an assortment of birds, dogs, snakes, and books, he took up residence in a ramshackle two-story house along US 60 and set out to live in the way of country people. "Querencia"--the Zen-like Spanish term means something like the tiny pocket of one's inner life where one is truly at home--details a decade of life there. Throughout the early pages of his memoir, Stephen finds himself tested by the locals for his knowledge of raptor birds, of snakes, of dogs. When he begins to pass the tests, his transformation is complete, earning him a home, a place in the heart. Querencia offers a fine brief on rural living, alternately reveling in country matters and acknowledging the difficulties involved in such exercises as luring cows home from the mountain wilderness into which they've strayed while steering clear of venomous reptiles and combative bull elk. It's a treasure. --Greg McNamee

    Now fully revised and expanded to address the many new discoveries in holistic pet care, this edition includes: A new introduction detailing the latest advances in holistic care for cats Updated statistics, new diet guidelines, and health care recommendations, including the latest on vaccines An updated resources section with suggestions for finding a holistic veterinarian and advice on how to deal with conventional veterinarians A complete overhaul of language to reflect new attitudes toward caregiving Combined with classic and reliable advice on grooming, neutering and spaying, common feline health problems, elder cat care, behavioral problems, and emotional bonding, the latest information makes this edition of The Natural Cat the only handbook pet owners will need to naturally nurture a happy, healthy cat.

    No one who has lips will be able to read it without smiling; it s guaranteed. The fact is, we all have our bad days -- they are an intrinsic part of being human. As prescribed by The Blue Day Book in its delightful photo and text messages, the solution is to see each incident in perspective, recognize that our feelings of failure and loss are not unique, and acknowledge the absurdities of our existence, and glory in the potential we all have. In less than one hundred sentences, The Blue Day Book conveys this message with great compassion and humor. Its vehicle is charming black-and-white photographs of animals that are strangely human and completely free of judgment or pretension. The humble marriage of easy text and beautiful images takes us through the entire evolution of a blue day -- examines what it feels like, what causes it, and how to get over it.

    Martin Goldstein--America's most successful, renowned holistic veterinarian--has healed and helped his animal patients with the same natural therapies that benefit humans. The results have been so astounding that today critically sick pets are brought to him from across the country for a new chance at life and health.In this compelling, very accessible book, Dr. Goldstein explains exactly what holistic medicine is and how it works. By treating the root of a health problem instead of its symptoms, you too can help your animal to regain and maintain its own health, as nature intended. Dr. Goldstein also shares many remarkable true stories of supposedly terminally ill animals who have recovered to full wellness. Inside you'll discover- Why our animals get sick, even when we strive to give them the best of care- An exhaustive A to Z guide of pet ailments--and the best course of action- Why vaccines can do more harm than good- The link between diet and disease--and how the right diet can not only prevent disease but reverse it- How acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, and other alternative options work--safely and painlessly--to restore true health- Specific guidance for the use of herbs, supplements, and natural remedies- The good news (and the bad) about cancer in animals--including extraordinary new treatments and potential cures- Coping with the inevitable death of your pet--both physically and psychologicallyAnd much, much morePLUS--the ultimate resource for holistic pet care: an extensive guide to holistic product manufacturers and stores, books, newsletters, Web sites, veterinarians, and associations!

    These torchlight adventures have since inspired a generation of scientists, and his research is still considered useful today. In The Secret Life of Wombats, James Woodford pursues Nicholson's story and embarks on his own journey to uncover the true nature of our most intriguing marsupial."Woodford has done the research, he has read widely, spoken with the major wombat pundits and with the lay observers. He has travelled to gain direct experience of all species...I know more about wombats than I did, and retain some stark images which I hope never to lose." - Sunday Age.

    With easy-to-follow instructions on canning, drying, and pickling, you’ll enjoy your backyard bounty all winter long. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How.