Pet Memoir

Between 1941 and 1944, sixteen thousand plucky homing pigeons were dropped in an arc from Bordeaux to Copenhagen as part of 'Columba' – a secret British operation to bring back intelligence from those living under Nazi occupation.

What animals teach us about love. Brenda Peterson, author of the popular book, Wild Chorus, takes us on a moving, sometimes surprising journey of our more-than-human bonds with wild and domestic animals. Author interviewed by Almost Live! comedian, Tracey Conway, and her husky dog, Ella.

Borghild Strandenes is a Norwegian woman living in France where she runs a small non-profit rescue association, specialised in helping blind dogs and dogs suffering from trauma. In 2020 she flies to Cyprus to bring three blind dogs to France. Whilst on the island she meets Shakespeare, a dog that has sat “frozen “in a concrete corner for five years. No one has seen Shakespeare stand up, nor eat, as he will only eat and move in the night when there is no humans at the sanctuary. Then, one winter morning a meeting at a shelter, on a plateau in Cyprus changes both their lives forever.

Listeners will delight in this tale of an urbanite who leaves her magazine job to move to Collelungo, Italy, population: 200. There, in the ancient city center of a historic Umbrian village, she sets up house with the enticing local gardener she met on vacation only weeks earlier. This impulsive decision launches an eye-opening series of misadventures when village life and romance turn out to be radically different from what she had imagined. Love lost with the gardener is found instead with Marcus, an abandoned English pointer that she rescues.

Florence Nightingale sends care instructions to the woman who has just adopted her angora tomcat, Mr. White. T. S. Eliot issues a rhyming birthday party invitation to all Jellicle cats for his four-year-old godson. Jack Kerouac's mother grieves at the death of the family cat. Jack Lemmon winkingly suggests to Walter Matthau that they go in on a cat ranch in Mexico. This utterly charming collection offers a warm and friendly look at the place that cats occupy in our hearts and lives.

Marika Meeks fell in love with Stella the moment she saw her. The adorable pit bull puppy had been abandoned in a cold field in winter - but her warm, friendly eyes and boundless affection could melt anyone's heart. Even so, Marika wasn't sure she was ready to adopt a dog. As a busy entrepreneur, wife, and mother of two daughters, Marika's life was crazy already. She was recovering from stage-three breast cancer, and her family was still reeling from her brush with mortality. But Marika couldn't deny the way Stella made her feel, and she knew in her heart what her family needed.

The village of Ashford, New Jersey, is about to discover terror. The Howler, a bloody killer who has already shredded six teens, is moving in. Seventeen-year-old Don Boyd doesn't need the grief. He's already under siege - jock trouble, girl trouble, school trouble, family trouble. Then one frosty autumn night, Don is jumped by the Howler. Suddenly they're surrounded by fog, green fire, the sound of iron striking iron.... And Ashford's real horror begins.

From birth, my life has been a series of wrong turns and dead ends. Only one person truly loved me, and I walked away from them. Now, they're unavailable. I have a dark soul. That's what I've always been told. Makes me good at my work, though. It's kept me alive, even when I haven't cared if I lived or died. Even when I welcomed death, and it still eluded me. Makes it easy not to get attached. I guess I'm lucky. Until an unexpected reversal of fortune thrusts me into an unwinnable situation. Now, I'm not so sure I want to die.

Finding an iguana after he goes missing for three years is only one of the surprising moments in this memoir of pet ownership. There are midnight vigils with a sickly chameleon, disappearing sharks, and neighborhood dog disputes. This short little book is packed with all the feels, and you won't be able to put it down.

For the first time in my life, I didn't need to pretend, I didn't need to be tough: I only needed to be honest. "I have cerebral palsy. I walk funny and my balance is bad. I fall a lot. My hands shake, too. That means I'm not so good at carrying things. And if I drop stuff, sometimes it's hard to just bend down and get it." I waited anxiously for the interviewer's response. She smiled. "It sounds like a service dog could be great for you."

When Rhiannon fell in love with, and eventually married her flatmate, she imagined they might one day move on. But this is London in the age of generation rent, and so they share their home with a succession of friends and strangers while saving for a life less makeshift. The desire for a baby is never far from the surface, but can she be sure that she will ever be free of the anxiety she has experienced since an attack in the street one night? And after a childhood spent caring for her autistic brother, does she really want to devote herself to motherhood?

Jay Kopelman sets forth more than a dozen lessons, including: Life can change in an instant, but you'll be able to handle it; passion for something can help you tap into your most powerful reserve of energy; have a standard operating procedure for everything; and never forget who you are or how you got here. Active and retired troops, soldiers' friends and families, and everyone who has ever loved a dog will embrace this book.

How I Got Wong is not your usual love at first sight pet story. It deals with a taboo topic and is meant for adult listeners only.

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.

This book is a memoir about life with a four-legged friend, and a lamentation for her premature passing. It is a tale of interlocking dramas: a dog owner’s devotion, but rooted in foolish denial; a scientific objectivity, but under attack by nagging grief; a recognition that a wonderful friend is now “at peace,” but angered by the glib way in which that very word is used; grateful for a great canine’s gifts—Christmas every day—but stunned by their fragility against the sudden ravages of time; certain that no mere dog’s death can be a tragedy but unable to shake the feeling ...

Scruffy, deaf, and homeless, life on the streets is tough for young Albi. What could the future possibly hold for an abandoned Spanish Podenco puppy that has been hit by a car and can’t hear? Yet despite a traumatic start, Albi’s life changes when he is rescued, brought to the UK, and fostered by Lois Sinclair, founder of the rescue charity, Gracehounds, and a passionate dog lover who has shared her life and home with numerous canine companions. Before long, Lois and Albi’s lives become interwoven.

Als die Autorin von ihrem Mann einen Gutschein für Anfängerstunden in der nahen Reitschule erhält, trifft sie dort auf das schwer traumatisierte Schulpferd Sanchez, dessen Schicksal sie nicht mehr loslässt. Gegen alle Vernunft kauft sie das Pferd und lernt, auf sein Wesen und seine Bedürfnisse einzugehen. Doch Sanchez leidet an einer heimtückischen Krankheit, die beide vor neue Herausforderungen stellt.

From historian-in-residence at the Presidential Pet Museum, Andrew Hager, comes a fond, fascinating, and often surprising look at the dogs who were the best friends of the presidents, featuring unforgettable photographs.

Kathy's husband, George, yearned for a Border Collie. This is the story of the birth and life of their beloved Ringo, the transition out of his body and rebirth as little Nina, a female Border Collie. As Ringo, and their matriarchal cat, Solo, faced health challenges and moved toward their end-of-life, Kathy and George were referred to Amanda Reister, a gifted pet communicator, to learn how best to care for their aging pets. Suddenly, everything changed. The conversations they've had with their pets, through Amanda, were nothing short of miraculous and completely changed their paradigm.

ענת לויט – ילידת תל אביב 1958, סופרת ומשוררת. פרסמה אחד עשר ספרי פרוזה ושירה, ביניהם יומנה של אישה מודרנית, ניקול ופייר (פרוזה), עירומה על גב סוס במונגוליה ותפילת יחידה (שירה). זכתה בפרס ורטהיים לשירה, בפרס ברנשטיין לביקורת ובפרס ראש הממשלה.