Pets Books

I was given the postcards book as a gift and had to have this book. Full of color pictures. If you love cats or photography with great color and contrast, this is a wonderful book.

If you like to look at kitties, this is a no-brainer. It's a beautiful book. One of its charms is that it's a quiet, calming book. It brings the viewer into the world of these cats...and causes me to ask (not being on a sunny island) how can I bring such solitary basking moments into my life? how can I peacefully share space with others? can I find a warm, sunny, basking place within myself and the space I inhabit?

We often hear the expression "Lucky Dog". This book is "Lucky Cat".

I bought this fabulous coffee table book for my boyfriend's birthday last month, and we both think it is fantastic. The pictures are so luscious and colorful--now I can't wait to visit the Greek Isles and see some of these amazing cats.

I purchased it to gift to my niece for her 15th birthday. She has mania for cats and many books related with feline. This book is better than the others she had because the beauty of the scenery is in harmony with cat feature. She was suffused with delight when received this gift.
It seems that every photograph has mood and story so that is create imagination of beautiful world. If you take a look the picture of this book then you will cannot help but like cats. I strongly recommend people interested in feline to purchase this book.

I was given this book as a present two months after my own kitty was put down. This is the most wonderful book on cats I've ever seen. It shows quite clearly how different their personalities are and seems to capture the essence of a cat's soul! These beautiful creatures will make you laugh because their personalities just shine through the pages of this wonderfully large coffee table book.

Just like cats, they don't need to say anything. There are no quotes within the book, just large beautifully artistic photographs with curious cats smiling, stretching, and being frisky. There is a touching introduction to these critters in the beginning, but then just sit back and make friends with these 400 cats!

Patti Lawson examines her own life with honesty and gives the readers an insightful view of her metamorphosis from stress and unhappiness to the joy of living through the loving and caring for her beloved dog, Sadie. In so many ways I identified with the emptiness an accomplished life cannot fill and the error in thinking that food can. Patti found the answers to regaining her health and inner peace and shares with us a sustainable path to a healthier life, physically and emotionally. She gives us a positive uncomplicated approach to caring for ourselves in good times and bad, simple, tasteful and healthy options to our toxic eating patterns and a warm and humerous story of how a small dog caused so much disorder she adapted to survive and found herself thriving. Any dog lover will appreciate her story and commitment but the life lessons and suggestions are for us all and I highly reccommend it. This is also a book I'm giving as gifts to those "hard to buy for" and no one has been disappointed.

This is one of the best books I've read recently. It has you rolling in the floor laughing and might even bring a tear as you connect with the writer and Sadie. I challenge any dog lover or someone who has tried to lose weight not to love this book. It is wonderful!

This a very cute book regarding a professional woman who after two bad relationships decides to get a dog. She adopts a dog from a shelter and it really changes her life for the better. The author tells how the dog helped her lose weight, by changing her eating habits and making her exercise more. The dog not only helps her lose weight, but also lose weight in a fun manner. The author has a very humorous style of writing. I found this book very enjoyable to read and I highly recommend it. Besides for a humorous read, this book also has some good diet and exercise tips.

If you liked John Grogan's "Marley and Me" about a man, his family and their 'bad' but lovable dog, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this book. However, like Grogan's chronicle, this is NOT about how to raise a dog. For that sort of book, you'd do much better to check out something along the line of Cesar Milan's book, and/or watch him as "The Dog Whisperer" on the National Geographic channel. (This is especially true if you are looking at rescue dogs or at acquiring a male dog from a dominant breed--Rottweiler, Doberman, German Shepherd, etc.)

That said, Patti Lawson makes some excellent points about dogs, how they view life and what they can teach us. She catalogs her own story of how her relationship with a pup took her on a journey from self-involvement to being present in the world, with a new appreciation for everything from smells to simply being in the present moment. Her description of standing at a buffet of Indian food and smelling it appreciatively is one that I will remember for a long time.

I enjoyed her story and the summary boxes within it about the lessons she learned.

I loved this book! I really enjoyed reading it and I got some great dieting ideas (and life perspectives). For example, I am now implementing her idea of having a salad box. Actually, I have two of them that are about the size of shoeboxes that I bought for $1 each at the 99cent store.

Now, as soon as I buy my salad veggies, I clean them, chop or remove whatever leaves I need to, and put them in the salad boxes with a paper towel on top...and turn the box upside down (to let the extra moisture go into the paper towel).

Since I eat salads (with sprouts) every day, this has really helped me save time. Also, I find that I am throwing out less wilted lettuce and spinach or other salad veggies. So I am not wasting food and I am saving money.

This sweet book also shows how important animals can be in our lives...and that instead of complaining about having to clean up after them or take care of them...to realize...amoung other things...that you are burning more calories taking care of your pets...ha!

Thanks Patti for your inspiring book.

I love this book, it has helped me post on a trot. (Seemed impossible at first :)

It gives lots of good tips from basics to jumping. Learn how to keep yourself safe. Learn good technique. If you're taking riding lessons, this is a definite must-read.

Riding lessons are expensive, so it's important to get the most bang for the buck. This book will help. Mike Smith explains the basics of riding clearly, and offers some classic "what to do if...?" scenarios one is certain to encounter while interacting with horses. In addition, the photographs are very helpful in illustrating topics like posting the trot and dismounting properly and safely. I have found that this book helps me review specific material covered in an actual lesson, and also gives me ideas for further discussion with my teacher. Mike Smith's writing style is straightforward and enthusiastic. Highly recommended for beginning riders of all ages, and one of the best books I've seen for a riding student. This book covers English riding only.

I love this book, I have been taking lessons for about a year and a half, and I bought this book after about 6months of lessons. It clearly explains so many things, I constantly refer to it. I think that all new riders should read this book before even going to their first lesson, to give a clear explaination of horse lingo, positions and care. I think this has been the most constant resource that I have used to explain things that my instructor and I are having trouble with.

Mike taught me to ride as an adult student at Woodland Horse Center in Maryland back in the 1980's. I'll never forget his patience, humor, and innate "horse sense." I've since moved to Wellington, Florida (a major equestrian and polo center), for reasons I thought were mostly unrelated to horses. I haven't ridden in many years. So there I was in a store looking for a book to help my son Will Tedesco, who at [...] and maybe 40 pounds is just beginning to ride. Imagine my surprise to come across this book, which I hadn't known existed! At 50, I'm once again feeling that old tug to get back on a horse, and I'm sure Mike's sensible advice will again stand me in good stead. Unlike most of his readers, however, I'll be able to hear his voice inside my head reminding me to "steer!"

I realize many techniques of English riding are transferable to Western, but, as a Western rider trying to improve my seat and aids, I found this book frustrating and unhelpful.

If one were to have only a single book on Hunter Seat Equitation, this should be it. Written by the leading trainer of top riders and instructors of the past few decades. Buy this book. The basics are covered in such a way that it will become a part of "how it should be done". This book will be on your bookshelf as reference as long as you ride.

Have now read 4 times and keep finding fundamental gems of interesting tips. Good pictures that clearly ilustrate the text descriptions. Highly recommended by riding instructures and they were right.

This book is an excellent resouce for both students and trainers. Mr. Morris has outlined a distinct training method, which is easy to follow. He explains concepts very well. I highly recommend this book.

I've never really benefited from reading books about riding in the past, but Hunter Seat Equitation changed that! I constantly refer to the book when I'm riding and it has made me much more aware of my body and aids. The pictures are wonderful and really give a good example of what you are trying to achieve. It even includes things you might not expect, like how to choose the right horse to compliment your style of riding. Wonderful book.

This is the best book on how to ride. Written logically, and so the reader can understand how to ride. Watch the video after reading the book. Every time you read it, you get more out of it.

I very much enjoyed this book. The author goes into painstaking detail of many many animals (probably some you've never heard of). Not only are the tracks explained, but the possible gaits of each animal, along with the most likely ones are given great attention. There are even sections given to animal scat, what each animal eats, what claw marks might look like and one of my favorites: how to identify predators and prey from kill sites.

This book will remain the standard to the lay person and advanced tracker for quite some time (or at least until wild animals all have GPS embedded in them).

Kudos!

This book has very clear pictures and descriptions. It is a great guide to help you identify tracks and scat when you are in the mountains. It is a great resource to use when you see tracks or scat and want to know what animal left them.

Great book - very thorough collection of mammal tracks and more. Very much worth the money.

I am earning a B.S. in wildlife management and I was needing a book that would help me with mammel signs. I reviewed several and found that they were not what I was looking for. After purchasing Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North America Species, I found that it was a huge help! This book gives understandable descriptions and a lot of pics of mammal dens, feces, tracks, and other signs. I encourage anyone who is in the wildlife perfession or just the everyday wildlife lover to purchase a copy.

This book has great photos of scat, prints, and other animal sign. I was able to use it to definitively identify otter scat on my property. Information is grouped by type of sign, so all the scat pictures are together, for example, and those are subdivided by how they look (pellets, amorphous, etc.). For many animals there are several examples of scat showing what you might see if the animal had been eating berries, or meat, or whatever. In addition to the photographs are drawings and scale data, and other information about animals and their habits. Though as you can tell, I mostly use it for scat identification.

Struggling to cope with the sudden, unexpected death of my two year old cat, I sought out many books on grief and bereavement. None helped until I encountered Laura Carlson's book. Through it and its letter writing process I began to work through my grief. My letter evolved into a framed memorial photo tribute. Thanks to this book and its process I found peace of mind and began to heal. PARTING WORDS/PARTING WAYS definitely provides a means to cope with your grief and move through the process.

For anyone who has lost a pet, those cherished loved ones of our family, this book will remind you of why you made an animal a part of your life in the first place. The memories of love and joy that our pets have brought us and why it was all worth it, even with the heartbreak of losing them. They give us comfort, love and laughter. This books brings forth those warm, sentimental feelings once again. This would not only make a nice gift for someone grieving the loss of a pet, but also bring comfort to us all.

A beautiful tribute to pets of many, like me, who loved them dearly. Personal testimonials and words of love spiced with writings of people like Winston Churchill, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Eliot and those of whom you've never heard but whose thoughts are beautiful seques to the pet owners' loving messages. Laura Ritter Carlson has a heart of gold and a true understanding of God's gift to humans (our pets) and those of us who loved and continue to love them.

Pam Hanna

Texas

I love this book.
When I lost my dog, there was such a feeling of being alone...but, with this book people can know that there are others out there..going through the same thing. It is such a comfort and that time of loss. Highly recommend.

In our society we have various acceptable ways to deal with the loss of a loved one. Everyone knows what is expected of them and the rituals that we go through to help us to work through the grief. However, the loss of a family pet can be very devastating and leaves the pet owner with no set of rituals to help move pass the pain. "Parting Words/Parting Ways: Saying Good-Bye to Your Pet" fills that void.

In the first part of the book Laura Carlson discusses the five stages of grief, the five stages of healing, memorial services and memorializing your pet. Throughout the book one thing stands out, that it is okay to grieve over the loss of a pet and there are ways to work through the grief.

The second part of the book contains many letters from pet owners who have lost a pet. The letters are written to the pets and show the deep emotions involved with the loss of a loyal companion. Reading the many letters one comes to realize the strength of the bond between many pet owners and their pets and the depth of grief that many go through. Recommended for those going through such a loss as it offers constructive methods of working through the loss and validation of their feelings.

This book is easy to read, conversational, and incredibly informative. I got some great ideas from it. Hard to put down....
Well worth purchasing!

Book is reasonably informative but about half of the book is simply on birthing cattle.....which is a skill that obviously is important, but not something that I expected in this much detail in what I thought would be more of an overview manual. So ended up being more technical and specific that I had hoped.

The book is thorough and simple, and covers every aspect of raising beef cattle. Well written, and interesting, too.

I wish I had this book in the beginning. I could just about cry when I realize all of the pains learning i went through trial and error. This book is right on to the point about handling cows.

A+++++++++++++++++++

This is a great addition to my library. I go back to it all the time, looking for answers while we raise and learn about our Scottish Highlands.

This book is pure joy. For those of us who have loved our dogs, the stories tug at your heart strings. Karen Derrico captures each dog's story with a peek into other dog owner's heart and how much they loved their special friend. Thank you for writing a book that has been so long in coming, and so beautifully written. This one is a must for dog lovers, pet lovers, and anyone who has ever had that special bond with their pet.

What a book! What a book! What a book! A tribute to the "mutt"-- God's precious gift to us humans! Their love,intelligence, courage, loyalty ; their precious souls, are a shining tribute to the canine kingdom and to our Father's loving creation. So many times a mutt is a combination of the best of each breed.

The stories in this book are a celebration of these wonderful animals and their relationship to those of us humans who have been lucky enough to share one-- or more. Hopefully this book will inspire many people to adopt from animal shelters.

This reviewer has had the joy of four wonderful, dear small mutts, mainly mixed terrier. They are now in Heaven, and the pain of separation cuts deeply.

But in spite of the hurt of this separation, I know that we will be together again when it is my turn to "cross over".

I would like to share with you my recommendation of three books, all of which can do a great deal to assuage the grief one feels at losing a beloved pet/companion/"child":

The first is The Soul of Your Pet-- this book gives solid, credible evidence of animal afterlife; there are many stories of people's interactions with pets that have passed on; many cannot be "explained away"; an example would be of a vet that is called on to treat a sick horse and sees a ghost horse near it- formerly owned by the people who call her out. She has never been there before. Hardly a "grief-induced hallucination" as the owner don't even see it. They recognize it when the vet describes it to them. A mother and daughter are with their cats in a room; their former pet walks in through the wall; both women see it and the living cats chase it out of the room. The recountings in the book are happy ones; the people are brought great comfort by seeing (hearing or feeling) again their departed pets. It is virtually impossible to be skeptical after reading several of these incidents.The idea of animals having souls is backed up biblically, as well.

The second book, For Every Dog an Angel, will melt your heart. Although written for children it is for everyone. The author wrote it after losing her "forever dog", Martha; she has had experiences that would fit with the above-mentioned Pet Souls book.

When a puppy is born we are told an angel comes to be with it throughout its life; when it bonds with its "forever person" it brings the angel much joy; when it is time for it to go to the "Other Side" its angel becomes its bridge. Sometimes it crosses back over the angel bridge to visit; the child is told to listen for pawsteps when going for a walk, or look for covers rumpling on the bed; the children love it! Finally, when it is our turn to "cross over" our forever pet is waiting to greet us and there is a joyeous reunion. I will not likely tire of re-reading its charmingly-illustrated 32 pages, and I'll bet you won't, either! If your child has lost a pet-- or is likely to--please get this book!

The third book, Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates is a Christian book, wonderfully done; it is truly inspired.

Unforgettable Mutts will bring much pleasure to its readers and will touch the heart deeply; the other three books will bring much comfort and happy anticipation.

A few years ago, there was practically nothing to help those of us grieving over pet loss; now we are finally beginning to get what we need; understanding of how deeply-bonded we can become to our canine (and other companion animal) friends.

In addition to inspiring stories about mutts, the book contains a wealth of reference information including websites and even an organization that "registers" mutts. I highly recommend this book both as a general reader and as a pet columnist for my local newspaper.

As soon as I opened the book, I couldn't put it down. The stories will make you laugh and cry. I can't tell you how many times I've re-read it - it's just that good. If there's a skeptic out there who thinks dogs have no feelings, check this book out - it'll prove you wrong

The title of this book truly says it all. These dogs are unforgettable. The best thing about this book is the memories it brought back to me of my childhood friend and mutt, Pokey. Since adulthood, I have always owned fullbred dogs, one rescued from a shelter, but still not the adorable mutt. After reading this book, I think of all of the love and devotion Pokey gave my family, and I am proud to say that she was a mutt. For those who own mutts, read the book and celebrate their uniqueness. For those who own pedigrees, read it anyway. It is full with stories of the love and joy only a dog can give. My only criticism is that it is too short. I could have read 100 more stories.

I bought this book as a bargain and in the description it said the condition would be knew and the only difference would be that it may be marked as a bargain. However, the condition of the book was really bad and it was so damaged that many pages were lose and the binding was completely broken. I will never buy a bargain book from amazon again, even though the book itself (if it was in good condition) is awesome.

First saw these photos on a trip to Stockholm. Huge photo posters were on display in a park and this book along with the photographer's other books, posters and postcards were for sale. We've all seen photos of animals before but these are quite "up close and personal." There is a "Wow" factor with what he has captured -- whether it be an action shot of wildebeest and zebra hurriedly crossing a river or a panda up in the tree to get a better look. This is not a book you'll look at once but time and time again.

Steve Bloom is by far one of the best animal photographers! The pictures he captures are incredible. Untamed is a great/huge collection of awesome pictures. The pictures and pages in the book are all high quality. Well worth the money.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, oversized and chock full of awesome photographs of all sorts of creatures. Bloom works in the wild, from a distance and close up enough to devote a full page to an elephant's eyelid. He works in Antartica, in the Amazon, in Africa, Asia, all across the world, with herds of animals and with singles, young, old, and in between. Some of the photos are panoramas, with 2 pages opening towards the middle to full effect.

I first saw the book displayed on a table in an interiors store, and fell in love with it, came home and ordered from Amazon to save $$$. Now it's on the table in *my* living room. Eventually I will give it to my son to go through and share with my now-4-year-old grandson.

Steve Bloom has taken pictoral essays to new heights. In September 2007, a stroke of Irish luck led me to his exhibition in Dublin, Ireland. I spent a mesmerizing hour wandering St. Stephen's Green Park admiring his outstanding mini-billboard sized photographs and felt cheated when I ran out of time. So I bought the book, it sits on my coffee table, and I enjoy it day after day. Untamed is not a collection of animal photos. Instead, Steve gives us a greater understanding of the beast through a series of incredible exposures. Anyone who enjoys wildlife and excellent photography must own this book. It would make an excellent gift for those who share a passion for the wildlife that is vanishing before our eyes.

I'm so glad I ordered this calendar, I couldn't beleave it was on my dorrstep the next day, it was like they new I was going to order it and sent it in advance, amazing. The calendar is so preciouse with all the pictures of street living cats, but the real jewl in this is the stoy the photographer shares on who these felines are, where they live, how he came to know them and take tell their stories. It makes one want to go out and take pictures of forgotten community of homeless and stray animals. It's a work of Heart.

A stark account of the lives of urban feral cats. The book may leave you sad and angry, but the black and white photos are precious, and you will run to give your own sweet, safe, healthy kitty an extra hug. I bought it for a fellow cat friend.

The pictures are great. I love how the author captured the society and different personalities of the cats. However, I was disappointed that the writer didn't get around to explaining whether the cats were neutered/spayed until the end of the book. There were references to the old tom cat, beat up. Why didn't they get him neutered? Or the momma who had more than one litter. I don't know when this was written, but it is standard practice now with feral colonies to trap/neuter/release on a regular basis to manage the colony and keep everyone healthy.

The concept of this book fascinated me because all of my life I have been surrounded by stray cats. Ever since I was a child, my family have always left food out for our neighborhood strays. Eventually, some of those strays made our backyard their home, regardless of where we have lived. Many, many cats - all with their own names and distinct personalities - have shared our yards and our lives. Some for fleeting moments, some for many years. We even have photos of some of these cats in our family photo albums, because they were like a family. Even now at their present home, my family has a colony of about 15 cats living in their yard. The numbers vary as they come and go as they please. Some never return. Like the cats in this book, many have met with sad ends - not due to coyotes, but mostly to cars and human cruelty in the form of poisonings. But the cats that remain are loved and fed, their antics entertain us, and they are buried properly when they die.

My mom has been trapping and taking all the strays that she can to be spayed and neutered for years now. I didn't even know it had a name (trap-neuter-release). It is hard work, though, because of her extremely limited financial resources and uncooperative or unable animal welfare agencies. The Humane Society of Miami, where we used to take some of the strays for low-cost neutering years ago, no longer performs this service for stray cats (only for those that are adopted from them), which I find unbelievable, as what can be more humane to an animal than to neuter it and prevent the inevitable suffering of their unwanted (by humans) litters?

Instead, they refer us to the city Animal Control, who has recently put a limit on the number of cats a single person can take in to be neutered. They also used to have a mobile trailer that went to different points in the city throughout the month to have cats neutered at free or low cost, but due to budget cutbacks this service has also been discontinued. My mom has had to fight tooth and nail and written to everyone from the mayor to the directors of the Animal Control simply to get permission to neuter a few more cats. My mom cannot afford to do this at a private vet's office, and she knows of no private vets nearby that provide this service for free or at a cost as low as the Animal Control. It's too bad that these agencies are unwilling to help the very animals they are supposed to protect.

Back to the book. It's a great book! Like another reviewer mentioned, if you only love purebred cats and see them as a status symbol, then this isn't for you. This is for true cat lovers who see as much beauty in a scraggly little stray kitten as in an expensive purebred Angora. The photographs are striking, but what I enjoyed most was actually the text. At the end of the book, the poignant stories of some of these cat characters are offered. Some have happy endings, some do not. But they are nevertheless fascinating to read. I would have read a whole book worth of them.

I think it's especially important to have a person who hates cats or at the least thinks they don't have as much personality as dogs to read this book. It will show them just how much love, loyalty, and devotion cats can truly have towards each other, and how intelligent and resourceful they can be. Most importantly, it should tug at the heartstrings and inspire feelings of compassion in people so that they stop needlessly hurting and killing these little animals. They need to stop seeing them simply as nuisances or pests, and more as creatures like us: with real families and real feelings, who mourn the loss of their relatives and would fight to the death to defend them.

Photographer Knox and freelance writer Sara Neeley have teamed up to produce a stunning, poignant photo essay highlighting the beauty of the hidden world of alley cats. Knox, well known for his gritty urban photojournalism, was inspired to photograph the feral survivors he encountered in his work. He soon uncovered a complex underground family structure of cats surviving the clash between nature and modern civilization. The authors readily acknowledge that this book shows only a sunny glimpse at the brutal life of street cats (for "who would buy a book that accurately showed the suffering" they endure?), but their purpose is to document this world and inspire citizens to make small changes, including spaying and neutering both domestic and feral animals.