Showing results for "fiction" in Pets & Animal Care

Jules Thornton didn't come to Ocala to make friends. She came to make a name for herself. Young, determined, and tough as nails, she's been swapping stable-work for saddle-time since she was a little kid - and it hasn't always been a fun ride. Forever the struggling rider in a sport for the wealthy, all Jules has on her side is talent and ambition. She's certain all she needs to succeed are good horses, but will the eventing world agree? On her own at last, Jules is positive she's poised to become eventing's newest star, but soon finds she's making more enemies than friends.

Here is everything you need to know about the crucial first months of your puppy's life, from monks who have been breeding, raising, and training German Shepherds for more than 25 years. Their extraordinary grasp of every facet of puppy behavior has gained them worldwide attention.

The town is gripped by a big freeze, and blizzard after blizzard has engulfed the feline community, leaving shops and businesses snowbound. Hettie Bagshot and her sidekick, Tilly Jenkins, have found sanctuary by their fireside but soon they are bucketed into a terrifying nightmare, called to investigate the disappearance of the town's kittens as - one by one - they are taken in the snow. Who are the strange cats living in Wither-Fork Woods?

Nadine is a British widow living on a Greek island in the Cyclades who adopts a dog called Charlton. But she has no idea what looking after a dog entails: the attention, the care, the responsibility. As she struggles to cope with him, matters quickly get out of hand. Friends and neighbors get involved, and others try to take charge of the situation. What follows is a dark, brutally funny story that tracks the strange, enforced intimacy of life in a small island community. And Charlton is at the heart of it all.

K-9 search and rescue handler Jamie Flint and her team - both human and canine - are called in when a group vanishes during a dogsledding expedition for battered women in the Mahoosuc Mountains of Maine. When it's learned a rogue gunman was involved in the disappearance, authorities look to the abusive partners of the women now lost for answers. Meanwhile, a voice from Jamie's past begins to haunt her, echoing the words of the shooter now in pursuit of a target Jamie alone can save.

Dr. Cyrus Mills returns to his hometown after inheriting his father's failing veterinary practice. Cyrus intends to sell the practice and get out of town as fast as he can, but when his first patient - a down-on-her-luck golden retriever named Frieda Fuzzypaws - wags her way through the door, life suddenly gets complicated. Cyrus gets caught up in a new community and its endearing residents, both human and animal. Sensing he may have misjudged the past, he begins to realize it's not just his patients that need healing.

When Dr. Cyrus Mills returned home after inheriting his estranged father's veterinary practice, the last thing he wanted was to stay in Eden Falls, Vermont. However, the previously reclusive veterinarian pathologist quickly found that he actually enjoyed treating animals and getting to know the eccentric residents of the tiny provincial town - especially an alluring waitress named Amy.

For years dog trainer Michael Wombacher has worked with expecting dog owners to prevent problems between dogs and children. He has also unfortunately witnessed too many families forced to surrender their beloved family companions because they failed to prepare the dog for the arrival of a new family member. In Good Dog, Happy Baby, Wombacher lays out a 12-step process that will give families the skills they need to navigate this new era of their lives.

Charlie Keefe is not just your typical dog lover - he's a world famous dog painter, a.k.a. "The Picasso of Pooch Portraits". Unfortunately, Charlie's beloved muse Pete, his lovable Jack Russell terrier, has just died. So, after months of suffering over his dearly departed soulmate and wondering if he ever made it to The Rainbow Bridge, Charlie reluctantly agrees to foster a new puppy - a cute Cavalier King Charles named Brownie from the local animal shelter.

Jules is used to starting over. With her horses, her dreams, and Pete by her side, they're making a new go of eventing life in an unlikely setting. After years of riding for trainers and owners, their isolated little farm feels like a luxury to her. Unfortunately, not everyone in the business agrees that less is more. Jules has never thought of herself as lucky, but now she'll need all the luck - and hard work - in the world to hang on to the horses she loves.

Somewhere between hunting for gold in Latin America as a geologist and getting married to a new husband, 33-year-old Susan Purvis loses her way. Susan comes to believe that a puppy and working on ski patrol at the last great ski town in Colorado will improve her life. When she learns about avalanches that bury people without warning, she challenges herself: "What if I teach a dog to save lives?" This quest propels her to train the best possible search dog, vowing to never leave anyone behind.

Jules Thornton is settled at Briar Hill Farm with fellow trainer Pete Morrison, eyes focused on a successful future in eventing, but money is tight and opportunities are dwindling. When a potential sponsor offers Pete a stellar deal, Jules is ready for her big break - but it's not what she was hoping for. She'll have to make hard choices if she wants a future in eventing - and with Pete.

It's the dead of winter in the Thousand Islands, and there's nothing that reminds Suzy and Josie about that fact more than sub-zero temperatures, bone-chilling winds, and finding a dead body under the ice wearing only shorts and a tee shirt. In addition, a rare Dandie Dinmont has been found wandering around the area and Suzy and Josie, while trying to figure out what might have happened to the man under the ice, are also doing everything they can to reunite the dog with its owner.  

Here is a compelling meditation from renowned horseman Mark Rashid on all the ways that the principles we apply in our dealings with fellow humans can apply to our relationships with our horses, and vice versa. Horsemanship Through Life is about awareness, learning, teaching, honesty, integrity, and much more. It is about more than tips or technique; it is about principles to live by. It is about taking ownership of and responsibility for our lives and relationships with horses and humans. It doesn t take long to listen to, but will be with you for life.

Christmas is fast approaching, and around the Inn, Suzy and Josie are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the holiday season with their friends and family. But when a box of puppies is dropped off on their doorstep on a frigid night, the chain of events that unfolds leads them straight to a murder and an illegal puppy mill that's operating in the area.  

Suzy and Josie, owners of the Thousand Islands Doggy Inn, are attending an end-of-summer party and are about to receive a sizeable charitable gift from one of their good friends, a local businessman with a love of dogs and a reputation with the ladies. A newly built yacht about to embark on a trip to Florida via the Inland Waterway is one of the party highlights, but when the engineer is killed, and Jackson, the Clay Bay Chief of Police, ends up in critical condition, the yacht becomes the focal point of the ensuing murder investigation. 

The Thousand Islands Doggy Inn Mysteries feature two of the smartest and funniest lead female protagonists to hit the cozy mystery scene in a very long time, and their affection for food and boundless love and devotion to their dogs puts this new series in the 'Don't Miss' category. The Case of the Abandoned Aussie gets this fresh alphabet series off to a great start, and B. R. Snow promises that listeners are in for a long, wild, and highly entertaining ride as the series moves forward.

From Buck Brannaman, best-selling author of The Faraway Horses, Believe: A Horseman's Journey continues to chronicle Buck's efforts as a catalyst and mentor through the stories of thirteen people with whom he has worked.

In Letters of Note: Cats, Shaun Usher collects together the most engaging missives that celebrate, eulogise, rail against and analyse the idiosyncratic ways of our feline companions. A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Helen McCrory, Natascha McElhone, Stephen Mangan, Miriam Margolyes, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong and Meera Syal.

In this latest installment, prize-winning reporter Jim Qwilleran - along with his lovable Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum - solves a mystery that arises when a local banker dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a flashy young widow, an unfinished house-restoration project, and a trail of clues as elusive as a cat burglar in the night....