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Suggested Books

Suggested Books
by
August 28, 2024
in Humane Education Column
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By: Judy Lore, AVHS Volunteer Columnist

Days are getting shorter with more time spent inside. It’s a great time to check out some wonderful books about dogs and cats. I’ve recently come across several that bear a serious reason to dwell within their pages.

David Rosenfelt has a new book titled, Dog Day Afternoon that is another of his entertaining crime novels. This one surprised me with a crime of ingenuity and a storyline that I’d not read about before. Lawyer Andy Carpenter uses his golden retriever, Tara, as his sounding board on their daily walks around their New Jersey neighborhood. He’s been hired to prove the wrong guy is in jail for six murders related to medical malpractice and fraud. A captivating read.

A great series by a Denver writer, Gordon Carroll, is any of the Gil Mason novels. I’ve read several and the writer’s wealth of knowledge of crime fighting and K9 training is exceptional. He was a deputy sheriff in the Denver area and a police dog trainer. After retiring, he gravitated to writing about his experiences to entertain his grandkids. Old Dog, New Tricks is one to try and there are others just as interesting.

For cat lovers, a memoir sounds particularly interesting: My Beloved Monster: Masha, The Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me. This is a relatively new book by Caleb Carr that might prove to be an entertaining read.

Jennifer Marshall Bleakley’s, Pawverbs for a Dog Lover’s Heart is filled with inspiring stories of friendship, fun, and faithfulness. There is also a Pawverbs for a Cat Lover’s Heart. These are probably similar to the Chicken Soup books – short stories to read when you have a bit of time.

Woman’s Best Friend: Women Writers on the Dogs in Their Lives edited by Megan Morris with a foreword by Creede writer Pam Houston. This is such a consuming collection of true stories showcasing how important dogs are to women in various stages of their lives. I’ve almost finished it and was enthralled with how important the women’s dogs were to comforting them through heartache and sometimes losing these “best friends.”

There are many reasons to read books about dogs including for comfort or entertainment, but we can also learn from the research and stories of these authors. Marissa Martino is a certified dog behavior consultant (CDBC, CTC). She worked for many years at a variety of animal shelters including Humane Society of Boulder Valley, East Bay SPCA in California, and Dumb Friends League in Denver. She now works as a behavior consultant for animal shelters, and is one of the individuals who can provide knowledge on how to support behavioral dogs. Her book Human-Canine Behavior Connection, explores how you and your dog perceive the world, training techniques to modify your dog’s behavior, how to promote a deeper connection between you and your dog, and gives you exercises to foster a deeper connection between you and your world. A book I have not read yet, but has amazing reviews is The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist.

I’m running out of Space, but one book I plan on devouring is Dog Smart: Life- Changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence by Jennifer Holland. Holland has written for National Geographic and other top-ranking outlets such as the New York Times, NPR, and the Washington Post. She presents her thoughts on dog cognitive research and how smart canines really are. She literally immersed herself in the search for thoughts and behaviors of canine intelligence around the world from K9 trainers to cadaver dogs. Are some dogs “smarter” or just more in-tune with humans than other dogs? As a former teacher I learned no two kids are alike and caring for enjoying and loving twelve dogs over decades. I also have learned no two dogs are alike. There is so much reading and learning to get done!

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