Hi! My name is Max. Yes, I'm a dog and you're probably a human reading this. Sure, I flunked out of service dog training for disobeying commands, but did get high marks for personality, tail wagging, and my specialty—making humans happy. I’m so good at those, my favorite human Nate Pierson, Innkeeper of The Two Turtles Inn, Sanibel Island Florida, named me Concierge in charge of Guest Happiness. I love every human I meet like Dr. Aaron Swift who stayed here after his fiancée, Beth, dumped him for his best man right before their wedding. Aaron cancelled his honeymoon too late to get his deposit back so he stayed here for his “non-honeymoon.” As Concierge, I took him for walks and listened to his feelings before putting my own plan into action to mend his broken heart. I just happen to know a beautiful divorcee who might want to stroll with us. My friend Mariah wrote about Aaron and my 'other adventures.' She says I have a lot of complications to solve like Beth who keeps trying to make Aaron unhappy. Nate says I have a talent for this concierge business. So if you want to walk on the beach and chat, I’m the best dog for the job. You'll see when you read my story! As Nate says, 'Always Bet on Fur!' Thanks for listening. I'll see you at the Two Turtles Inn! Your Friend, Max - Canine Concierge of Love

Have you ever had a holiday cookie that came with a set of instructions? You’re about to. In this sweet, heart-warming holiday romance, a precocious twelve-year-old named Luci, short for Lucia, never met her mom because she died giving birth. Her dad, a Florida Gulf Coast Island veterinarian, loved his late wife so much that he does not date or look at any other woman even though women are attracted to him. He still wears his wedding ring and, every Saturday night, shares a box of her mom’s memories, hoping to keep her alive in Luci’s heart. Luci’s elderly Swedish next-door neighbor Meta loves Luci like an adopted granddaughter. When Luci’s dad gets called in for an emergency on her birthday which happens to be Saint Lucia’s Day, Luci and her dog Chester visit Meta. Meta gives Luci a surprise birthday gift as she leaves to take home and open later with her dad. Then the holiday magic begins. A CHRISTMAS WISH FOR LOVE is an enchanting and inspiring story you will want to share with others!

National Geographic’s ultimate resource for traveling with your furry friend features hundreds of dog-friendly places to pamper your pooch, from doggie daycare to canine couture. Special features include walks you can take with your dog, insider tips from local pet parents on how to best enjoy their area with a pup, and sidebars detailing unique opportunities for coddled canines, such as winery hikes in California wine country. New York Times bestselling author and pet parent Kelly E. Carter, and her beloved longhaired Chihuahua, Lucy, give you the inside scoop on pet-friendly hotels and restaurants, beaches, parks, and dog runs, plus the lowdown on events for four-legged visitors and dog-friendly attractions. A detailed introduction discussed everything you need to know when taking your pooch on vacation, including the lay of the land for road tripping and flying cross-country. From Sanibel Island, FL, to Whistler, BC, from Montreal QC, and Nantucket, MA to San Francisco, CA, The Dog Lover’s Guide to Travel showcases 75 of the best pet-friendly vacation destinations across the U.S. and Canada.

Amelia Augusta Ethrington, 18th century Duchess of Abbington, is considered by society an old maid at thirty-two. She refuses to marry and relinquish her title to a husband. Instead, she finds romance in trysts with total strangers. Amelia's claim to her duchy is an intricate and valuable necklace, The Abbington Jewels. An unscrupulous time Traveler, wishing to steal the jewels and sell them at future prices seduces her, catching her off guard, while snatching the necklace.Amelia must Travel with the aid of a gypsy seer to find the scoundrel, kill him, and retrieve her necklace before her jealous male cousins lay claim to her duchy. Complications arise when she meets Ryan Redstone, a museum appraiser sent to acquire the jewels. Amelia falls in love but knows she must focus on regaining her necklace. Amelia is faced with the most difficult decision of her life. Love in the present? Or defending her honor in the past?

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

The uplifting true story of an extreme athlete, a stray dog, and how they found each other. “Heroic and heartwarming” (Forbes), this unbelievable adventure will make readers laugh, gasp, cry, and see rescue dogs with a whole new perspective. NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MARK WAHLBERG—STREAMING ON STARZ When you're racing 435 miles through the jungles and mountains of South America, the last thing you need is a stray dog tagging along. But that's exactly what happened to Mikael Lindnord, captain of a Swedish adventure racing team, when he threw a scruffy but dignified mongrel a meatball one afternoon. When the team left the next day, the dog followed. Try as they might, they couldn't lose him—and soon Mikael realized that he didn't want to. Crossing rivers, battling illness and injury, and struggling through some of the toughest terrain on the planet, the team and the dog walked, kayaked, cycled, and climbed together toward the finish line, where Mikael decided he would save the dog, now named Arthur, and bring him back to his family in Sweden, whatever it took. Illustrated with candid photographs, Arthur provides a testament to the amazing bond between dogs and people.

Got a pet sitting, dog walking or dog training business? 20 experts share their secrets for pet business (and life) success. Each chapter is filled with tips and tools to run your pet business effectively. Kristin Morrison interviewed pet business and mind/body/spirit experts about the most important topics for new and experienced pet business owners. In the interviews, the experts held nothing back - each interview uncovered insights that can help your pet business become more profitable, enjoyable, and rewarding.