Family Dog

Aaron Tucker, aspiring New Jersey screenwriter and occasional freelance journalist, puts on his sleuthing hat after a young man with Asperger's syndrome is arrested for a senseless murder. Despite damning evidence, including the accused's confession and possession of the murder weapon, Tucker, who has an autistic son, finds the nature of the crime incompatible with his understanding of the suspect's symptoms. Persisting even after a local mobster warns him off, the amateur detective uses his son to pursue the truth.

The title says it all: what we have and where we are. This travel memoir, the sequel to Glass Half Full: Our Australian Adventure, follows our French exploits as we endeavor to rebuild our lives in another new country, after spending four and half years in Australia. Our goal, or hope for the immediate future, is to focus positively on the present so that we can start a new, optimistic future back in Europe. Our main aim is to be nearer to the children, leaving the dark clouds of the challenges we faced in Australia as a distant memory. Journey with us as we arrive in rural South West France; enjoy my reflections, thoughts, and observations about my family, our new surroundings, and our lifestyle. Follow the journey of my writing career and how we start our renovation project while managing our convoluted family life. Once again, we will laugh, cry, and enjoy life to the fullest with a generous helping of positive spin thrown in for good measure.

Join Dodger as he embarks on an adventure that quickly turns from thrilling to terrifying. Explore Baxter's perspective as he grapples with his son's actions and the safety of his friends. Witness the intricate dynamics between Dodger, Zoey, and Jewel as they navigate life's challenges.

In April of 1985, Buzz Legare went fishing. The next day all that was found was his boat and his waiting, faithful dog. Twenty years later, his daughter Hannah still finds hope in believing, alone among her family, that he's still alive somewhere. She has a smart husband, a thriving business, a beautiful home in San Francisco-and a huge hole in her troubled heart. True to her trademark talent for self-sabotage, she finds herself one starry night climbing up the fire escape in a desperate (and drunken) attempt to win back her own husband.

When she moves her Alzheimer’s-afflicted dad into the home she shares with her husband and elderly dog, Rachel Morgan expects some complications, but she never imagines the biggest one will occur on the first day, threatening her best-intentioned caregiving plans. Her normally sweet-natured dad - a former mailman who experienced too many run-ins with biting dogs - is adamant about wanting nothing to do with her big black Labrador. But as Rachel tends to the escalating physical and emotional needs of each, she realizes these two souls whom she loves deeply are on the same journey.

Whip-smart Ariel doesn’t fit in. Only in the winds of the Blue Ridge Mountains and spring storms that mirror the unhappiness she feels at home. Her brother understands her, but he’s in Afghanistan. Her father hasn't been the same since George deployed. Her mother focuses on Ariel’s gorgeous sister. When Gloria is selected to be an Apple Blossom Parade princess, Ariel feels even more the outsider and takes to the hills. There, during a raging storm, Ariel finds a lost dog who leads her to the safety of a cabin and Sergeant Josie, a former Army K-9 handler.

Rufus has been dreaming of getting a dog. His best friend has one. His worst friend has one. But his dad has a few objections: They whine. They gnaw. They bark. They scratch. They beg. They drool. Rufus pays no attention when his mom offers her think-outside-the-box suggestion, because she can't be serious. She can't be. She can be. And she actually comes home with a guinea pig. And if Rufus's dad thinks dogs are a problem, he won't know what hit him when he meets the "Guinea Pig That Thinks She's a Dog". She barks. She bites. She'll eat your homework.

When his classmates learn about Fido, the guinea pig that acts like a dog, they all want a piece of Rufus, her owner. But Rufus hates the attention, the demands, the "celebrity". So he decides to make Fido learn how to be an actual guinea pig. But when she goes missing, he feels terrible. Was she lost, "dognapped", or did she run away, because he no longer liked her just the way she was?

When Rufus, Murphy, Lurena, and their pets go camping, they meet Pedro, a shy boy who seems afraid of just about everything - especially the water. One thing leads to another, and the kids go into a nearby town to buy him a pet to cheer him up - a guinea pig, naturally. Yet what they bring home may look like a guinea pig, but it can swim - like an otter!

For 16 years, Ben Shepard loyally served the Long Beach Police Department. Then he took a bullet to the head, and his life was shattered. No one expects much of anything from him anymore - except his father, an old man receding into a fog of his own. And except maybe his tenant, Grace, who's been a warm and friendly constant in his and his father's bleak lives. Until the day she vanishes. After an official investigation stalls, Ben moves forward on his own. But stepping into Grace's past - and all she was hiding - is a dangerous move for a man who can't trust his memories from one day to the next.

Jessie is excited when her gran gets a white Alsatian puppy, but with Snowy’s arrival a mystery starts to unfold. As Jessie learns about Nazi Germany at school, past and present begin to slot together, and she uncovers something long buried, troubling and somehow linked to another girl and another white dog....

"We must be ruthless," Edward snarls, "because we lead ruthless lives: you, of anyone, should understand that. This is our existence, Jordan, this house, this land, that father, that mother - there's no pity, there's no mercy, there's probably no escape. It is hard, Jordan, and we have to be hard to survive it, and the best we can do is fight anything that threatens to make it worse."

When cousin Annie invites Henry and his big dog, Mudge to a family reunion, they can't wait to go meet lots of new relatives and hear lots of good stories. But are all those relatives on the porch, in the yard, and even in the trees at Annie's house really ready to meet Mudge-and experience sloppy kisses full of dog drool?

Rebel Bulldog tells the story of Preston Davidson, a Northerner who fought for the Confederacy, and his family who lived in Indiana and Virginia. It is a story that examines antebellum religion, education, reform, and politics, and how they affected the identity of not just one young man, but of a nation caught up in a civil war. Furthermore, it discusses how a native-born Hoosier reached the decision to fight for the South, and the postwar life of a proud Rebel who tried to remake his life in a very different state and nation than the ones he had left in 1860.

A rambunctious Maltipoo puppy called Leo Pomp is adopted by a wealthy, British family with a bunny and he develops an affinity for gardening. He soon learns that his family had a previous dog named Hero, who was highly acclaimed for his physical strength and unmatched performance at competitions. This causes Leo to question his significance. He eventually befriends the most influential dogs, Sphinx and Dazzling, and discovers a dangerous secret about Sphinx’s brother, Rage.

On Sunday, November 29, 2009, more than 12.5 million families fell in love with the television adaptation of the novel A Dog Named Christmas. Within forty-eight hours after the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie aired, the initial run of twenty thousand DVDs sold out. Two years later, when Christmas with Tucker, the prequel to the McCray family stories, was released, it was described by Dean Koontz as “a perfect Christmas read,” by A. J. Jacobs as “lovely and poignant,” and by Publishers Weekly as “cute, hopeful, and heartwarming.” Now, the much-anticipated third installment, A Christmas Home, will prove to be yet another holiday classic.

Toby is just about the best pet ever, except for one small detail: Toby likes adventure! He always plans to come back home, but sometimes he gets in trouble. One day a door is left open a little too long, and off he runs just as fast as he can. Along the way he meets a nice couple who feed and bathe him, a cranky old man who tries to teach Toby a lesson about eating his cat's food, and finally, a young boy who finds Toby and brings him home.

Approximately four years ago (in 2010), I saw the most unbelievable happening. My adorable Yorkshire Terrier, named Wizzie, saved a drowning kitten from my family's pool in San Diego. It was an astonishing act of bravery for this 6 and a half lb. bundle of fur.

Just one week until school starts. One week until Mattie Breen is the new girl again. One week until she has to introduce herself - to try and make friends. Unless she can convince her uncle Potluck, the school janitor, to take her on as a custodial apprentice. Then she’ll be able to work with him at lunch and recess instead of needing to be with all the other fifth-graders. All she has to do is stick to the custodial wisdom she writes in her notebook.

Jack the husky dog and his friend Maria face losses together when Maria's father dies suddenly one summer. Maria is a young girl of 11 years of age dealing with one of life's most difficult challenges, the death of a parent. She goes from experiencing a normal childhood with a normally present mother and father to almost instantly having to accept and assume the role of a child being raised solely by her mother, now a single parent. Jack the husky dog serves as her friend and coach as she finds her way through the many stages of grieving.