With her trademark wisdom and humor, Quindlen reflects on how her life has unfolded in tandem with Beau’s, and on the lessons she’s learned by watching him: to roll with the punches, to take things as they come, to measure herself not in terms of the past or the future but of the present, to raise her nose in the air from time to time and, at least metaphorically, holler, “I smell bacon!”Of the dog that once possessed a catcher’s mitt of a mouth, Quindlen reminisces, “there came a time when a scrap thrown in his direction usually bounced unseen off his head. Yet put a pork roast in the oven, and the guy still breathed as audibly as an obscene caller. The eyes and ears may have gone, but the nose was eternal. And the tail. The tail still wagged, albeit at half-staff. When it stops, I thought more than once, then we’ll know.”Heartening and bittersweet, Good Dog. Stay. honors the life of a cherished and loyal friend and offers us a valuable lesson on our four-legged family members: Sometimes an old dog can teach us new tricks.

    Once he started a family, the moral dimensions of food became increasingly important.Faced with the prospect of being unable to explain why we eat some animals and not others, Foer set out to explore the origins of many eating traditions and the fictions involved with creating them. Traveling to the darkest corners of our dining habits, Foer raises the unspoken question behind every fish we eat, every chicken we fry, and every burger we grill.Part memoir and part investigative report, Eating Animals is a book that, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, places Jonathan Safran Foer "at the table with our greatest philosophers."

    Sure, it's even simpler than it was before. Of course, you don't have to worry about fertilizer or poor soil ever again because you'll be growing above the ground. However, the best feature is that anyone, anywhere can enjoy a square foot garden - children, adults with limited mobility, and even complete novices can achieve spectacular results. But, let's get back to the ten improvements. You're going to love them: 1. New Location - Move your garden closer to your house by eliminating single-row gardening. Square foot gardens need just 20% of the space of a traditional garden.2. New Direction - Locate your garden on top of existing soil. Forget about pH soil tests, double-digging (who enjoys that?), or those never-ending soil improvements.3. New Soil - The new "Mel's Mix" is the perfect growing mix. We give you the recipe, and best of all, you can even buy the different types of compost needed.4. New Depth - You only need to prepare a SFG box to a depth of 6 inches! It's true - the majority of plants develop just fine when grown at this depth.5. No Fertilizer - The all new SFG does not need any fertilizer - ever! If you start with the perfect soil mix, then you don't need to add fertilizer.6. New Boxes - The new method uses bottomless boxes placed above ground. We show you how to build your own (with step-by-step photos).7. New Aisles - The ideal gardening aisle width is about three to four feet. That makes it even easier to kneel, work, and harvest.8. New Grids - Prominent and permanent grids added to your SFG box help you visualize your planting squares and properly space them for maximum harvest.9. New Seed-Saving Idea - The old-fashioned way advocates planting many seeds and then thinning the extras (that means pulling them up). The new method means planting a pinch - literally two or three seeds - per planting hole.10. Tabletop Gardens - The new boxes are so much smaller and lighter (only 6 inches of soil, remember?), you can add a plywood bottom to make them portable. Of course, that's not all. We've also included simple, easy-to-follow instructions using lots of photos and illustrations. You're going to love it!

    Why has the ancestor of the domestic dog been thus treated and why have we developed such a strong love hate relationship with the wolf?

    At the age of 36, Caroline Knapp, author of the acclaimed bestseller Drinking: A Love Story, found herself confronted with a monumental task: redefining her world.She had faced the loss of both her parents, given up a twenty-year relationship with alcohol, and, as she writes, "I was wandering around in a haze of uncertainty, blinking up at the biggest questions: Who am I without parents and without alcohol? How to form attachments, and where to find comfort, in the face of such daunting vulnerability?" An answer materialized in the most unlikely form: that of a dog. Eighteen months to the day after she quit drinking, Knapp stumbled upon an eight-week-old puppy at a local animal shelter, took her home, and named her Lucille. Now two years old, Lucille has become a central force in Knapp's life: "In her," she writes, "I have found solace, joy, a bridge to the world."Caroline Knapp has been celebrated as much for her fresh insight into emotional and psychological issues as she has been for her gifts as a writer. In Pack of Two, she brings the same perception and talent to bear on the rich, complicated terrain of human-animal relationships. In addition to mining her own experience with Lucille, Knapp speaks to a wide variety of dog people--from animal behaviorists and psychologists to other owners whose dogs have deeply affected their lives--about this emotionally complex, sometimes daunting, often profoundly healing alliance. Throughout, she explores the shift in canine roles from working partners to intimate companions and looks, too, at how this new kinship, this wordless bond, becomes a template for what we most desire ourselves.

    Architectural marvels, including the M.C. Escher-like stepwells in India. Mind-boggling events, like the Baby Jumping Festival in Spain, where men dressed as devils literally vault over rows of squirming infants. Not to mention the Great Stalacpipe Organ in Virginia, Turkmenistan’s 45-year hole of fire called the Door of Hell, coffins hanging off a side of a cliff in the Philippines, eccentric bone museums in Italy, or a weather-forecasting invention that was powered by leeches, still on display in Devon, England.Atlas Obscura revels in the weird, the unexpected, the overlooked, the hidden, and the mysterious. Every page expands our sense of how strange and marvelous the world really is. And with its compelling descriptions, hundreds of photographs, surprising charts, maps for every region of the world, it is a book you can open anywhere.

    Smart, spirited, and instinctively compassionate, Pransky turned out to be not only a terrific therapist but an unerring moral compass. In the unlikely sounding arena of a public nursing home, she led her teammate into a series of encounters with the residents that revealed depths of warmth, humor, and insight Halpern hadn’t expected. And little by little, their adventures expanded and illuminated Halpern’s sense of what virtue is and does—how acts of kindness transform the giver as well as the given-to.Funny, moving, and profound, A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home is the story of how one faithful, charitable, loving, and sometimes prudent mutt—showing great hope, fortitude, and restraint along the way (the occasional begged or stolen treat notwithstanding)—taught a well-meaning woman the true nature and pleasures of the good life.

    Thus begins this tale of a man and his cat or, rather, of a cat and his man. A touching, timeless, and inspiring story about the animal/human bond and the spirit of the holiday season.

    The only horse to ever break the two-minute mark in winning the Kentucky Derby until recent winner Monarchos, Secretariat also pulled off one of the most astounding victories in the annals of horse racing by winning the Belmont Stakes by a record-breaking thirty-one lengths. Now William Nack updates his acclaimed portrait with a new afterword that examines the legacy of one of ESPN's "100 Greatest Athletes of the Century": the only horse to ever grace the covers of Time , Newsweek , and Sports Illustrated all in the same week.

    Collects photographs, range maps, and descriptive entries identifying the markings, habits, habitat, and voice of each species.

    Nicholas Dodman does for feline psychology what he did for canines in his widely acclaimed The Dog Who Loved Too Much.  Here he reveals the fascinating, and often frustrating, mind of one of our most popular--and certainly most independent--animal companions, and shows how we can coexist peacefully with even the stubbornest of cats.What do you do about a cat determined to tear your sofa to shreds?  Or one who gorges himself on your best running shoes . . . or attacks anyone who dares to open the refrigerator door?  Drawing on remarkable real-life stories from his practice at the prestigious Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Dodman shares the unique, compassionate, dramatically successful treatment programs that have given problem cats a new lease on life . . . and their perplexed owners long-term solutions to even the most intractable disorders.As any cat owner knows, changing a cat's behavior can seem like an impossible task.  But contrary to popular belief, cats can be trained and cured of irritating habits and undesirable behaviors.  The Cat Who Cried for Help shows how minor adjustments in diet, exercise regimen, and environment can effect dramatic breakthroughs in resolving almost any feline problem.  From cat panic attacks to eating disorders, from litterbox aversion to depression and a wide range of feline phobias, Dr. Dodman has successfully treated and resolved these and many other heretofore untreatable behaviors.Inside, you'll meet Ashley, the boss-cat who literally bites the hand that feeds him; Jonathan, the binge-eater; Rubles, the Abyssinian Jekyll and Hyde, pussycat one minute, man-eating tiger the next; and Thomas, the cat who cried for help--a little too loudly.  Dr. Dodman's techniques are based on the most up-to-date research in pharmacology and feline behaviorism.  Yet the primary objective of his treatments is to respect and protect the qualities of independence and dignity fundamental to a cat's nature.Including descriptions of symptoms, treatment options, and tips on prevention, The Cat Who Cried for Help provides everything you need to know to ensure both you and your feline friend a long, happy, and healthy relationship.  If you've ever wanted to better understand the nature of this mysterious, enigmatic, and fascinating creature, Dr. Dodman's book provides a penetrating look into the intriguing and intricate world of the cat in your life.From the Hardcover edition.

    Leman offers readers a fascinating and often funny look at how birth order affects personality, marriage and relationships, parenting style, career, and children.

    Ian Dunbar's dog-friendly philosophy. In the 1970s, Dr. Dunbar sparked a dramatic shift in dog training — away from leash corrections and drill-sergeant adult dog classes based on competitive obedience and toward a positive approach using toys, treats, and games as rewards for teaching basic manners, preventing behavior problems, and modifying temperament. Before Dr. Dunbar there were no classes for puppies, very few family dog classes, and not much fun in dog training. His positive approach to training revolutionized the field, especially in training puppies.Now in Before and After Getting Your Puppy Dr. Dunbar combines his two popular puppy-training manuals into one indexed value-priced hardcover edition. In clear steps, with helpful photos and easy-to-follow training deadlines, he presents a structured yet playful and humorous plan for raising a wonderful dog. Dr. Dunbar’s guide is based around six developmental deadlines: completing your education and preparation, assessing a puppy’s prior socialization and education, teaching errorless housetraining and chewtoy-training, completing a socialization program of meeting strange dogs and people, etc.

    In this caring book, Gary Kowalski offers warmth, guidance and wisdom for anyone facing this loss. It is a compilation of heart-warming stories, verse and photographs to provide comfort.

    It begins with a detailed discussion of breed evolution, focusing on the physical and behavioral traits that distinguish one canine breed from another. The book�1/2s main section profiles more than 150 breeds, arranged in the general categories specified by the AKC�1/2Sporting Group, Hound Group, Working Group, Terrier Group, Toy Group, Non-Sporting Group, and Herding Group. Each profile tells how and why the breed was developed, and how selection to perpetuate specific traits affects a dog�1/2s suitability as a pet. Advice for prospective dog owners will help them be sure they are choosing a breed that is compatible with their own situation and needs. They will also find information on each breed�1/2s vulnerability to specific health problems, longevity, exercise needs, compatibility with children, and much more. Profuse illustrations include color photos of all listed breeds.