Curl Up With Your Dog & A Book

When the cold days of winter hit, I find myself yearning to curl up with a good book and mug of hot tea. If I can convince one of the dogs to keep my feet warm, I have the necessary ingredients for the perfect Sunday afternoon. We're fairly dog-obsessed in our household since my husband owns a Fetch Pet Care franchise and I'm co-owner of Best Friends Studios. Since we naturally gravitate toward books in the dog genre, I decided to compile a list of books about our best friends.

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED (we've read and loved them)

• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
• What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcom Gladwell.
• Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me by Jon Katz
• Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
• Marley & Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
• Dog Years: A Memoir by Mark Doty

ON MY READING LIST (we've heard good things about them)

• Soul of a Dog: Reflections on the Spirits of the Animals of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz
• A Dog Named Christmas by Greg Kincaid (I actually caught the TV special last December and it was a touching story)
• Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The by David Wroblewski
• From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava by Jay Kopelman

SHOULD BE ON MY READING LIST (never heard of them but they look good)

• Dangerous Book for Dogs: A Parody, The by Rex and Sparky (my son loves the Dangerous Book for Boys so I might have to check this one out)
• How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond by Cesar Millan (hmmm, I guess this should be on everyone's list)
• Shelter Dogs by Traer Scott
• Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline

So there you have it...a not-so-complete list of potential good reading material to get us through the winter! Ellen

Hope for Paws

A couple of weeks ago I came across a really fun blog called the Bedlam of Beefy.  If you want to smile on this monday morning, please visit him over at his site. Uncle Beefy, the author of this wonderfully quirky and fun blog wrote a story about a group called Hope for Paws. This wonderful couple has created an organization that is helping all kinds of animals find hope. The majority of their rescues are dogs and this is one of those stories:

From Eldad & Audrey Hagar's Flickr page:

"We rescued Bradley from the Shelter last night, and today I took him to a neurologist. The doctor has only sad news for Bradley...

We agreed he should go to sleep and not suffer this severe hydrocephalus. (as you can see, his head is weirdly shaped due to a lot of fluids in his head/brain.) I didn't want to let him go yet, so from the vet I took Bradley to the beach, I sat with him, played with him, and I fed him many cheeseburgers and fried chicken. We sat there for two hours, and after that I took him to the vet's office right on the beach, and he went to sleep forever :-(

It was such a sad day...I cried like a baby for this little guy. Even now when I am typing these words, tears are coming to my eyes..."

If you are interested in reading more about their organization and even possibly helping Eldad & Audrey Hagar continue their rescue and humane work, please go to their website and think about buying their book "Hope for Paws." It's only $9.95 and all of the money goes towards their efforts to care for our animal friends. The book has a 100 pages of full color photos and stories of some of the many rescues that have come into their lives. And I can attest to the fact that the stories will make you smile, laugh, and sometimes cry.

Mary Ann
BestFriendsStudios

New Book for Dog Lovers by Jon Katz

If you haven't run across one of Jon Katz's wonderful books about his life with dogs on Bedlam Farm in upstate New York, check out his latest novel, Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me. Katz, who writes a column for Slate and cohosts "Dog Talk" on Northeast Public Radio, was featured on The Diane Rehm Show today. May have to put this book on my Christmas list! Ellen
BestFriendsStudios

Dewey the Cat's New Book

I have to confess, I got a little teary-eyed this morning while reading the USA Today feature about a cat who spent his entire life amongst the books at the Spencer Public Library in Iowa. Adopted by the librarians in 1988 who found him abandoned in the book depository as a kitten, Dewey become a fixture at the library until his death in 2006. With the release of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central, 277 pp. $19.99), Dewey will live on in libraries across the country. Something to smile about in these shaky times... Ellen
BestFriendsStudios

Book It: Sink Your Teeth Into A Little Dog Lit. 101

If you didn't fulfill your summer reading quota, wrap up these final dog days with one of three novels recommended by author Steven Barnes. On a recent segment of NPR's All Things Considered, Barnes reviews three classic canine tomes: Cujo (Stephen King), The Hounds of Baskerville (Sherlock Holmes) and Dragon Tears (Dean Koontz). And here's one I've been wanting to read: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (David Wroblewski). Relax, unwind one last time and enjoy! Ellen
BestFriendsStudios