"The Cat Who Read the Mail" sixteen amazing stories about our mysterious bond with animals Can a dog understand the grief and loss of 9/11? Can a cat expose a cheating husband? Can a research dog let his rescuer know he wants to be called 'Rexy"? Absolutely! And here are the stories to prove it. These are accounts of extraordinary interactions between people and pets. Stories that surprise, perplex and move us. But The Cat Who Read the Mail is not simply another collection of 'amazing" animal stories. Instead, animal writer and columnist Elinor Donahue explores the interaction between people and pets when it moves beyond amazing and becomes inexplicable, mysterious, profound. She's interviewed dozens of ordinary people who have anything but ordinary stories to tell. Here, told in a lively, journalistic style, are the most compelling encounters with the unexpected through an animal. Samson the cat began chewing and ripping the mail - selecting only the mail addressed to the husband of the house. He'd then deposit the remains at the front door where the wife would see it when she came home. Samson was on to something. Annie, the 12-pound therapy dog at Ground Zero, gathered the gazes of a circle of bereaved men a few days after 9/11 - whereupon each of them spilled out, one by one, whom they lost there. 'My mother." 'My brother." 'My sister." When Malibu the dog died, her housemate cat, Whip, watched in fascination -- and the next day took on Malibu's daily habits, including opening the kitchen cabinets to forage for dog treats. While each story in this entertaining and fast-reading book stands on its own, the narratives gather momentum as acollection, suggesting there is more mystery and meaning here than our limited vantage can account for. However, Donahue does not attempt to explain or interpret. She simply showcases these special pets and the ordinary people who have glimpsed the extraordinary because of them. The Cat Who Read the Mail offers 16 stories that, in quick and glancing style, suggest that animals are in on the play of the universe in ways beyond our imagining. Still, each episode is real and occurred in the ordinary life of a grounded human being. The people in these stories never expected or sought the unexplainable event they experienced. Donahue has interviewed each of these individuals in depth, selecting the most compelling stories. Like Joel, the optometrist who dealt only in rational fact. He wasn't expecting that an eerie howl from the cat would precede the apparition of Baxter, his recently deceased dog. And a renowned dog trainer found that indeed it matters what you call your dog. When it hears the name it really wants, like 'Jazz," the animal will respond far more readily than when the moniker is a misfit, like 'Daisy." Though not sentimental heart warmers, these are stories for the good. That is their power. These occurrences can't be explained-and because of that they make their way into the crevices in our thinking. They take us to the moment of inswept breath-the aha! that catches us unaware. And they're fun to read!

A moving selection of poems for dog lovers, accompanied by charismatic line drawings, from a poet with an "unfailing mastery of her medium" (New York Times Book Review). Reflecting on her long and celebrated career in poetry, two-time National Book Award finalist Linda Pastan was struck by the number of dogs that have appeared in her poems—whether as the primary subject or in the briefest of allusions. Dogs run through these poems, so to speak. The poems span the lighthearted to the serious, from the antics of training a recalcitrant dog to the grief at a beloved dog’s death. With warmth, dignity, and quiet power, Pastan explores the many roles of these devoted animals, from household pet to Argos, Pluto, and the Dog Star. "Envoi" We’re signing up for heartbreak, We know one day we’ll rue it. But oh the way our life lights up The years a dog runs through it.

With more than 60,000 copies sold, this amazing manual has become aclassic in its field--and rightfully so. Nowhere else will youfind--in one book--so much valuable information on achievingsuccess in the mail order business. Dr. Bill Cohen has drawn on hisdecades of experience testing, researching, and constantly refiningthe mail order techniques described in this invaluable guide.Building a Mail Order Business offers a virtual treasury oftechniques and methods guaranteed to work in the real world ofselling through the mail. You'll get practical advice and learntricks of the trade that will get you started quickly, with thefewest missteps and greatest chances for success. Thorough and completely up-to-date, this authoritative guide coversevery aspect of the mail order business, from the basics of gettingstarted to the details of product selection, preparing a marketingplan, copywriting, designing graphics, printing, protectingyourself from competition, telemarketing, and advertising throughmagazines, radio, and television. In addition, a handy appendixlists hundreds of valuable contacts with complete addresses. In this new Fourth Edition, you'll learn the latest trends in mailorder--what works and what doesn't, the most effective look in adsand mailing pieces, how to put together the most attractive offers,and much more. For entrepreneurs, direct marketers, business owners, and otherseager to get into the mail order business, Building a Mail Order Business has proven itself to be anindispensable resource for the ideas, techniques, and expert advicethat will lead to success. All the success secrets of one of America's best-known and mostrespected experts on mail order and direct marketing--Now in a newedition! BUILDING A MAIL ORDER BUSINESS Fourth Edition Complete, authoritative, and now in a new edition, thisbest-selling guide to mail order success covers everything fromgetting your business started to handling legal issues, preparingcopy and graphics, selecting mailing lists, telemarketing, andadvertising in all types of media--an unbeatable source of directmarketing ideas that really work. Here's what the pros have said about previous editions of BillCohen's Building a Mail Order Business: "Dr. Bill Cohen's book thoroughly explores the many facets, andpitfalls, facing the budding mail order entrepreneur."-- Henry R."Pete" Hoke, Jr., Publisher, Direct Marketing "It took a mail order businessman who is also an educator to putdirect mail and mail order guidelines all in one place--and inlanguage we can all understand."--Freeman F. Gosden, Jr.,President, Smith-Hemmings-Gosden, one of the nation's largestdirect marketing advertising agencies "An outstanding primer for our industry. It gives you the nuts andbolts necessary to carry you through almost every aspect of mailorder from the very rudimentary basics to the same techniques usedby the pros."-- Joe Sugarman, JS&A "One of the best books I've ever read on the subject. Ienthusiastically recommend Building a Mail Order Business to anyman or woman who is serious about getting involved in thisfascinating activity."-- E. Joseph Cossman, President, CossmanInternational, Inc., author of How I Made a Million Dollars in MailOrder "An excellent, informative, comprehensive, illustrative workbookthat will help anyone get started making money in the fascinatingfield of mail order. I highly recommend this professional book."--Melvin Powers, mail order entrepreneur "...must reading for the entrepreneur whose mind is on mailorder."-- Paul Muchnick, Chairman, National Mail OrderAssociation "Its good sense and nuts-and-bolts, bottom-line approach make it adelightful guide through the mail order world."-- DM News

There is space in your heart made by the love for a cat. It is created by snuggles, quiet sounds, and gentle nudges that remind you every day of the delight in being chosen. When You Love a Cat is the perfect gift to celebrate the beautiful bond between a cat and the ones they love for a lifetime.