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Dog Lovers Book Club - July 2020

Nothing beats curling up in front of the fire with a great book and your pets on a cold winter's day! Time to grab that cuppa and enjoy the upcoming school holidays with this July 2020 selection of our Dog Lovers Book Club.

LOST COMPANIONS
Reflections on the Death of Pets
by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

A heartfelt exploration of human grief after the loss of a pet by the New York Times bestselling author of Dogs Never Lie About Love.


Our society is still learning how to dignify the relationship between a pet and their human with proper mourning rituals. We have only recently allowed the conversation of how to grieve for our non-human family members to come front and centre. 

In examining the special bond between pets and their people, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson validates the grief that we feel when a special pet dies. Lost Companions is full of poignant stories about dogs, cats, horses, birds, wombats and other animals that beautifully illustrate the strong bond humans form with them. 

A heartfelt exploration of human grief after the loss of a pet, Lost Companions is a thought-provoking book on pet loss. Masson takes a personal approach, allowing readers to explore their own responses, suggesting ways through and out of grief, as well as meaningful ways to memorialise our best friends.

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Murdoch Books, 2nd July 2020

RRP: $29.99 from all good book stores and online.


SALO
Canine Outlaw
by Nik Forster

This is the story of Salo, a dingo pup near to death, rescued by David Wiringales, an elderly Aboriginal man who lives a solitary life in the outback. He raises the pup with young ones from his own dog, Tessa. A violent storm from the south disrupts his life and forces his dogs to fend for themselves and commit the unforgivable crime; killing sheep. In no time they have a bounty on their heads.

The native Aboriginal population welcomed the dingo to their fires, not only did they have them as companions but as a food source and means of warmth at night, at the same time incorporating them into their spiritual lives.

The large dog, ignorant of his ancestry, made his way through the tangled heath and up onto a small rocky embankment that sloped upward from the dense vegetation. He coughed, as near as a dingo gets to bark, and greeted his mate.


Book sales help the Bargo Dingo Sanctuary's conservation and breeding programs.


Paperback, 160 pages
Publisher: Dandiprawn Productions, 7th April 2020


Price: $19.95 (special offer) from Forster Books

WAR DOGS
by Tony Park (with Shane Bryant)

In Afghanistan, sometimes all that stands between coalition troops and death or serious injury is a dog.

Highly trained dogs and their handlers search for improvised explosive devices or hidden weapons out on patrol with combat troops.

It’s a perilous job, often putting them right in the firing line, and making them high priority targets for the Taliban insurgents they’re fighting.

Shane Bryant, a former Australian Army dog handler, spent 10 years in Afghanistan working with elite American special forces and training other handlers and dogs. War Dogs is his story – a riveting true account of the hidden war in the mountains and cities of the world’s most dangerous conflict, and the comradeship between man and dog that has saved numerous lives.

This re-released updated edition of War Dogs looks at the effects a decade of service as a contractor had on Shane, his personal life and his mental health as he faced new enemy, post-traumatic stress disorder.


Paperback, 304 pages
Publisher: AJP, 15 July 2020


RRP: $29.99 (paperback) from Amazon, Dymocks, Booktopia; $10.99 (Kindle edition) at www.tonypark.net

REALITY BARKS
by Kit James

On a hot and dusty day a country mutt is rescued from Barranyup Dog Pound. It’s way out west of Sydney. What happens next is no ordinary tale, and this mutt turns out to be no ordinary dog. Previously a one-man companion dog, he discovers that he’ll now be shared between two slick up-market Sydney couples. A Time Share dog? Oh, really? 

What’s this all about he wonders? 

First there’s his new name – Elliott, named after T.S.Eliot, who wrote Cats! Then, because Elliott can read auras and understand every word of human talk, and not just body language, he discovers that none of them really wanted a full-time dog. So why is he here? What’s going on? And who is he supposed to love? He knows who he wants to love, and that’s Adriana. He fell in love with her scent, even before he saw her. That’s the way of dogs.

But it’s Ad Man Jamie, the human Alpha Male of the other couple, who has secret designs on him. Soon Elliott finds he’s a busy working dog with an action-packed starring role in a TV ad campaign for a yucky dog food brand that he detests.
Reality Barks.

He’ll do anything not to be sent back to Barranyup. Elliott knows the fate of ‘boomerang’ dogs. So this clever rescue dog embraces his new life and becomes a celebrity, or as he says, from mutt to megastar.

What’s a dog like this doing wearing a hat like that? You may well ask. Find out in Reality Barks (Book #1), An Elliott C. Cool Caper series, a collection of amusing heart-warming stories for every dog lover.


eBook, 287 pages
Publisher: Kit James Publishing, May 2020


RRP: $6.99 from www.booktopia.com.au

BOOK CLUB - KIDS' CORNER

CAMPING CHAOS! 
Dog Diaries
by Steven Butler, James Patterson

The fifth book in the hilarious Dog Diaries series featuring Rafe Khatchadorian's pet pooch, Junior.

I can't wait to get to the most magical place in the world – The Woods! Just imagine all the adventures...
Doggy-paddling in the lake
Barking at raccoons
And my quest to find the greatest stick in the universe!

But all my best plans are ruined when Iona Stricker -the most miserable, cruel, and obedience-loving human you could ever hope not to meet - shows up, making any fun impossible.

Until... a canine criminal, escaped from Pooch Prison, sneaks into the camp and changes everything!
This vacation might be fun after all!

Paperback, 208 pages
Publisher: Cornerstone, 19th May 2020
For Ages: 7 - 9 years old

Price: $13.50 at www.booktopia.com.au

MR. DOG AND THE RABBIT HABBIT
by Ben Fogle, Steve Cole, Nikolas Ilic (Illustrator)

A brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiences... 

Co-written with best-selling children's author Steve Cole and illustrated throughout with beautiful black and white illustrations by Nikolas Ilic.

You can always count on Mr. Dog to help an animal in trouble...

When a mother rabbit is captured in a trap, he ends up playing bunnysitter...

But someone wants to get rid of All the rabbits, not just this one, and time is running out for Mr. Dog to save them...

Format: Paperback, 144 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 5th May 2020
For Ages: 7 - 8 years old

RRP: $10.61 at www.booktopia.com.au 

THAT DOG! 
by Emma Lazell 

This brilliant second picture book from Emma Lazell - a rising star of the picture-book world - is a hilarious dognapping caper.

There's a team of dognappers on the loose! They've stolen lots of pooches, but this time they're up against a very clever dog.The cunning Penelope Dognapper is very keen to get her hands on the latest rare breed, the lesser-spotted woofer. Her big mistake is sending Patrick, her accomplice, to do the job. 

He has great difficulty identifying the right dog-that dog-and in a house that also contains a snake, a tortoise, and a characterful cat, you can imagine the chaos that ensues as he tries to steal the dog.

And that dog is a very smart woofer. He's a bit of a detective in his spare time, and he might just have worked out who's behind the dastardly crimes. 


Will he avoid getting caught himself and rescue his fellow creatures? 

Format: Paperback, 32 pages
Publisher: Pavilion Books, 20th April 2020
For Ages: 3+ years old

RRP: $14.99 from www.booktopia.com.au 

TOBY THE DOG
My Furry Foster Family

by Debbi Michiko Florence, illustrated by Melanie Demmer



"T" is for Toby, tricks and TROUBLE! 

Toby the black Labrador might be an older rescue dog, but he's still got enough mischief beneath his collar to keep eight-year-old Kaita Takano and her animal-fostering family on their toes from morning till night. 

This playfully illustrated, Kaita-narrated chapter book promises plenty of canine fun.

Paperback, 72 pages
Publisher: Capstone Global Library Ltd, 28th May 2020


Price: $17.90 at www.booktopia.com.au

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