Make no bones about If a dog rules your home—and your heart—you'll love this compelling, laugh-out-loud, and tear-jerking collection of true stories of some incredible, endearing, and courageous canines. With chapters on Four-Legged Family Members, The Common Bond, Teachers and Healers, and Unconditional Love, For the Love of Dogs reveals the many ways our dogs enrich our lives emotionally, physically, and spiritually. For example, Rocky is a trouble-making Golden Retriever pup who redeems himself when he saves an unsuspecting toddler's life; Hart is a Labrador who helps a traumatized teen find her voice; and Jazz is an agility dog whose fighting spirit and supportive family enabled her to beat her toughest competition—a cancer diagnosis. On the lighter side, there are humorous stories about dogs like Stewie, who was sold to his new owner as a purebred Yorkie. Soon, when this supposed 'toy breed' maxes out at twenty pounds, Stewie reveals his true identity as a $750 mutt. Even so, Stewie's owner doesn't mind the price, the pedigree, or sharing his postage stamp-sized place, because Stewie has captured his heart. For the Love of Dogs is a "paws"-itively captivating read for anyone who's crazy about canines.
Authors
Gina Spadafori has been writing about animals for more than 30 years as a reporter, syndicated columnist and book author. More recently, she signed on to work as a veterinary medical writer for Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI). She has written 16 books, many of which have been top-sellers, co-authored with “America’s Veterinarian” Dr. Marty Becker. Spadafori also wrote the first three books in the “For Dummies” pet-care line, including Dogs For Dummies. Dogs For Dummies was her first book, given the President’s Award for the best writing on dogs and the Maxwell Medallion for the best general reference work, both by the Dog Writers Association of America. The award-winning Cats For Dummies, co-authored with Dr. Paul Pion, was named one of the best moments for cats in the 20th Century by Cat Fancy magazine. She has also edited books, managed teams of journalists and provided marketing expertise for both established companies and start-ups. She has been a frequent contributor to many top publications and media platforms, and her work is read by millions every week. Her books have been translated into many languages, including French, Serbian, Danish, Japanese, Spanish, Korean and Russian. In 2007, she was one of a small group of journalists credited with breaking open the pet-food recall story, leading to her and her work being the focus of prominent features in USA Today and the Los Angeles Times. In the fall of 2013, she began a new career writing for the veterinary community on behalf of Veterinary Pet Insurance. The work allows her to continue one of her favorite things: Attending veterinarian conferences and staying current on both best-practice and cutting-edge veterinary medicine. She is also working on The McKenzie Project, a genetic project intended to reduce the incidence of soft-tissue sarcoma in flat-coated retrievers. Convinced she was born to be a farmer, Gina recently purchased a house on a small acreage with agricultural zoning and a barn. There is room for fruit trees, gardens and all her animals—dogs, cats, horses, chickens, ducks and dairy goats. This property, which will be a work in progress for the rest of her life, is now Rancho Buena Fe´, a/k/a Good Faith Ranch.
