Home Care

In a profound, funny, and beautifully rendered portrait of a beloved companion, bestselling novelist Dean Koontz remembers the golden retriever who changed his life. A retired service dog, Trixie was three when Dean and his wife, Gerda, welcomed her into their home. She was superbly trained, but her greatest gifts couldn’t be taught: her keen intelligence, her innate joy, and an uncanny knack for living in the moment.

The life of a veterinarian is challenging: keeping up with advances in medical care, making difficult decisions about people's beloved companions, and, in Dr. Doug Mader's case, navigating the social unrest in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. The Vet at Noah's Ark follows Dr. Mader and his staff over the course of a year at Noah's Ark Veterinary Hospital, an inner-city LA area veterinary hospital where Dr. Mader treats not only dogs and cats, but also emus, skunks, snakes, foxes, monkeys, and a host of other exotic animals

After a devastating series of personal losses, Larry Randolph finally had things under control. Then one morning while praying, he felt God speak two simple words to his heart: "Therapy dogs." There was only one problem. Larry didn't have a dog, and hadn't since the loss of his beloved basset hound, Gus. Why would God say that? Could Larry even open himself up to loving a dog again? He had far more questions than answers. But then came Grace. Together, Larry and his beloved yellow lab Gracie brought hope and healing to hundreds of sick and lonely people.

Whenever middle-aged desert tour guide Forrest Bryant Johnson went out on his daily walks into the Mojave, all was usually peaceful and serene. But one beautiful summer day in 1987, Forrest heard a cry of distress. Following the cries, he came upon a small bobcat kitten, injured, orphaned, and desperately in need of help. So Forrest took his new feline friend home for a night.

First published in 1733 as Ecole de Cavalerie by François Robichon de la Guérinière, this book is considered as the beginning of modern equitation. The book is most famous for its introduction of the shoulder-in. The theories in this book provide the basis for all modern equitation, and it is probably the most important work on the subject ever written. It was translated from the French to English by Tracy Boucher.

Shirley MacLaine has found a perfect love in the furry bundle of irresistible canine charms that is Terry. With her winning terrier ways and an endless wellspring of love with no strings attached, Terry has succeeded in doing what no one before her ever has: slowing Shirley's peripatetic travels, shifting the actress/author's global axis to hearth and home.

January is known as the dead season in the small Smoky mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina. For dog trainer and wilderness expert Raine Stockton, who hasn't had a client in six month, this season has been deader than most.

You’ve got your new dog; you’ve got the bowl, the collar, and the lead. Now what? This puppy doesn’t seem to understand anything you say! You got your pet to be your companion, yet all you seem to do is yell at her! Let’s change this right away. Instead of focusing on what you don’t want your dog to do, focus on what you do want. Instead of having unnecessary battles over trivia, build up terrific games your dog longs to play with you. Soon, your unruly dog will be saying, “Yes? What would you like me to do for you?”

From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin', the warmhearted and hilarious story of how his life was transformed by his love for a poorly behaved, half-blind stray dog.

This guide is designed for those that are ready to learn about dog food and how it pertains to your dog’s overall well-being - and how you can aid in the health of your canine friend by providing them the proper nutrition needed. Let’s face it, if you do not understand the nutritional facts about dog food, then how might you know what is good to feed your dog.

This guide includes all the knowledge and tips you need to help you overcome your gardening fears so you can enjoy growing and nurturing a collection of plants, no matter how many disasters you’ve had in the past.

Chaser has a way with words. She knows over a thousand of them—more than any other animal of any species except humans. In addition to common nouns like house, ball, and tree, she has memorized the names of more than one thousand toys and can retrieve any of them on command. Based on that learning, she and her owner and trainer, retired psychologist John Pilley, have moved on to further impressive feats, demonstrating her ability to understand sentences with multiple elements of grammar and to learn new behaviors by imitation.

When Frey's teacher realizes that Frey is living alone, she contacts Child Protective Services, who put Frey into foster care. First in the Foster Heroes Series, Mom's Gone takes you through Frey's journey, and how he finally finds a home where he makes friends, and feels safe, until his mom can return home.

When eleven-year-old Hank’s mom doesn’t come home, he takes care of his toddler sister, Boo, like he always does. But it’s been a week now. They are out of food and mom has never stayed away this long… Hank knows he needs help, so he and Boo seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact. But asking for help has consequences. It means social workers, and a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he's been trying to keep secret. And if they can't find his mom soon, Hank and Boo may end up in different foster homes—he could lose everything.

What's really going into commercial dog food? The answer is horrifying. Big Kibble is big business: $75 billion globally. A handful of multinational corporations dominate the industry and together own as many as 80 percent of all brands. This comes as a surprise to most people, but what’s even more shocking is how lax the regulations and guidelines are around these products. The guidelines - or lack thereof - for pet food allow producers to include ever-cheaper ingredients and create ever-larger earnings.

Caregiving is challenging, but understanding your loved one's behavior and using effective strategies can ease the burden.

Rona Maynard wants to love her life again. Stuck in the what-next doldrums after quitting a big job, she needs a new bridge to the world. So, well into their married life, she lets her husband talk her into their first dog, a rescue mutt named Casey. Rona frets about shedding, lost travel opportunities, and arguments about walking duty. She doubts she can love a dog. But when Casey romps through her door, Rona falls hard.

In addition to many expert breeders, practitioners in the fields of canine behavioral psychology, veterinary health, and breed-specific ownership have contributed with invaluable advice and tips. So whether you are looking for basic instruction or more advanced advice, you will find it all here.

In 2006, Kate MacDougall was working a safe but dull job at the venerable auction house Sotheby’s in London. After a clumsy accident nearly destroyed a precious piece of art, she quit Sotheby’s and set up her own dog-walking company. Kate knew little about dogs and nothing about business, and no one thought being a professional dog walker was a good use of her university degree. Nevertheless, Kate embarked upon an entirely new and very much improvised career walking some of the city’s many pampered pooches, branding her company "London's Number One Dog Walking Agency".

Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe - descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished.