The story of Olive and Mabel, Labrador retrievers who rose to internet fame as the subjects of Andrew Cotter's BBC sports parodies. When sporting events were put on hold in March 2020, commentator Andrew Cotter shifted to working from home. The one-on-one competitors? His two Labrador retrievers, Olive and Mabel. In the hilarious videos that ensued, the dogs engage in various contests, from bone-snatching and breakfast-eating to crushing it on the dog walk, while Cotter narrates to hilarious effect. The scene of Mabel, simply standing still in a fetid pond was one of the most popular. Why? Because this is how dogs live, and Cotter captured it with humor and joy. It’s why the series has been viewed more than 50 million times, entertaining dog owners, sports fans and celebrities around the world. Olive and Mabel are more than online celebrities, however, as revealed in this charming narrative. Filled with stories about how Cotter fell in love with his dogs, his passion for hiking with them through the glens and over the peaks of his native Scotland, and the ongoing relationship between Olive and Mabel (particularly the “competitive fire” lit during these days of quarantine), the memoir is by turns side-splittingly funny and thoughtfully tender. It’s sure to resonate with all dog lovers.

Join two of the internet's favorite dogs and their owner, sports broadcaster Andrew Cotter, as he shares journal entries from life during the pandemic lockdown. Are you sitting nicely? Good. Let's discover exactly what happened after two superstar Labradors chewed up the lockdown internet and found it really quite tasty. He's not kept a journal for decades but here, in Dog Days, Andrew Cotter draws inspiration from the great Samuel Pepys; like him, he bears witness to the extraordinary everyday as the world tilts on its axis in our own unsettling era. And so, with Olive and Mabel at his side—actually, dawdling in the long grass or sleeping upside down—Andrew takes a clear-eyed, often hilarious walk through a year that encompasses all of life from the crushingly mundane to the decidedly odd. Followed by whispers of "Is that really Olive and Mabel?"—not to mention the occasional Hollywood approach—the three of them pad around literary festivals, breakfast TV, live radio, and even an appearance on Good Morning America. Slightly bemused by their fame, Andrew not only pitches up in the iconic Mastermind chair, but makes a return to sports broadcasting to find that it has become rather strange as well. But, always, his pair of utterly endearing, endlessly optimistic and eternally hungry canine companions show just how precious our time is. Especially our time spent in the devoted company of dogs. For fans new and old, this witty, insightful account of a year like no other is an unmissable treat.

How to Write Anything supports students with practical advice for all kinds of writing. The easy-to-follow rhetorical sequence, generous examples, and accessible tone empower students to write in any genre, both in class and in the workplace.