Everyone loves a story about well-muscled retrievers barreling after thrown balls or elegant, longhaired cats commanding the attention of all in a room. But what about those less fortunate companion animals, whose experiences have robbed them of the wholeness of their “perfect” pet peers? After all, it’s easy to be happy when life has been safe, kind and protected, but it takes a special kind of critter to triumph over brutal circumstances that would make most people give up...

Mildred Drost has had the honor of meeting many wonderful beingscanine, feline, and wild. She has had comical interludes and been shocked and horrified. She has seen, met, and experienced miracles. Through it all, she has become part of the best career in the world. Dr. Drost is a veterinarian who, by her own admission, is completely fascinated by her patients.In Until One Has Loved an Animal, Dr. Drost shares all the amusing and heartwarming ways that pets affect all of our lives....

The star of The Incredible Dr. Pol shares his amusing, and often poignant, tales from his four decades as a vet in rural Michigan.Dr. Jan Pol is not your typical veterinarian. Born and raised the Netherlands on a dairy farm, he is the star of Nat Geo Wild’s hit show The Incredible Dr. Pol and has been treating animals in rural Michigan since the 1970s. Dr. Pol’s more than 20,000 patients have ranged from white mice to 2600-pound horses and everyth...

David Rosenfelt's loyal readers of the Andy Carpenter series are familiar with Tara, the golden retriever sidekick. Many also got to know Tara from Dogtripping, David's nonfiction book about becoming a slightly nutty dog rescuer and the dog that started it all. Here, finally, is a book all about the inspirational canine who taught David everything he knows. Well, he did know how to tie his shoes before he met and came to love Tara, but that's about it.Through Tara, David l...

“The lessons that these animals taught me have been subtle, startling, and inspirational, playing a small but vital part in helping to shape the person you see with the stethoscope around his neck.” —Dr. Nick TroutNew York Times bestselling author Nick Trout has captivated readers by taking them behind the scenes into the heartwarming—and sometimes heartrending—world of veterinary medicine. In Ever By My Side, Nick turns the lens inward t...

A micro-preemie fights for survival in this extraordinary and gorgeously told memoir by her parents, both award-winning journalists.Juniper French was born four months early, at 23 weeks' gestation. She weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, and her twiggy body was the length of a Barbie doll. Her head was smaller than a tennis ball, her skin was nearly translucent, and through her chest you could see her flickering heart. Babies like Juniper, born at the edge of viability, tr...

"With humor, grace and a wonderfully deft way with words" this veterinarian's memoir is "engrossing, often amusing, and always well told." ( USA Today ).You can't always count on people, but you can always count on your dog. No one knows that better than veterinarian Jessica Vogelsang.With the help of three dogs, Jessica is buoyed through adolescence, veterinary school, and the early years of motherhood. Taffy, the...

Survival Songs is a collection of poetry by author Meggie C. Royer. The poems and prose in Survival Songs are clear and concise. Grounded through experiences, Royer's evocative poems cast a knowing eye on the wider world, telling us what it’s like to be displaced and replaced, used and abused. Her poems are suffused with a graceful, mysterious pathos and longing. Survival Songs is a remarkable debut.

They may be known as man's best friend, but as the writers in this poignant, funny, and dramatic collection know, there's no gender divide when it comes to canines. Whether walking down the street, gathering at the dog park, hitting the open road, or spending one too many nights together on the couch in front of the TV, a woman and her dog are an enduring pair. And there are many who consider their dogs to be members of their family and themselves to be full-fledged dog moms, even if they'...

Phil, ailing and unemployed, took an orphaned fawn into his trailer and now walks the woods with the devoted stag. "I don't know what I'd do without Li'l Buck," Phil declares simply. "I guess I'd be crazy."Walt, a retired pipe fitter, says, "Animals...take your heartache away. I lost my boy to drugs and my horse saved my life--just through the therapy of riding."Don and Lillian devote their time advocating for animal rights and bringing home lost animals. According to Don, ...

Partners With Paws highlights the irreplaceable benefits service dogs provide to the people the help, with heartfelt sentiments from both puppy-raisers and those who have benefited from these amazing creatures.Review: "I have an assistance dog and wrote one of the stories in this book. I always knew how special my dog is and the bond we share. However, when I read this book it made me cry. The stories are so powerful and the dogs are intelligent and selfless. Also outstanding is th...

For all those still searching, looking for themselves, I have written this book to help those who may need to deal with issues in their lives and have not found the help or answers they have searched for. Its about finding peace within ourselves ,to be happy, caring, and loving.