Maira Kalman, with wit and great sensitivity, reveals why dogs bring out the best in us Maira Kalman + Dogs = Bliss Dogs have lessons for us all. In Beloved Dog, renowned artist and author Maira Kalman illuminates our cherished companions as only she can. From the dogs lovingly illustrated in her acclaimed children’s books to the real-life pets who inspire her still, Kalman’s Beloved Dog is joyful, beautifully illustrated, and, as always, deeply philosophical. Here is Max Stravinsky, the dog poet of Oh-La-La (Max in Love)-fame, and her own Irish Wheaton Pete (almost named Einstein, until he revealed himself to be “clearly no Einstein”), who also made an appearance in the delightful What Pete Ate: From A to Z. And of course, there is Boganch, Kalman’s in-laws’ “big black slobbering Hungarian Beast.” And that’s just the beginning. With humor and intelligence, Kalman gives voice to the dogs she adores, noting that they are constant reminders that life reveals the best of itself when we live fully in the moment and extend unconditional love. “And it is very true,” she writes, “that the most tender, complicated, most generous part of our being blossoms without any effort, when it comes to the love of a dog.”

Presents narrative shorts and a poem about dogs, particularly sheep dogs, and the bond that forms between owners and their canines.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jon Katz's Going Home. “People who love dogs often talk about a ‘lifetime’ dog. I’d heard the phrase a dozen times before I came to recognize its significance. Lifetime dogs are dogs we love in especially powerful, sometimes inexplicable ways.”–Jon Katz In this gripping and deeply touching book, bestselling author Jon Katz tells the story of his lifetime dog, Orson: a beautiful border collie–intense, smart, crazy, and unforgettable. From the moment Katz and Orson meet, when the dog springs from his traveling crate at Newark airport and panics the baggage claim area, their relationship is deep, stormy, and loving. At two years old, Katz’s new companion is a great herder of school buses, a scholar of refrigerators, but a dud at herding sheep. Everything Katz attempts– obedience training, herding instruction, a new name, acupuncture, herb and alternative therapies–helps a little but not enough, and not for long. “Like all border collies and many dogs,” Katz writes, “he needed work. I didn’t realize for some time I was the work Orson would find.” While Katz is trying to help his dog, Orson is helping him, shepherding him toward a new life on a two-hundred-year-old hillside farm in upstate New York. There, aided by good neighbors and a tolerant wife, hip-deep in sheep, chickens, donkeys, and more dogs, the man and his canine companion explore meadows, woods, and even stars, wade through snow, bask by a roaring wood stove, and struggle to keep faith with each other. There, with deep love, each embraces his unfolding destiny. A Good Dog is a book to savor. Just as Orson was the author’ s lifetime dog, his story is a lifetime treasure–poignant, timeless, and powerful.

Whether a rescue or a show dog, a pedigree or a mutt, you can't help falling in love with Randal Ford's dog portraits, as each evokes the unparalleled bond we feel for our greatest companions. Randal Ford now focuses his portraiture lens on the one species that has been by our side for millennia: our best friend. Good Dog captures the warmth, humor, and unconditional love that is at the heart of every dog. From mutts beaming with charisma and charm to show dogs exuding grace and elegance, Ford's 150 dog portraits bring out the dog lover in all of us. With a compelling essay by W. Bruce Cameron, this warm, tender, playful, and heartfelt collection of dog portraits gives us a beautiful look into the lives of our most cherished companions. Proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit Emancipet. Since 1999, Emancipet has been on a mission to make veterinary care affordable and accessible for everyone. They have spayed or neutered more than 350,000 dogs and cats, and in 2019 cared for more than 170,000 pets.

The acclaimed author of The Honest Truth delivers his most emotionally powerful novel yet. Brodie was a good dog. And good dogs go to heaven.Except Brodie can't move on. Not just yet. As wonderful as his glimpse of the afterlife is, he can't forget the boy he left behind. The boy he loved, and who loved him in return.The boy who's still in danger.So Brodie breaks the rules of heaven. He returns to Earth as a spirit. With the help of two other lost souls -- lovable pitbull Tuck and surly housecat Patsy -- he is determined to find his boy and to save him. Even if it costs him paradise. Even if he loses his eternal soul.Because it's what a good dog would do.

A guide to cultivating a shared life of joy and respect with our dogs. Who’s a Good Dog? is an invitation to nurture more thoughtful and balanced relationships with our canine companions. By deepening our curiosity about what our dogs are experiencing, and by working together with them in a spirit of collaboration, we can become more effective and compassionate caregivers. With sympathy for the challenges met by both dogs and their humans, bioethicist Jessica Pierce explores common practices of caring for dogs, including how we provide exercise, what we feed, how and why we socialize and train, and how we employ tools such as collars and leashes. She helps us both to identify potential sources of fear and anxiety in our dogs’ lives and to expand practices that provide physical and emotional nourishment. Who’s a Good Dog? also encourages us to think more critically about what we expect of our dogs and how these expectations can set everyone up for success or failure. Pierce offers resources to help us cultivate attentiveness and kindness, inspiring us to practice the art of noticing, of astonishment, of looking with fresh eyes at these beings we think we know so well. And more than this, she makes her findings relatable by examining facets of her relationship with Bella, the dog in her life. As Bella shows throughout, all dogs are good dogs, and we, as humans and dog guardians, could be doing a little bit better to get along with them and give them what they need.