We have a chair that is magic. If I sit on it, you come back, always. This ratty old chair was pulled out of the dumpster when you were living in student housing and had no money for furniture.

Every time you leave you say, “Roma stay and be a good dog.” I run to the chair and watch you ride away. You always look back and wave. I know I look sad but I’m a hound dog so I aways look sad.

I can tell how long you are going to be gone by the type of bag you take. If you take the leather bag you will be back in time to feed me dinner and take me for a walk sometimes by the fern bed where you found me. If you take the little green bag you are only gone for an hour or two. You come back wet, smell like chlorine and are tired. The best is the blue backpack because that means we are hitting the trail. We spend all day walking the woods and gorges behind the house. My least favorite is the big red and black bag that has all the camping and climbing equipment in it. That means I will have to sit in the chair and wait a long time for you to return.

But, you always come back. And that makes me very happy! I bark, run around in circles and you let me lick your face. I know you love me because you smile when you see me and the dark things in the middle of your eyes get big. However, I love you more. Not only do you feed me and give me a warm place to sleep but you pet my head and let me love you and you love me back.

Unlike the people who dumped me, when you say you’ll come back you always do.

(Roma died on Christmas Day 1999)

If you are looking for a good pet story, the Library’s Pets Neighborhood has a great selection of pet memoirs. There are tales of dogs who saved their owners’ lives, cats who taught their owners about life and love, a town that saved two horses, dogs who were lost and overcame huge odds to find their way home, and much more.

Four-legged Miracle is a collection of lost-and-found dog stories. Brad and Sherry Steiger have compiled some of the most miraculous true-life accounts of dogs overcoming unbelievable odds to find their way home after being lost. They include Mason, a terrier, who crawled home on two broken legs after a tornado devastated his home; Buca, who sat on a hill overlooking a highway in Utah waiting for his owner’s car to come rescue him; and Eddie, a beagle, who made his way back home after four months and many miles to reunite with his disabled four-year-old buddy, Jimmy.

Ted Kerastoe tackles the question of how can we give our pets the longest life possible in Pukka’s Promise: The Quest for Longer-lived Dogs. After losing his beloved dog, Merle, Kerastoe gets a new puppy, Pukka. He goes on a quest to determine the best things possible he can do to give Pukka a long, long life. He questions how we feed our dogs, how we vaccinate our dogs, and even whether we should spay or neuter our dogs. The answers may be surprising to even the most knowledgeable owners.

In Kitty Cornered: How Francis and Five Other Incorrigible Cats Seized Control of Our House and Made It Their House, Bob Tarte tells about how his house went from one cat to six. Tarte describes how he makes concessions to the cats in all areas of his life including sleeping arrangements, dining habits, and furniture placement. What Tarte untimately gleans from his feline companions is the art of contentment, even amidst illness and injury.

To see these memoirs and many more, come to the Pets Neighborhood, and if you have read a pet memoir that you really love, let us know what it is.

Any pet can have an unexpected injury or accident. It is important to be prepared before this happens in order to think clearly and act quickly during this stressful time. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, here are some things you need to know:

However, the summer before Tim’s junior year in high school, Otis did not come out to greet the family when they returned from Disney World. Sometimes Otis would take off for hours but never days. Tim took off to look for him and found him beaten lying in the brush. Otis’s bottom jaw appeared to have been split down the middle and he was missing teeth. His legs were at an awkward angle.

A quick trip to the vet told the whole story. Otis’s injuries had been caused by a baseball bat. His back, legs and hips were severely damaged and his jaw was radically fractured. Surgery was an option but it would be extensive and expensive. There was no guarantee he would survive.

So, they brought Otis home to die. Only they forgot to tell Otis these were his final days. EverydayTim took Otis to their swimming pool where he submerged Otis on his lap. After a couple of weeks he started gently moving his back legs so his muscles would regain some tone and strength. Over the next few months with regular pool workouts and lots of vanilla shakes he regained the ability to walk but with a limp.

Tim wrote in his book, “Otis never ran again, but after an initial period where he seemed ashamed or worried that he’d done something wrong – which made me upset at the physical injuries he’d suffered – he settled back into being himself. He was a bit frail, but he was our Otis, no less, the one we always knew and loved.”

Otis lived to be 13 and died when Tebow was away playing college football.

Aliy Zirkle came in second, 23 minutes behind Seavey. Had she won, she would have been the first female winner in 23 years.

1967 was the 100th anniversary of Alaska being a U.S. Territory after being purchased from Russia. Dorothy Page, chairman of the committee, got the idea of a sled dog race over the historic Iditarod Trail. Joe Redington Sr., later known as the Father of Iditarod, gave his support.

Redington had two reasons for organizing the long distance race: to save the sled dog culture and Alaskan huskies which were being phased our of existence due to snowmobiles and to preserve the historic Iditarod Trail between Seward and Nome. The race is a reconstruction of the freight route to Nome and commemorates the part that sled dogs played in the settlement of Alaska.

Joe Redington was quoted in Nan Elliot’s book, I’d Swap my Old Skidoo for You. “When I went out to villages ( in the 1950′s) where there were once beautiful dogs , a snow machine was sitting in front of a house and no dogs. It wasn’t good. I didn’t like that I’d seen snow machines break down and fellows freeze to death out there in the wilderness. But dogs will always keep you warm and they’ll always get you there.”

I was recently added to a Facebook group for Great Pyrenees (big, white fluffy dog that weighs about 120 pounds and looks like a polar bear) lovers and started following the story of a Canadian couple who adopted an 8 week-old blind Great Pyrenees.  We all held our breath and exhaled with little, soon-to-be-giant, Annie’s first year with her human parents and Ruby, her new dog sibling. Updates showed Annie learning her way around the house, navigating stairs, and taking walks in the gorgeous British Columbia forests. These posts also showed the formidable challenges faced by people who rescue special needs pets.  If you’d like to read more about Annie’s challenges and triumphs, her dog mom has begun a heartwarming blog entitled Love Is Blind detailing their story.  Click on the link to read and have lots of tissues handy; this is a great story.

Following Annie’s updates got my librarian brain working: what types of resources do we have here at the library to help people with special needs pets. Bruce Fogle, DVM offers the most practical medical advice and some tips and tricks for helping your blind and deaf dogs adapt.  The biggest cache of information we have comes from our collection of pet memoirs – A Dog Named Boo by Lisa J. Edwards, Blind Hope by Kim Meeder, The Dogs Who Found Me by Ken Foster; and to give the kitties some equal time, Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper. The common thread running through these books is the unfailing love and deep and strong bonds formed between animals and their humans. And more often than not, it’s the humans who insist they were the rescued ones. These stories bring to mind Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” — the rescuer of the special needs pet chooses the road less traveled, and this has “made all the difference.”

Until next time, I leave you with some video of Annie learning how to use her nose to get up the stairs.

Gershon recounts how she spent two months combing the alleys, bushes and streets of West Hollywood at 4:30 every morning looking for Cleo, armed with a can of tuna and a knife for her own protection, calling out to him in song. During these early morning sojourns she makes friends with a colorful cast of characters (because who else is out at 4:30 every morning in Hollywood). Looking for guidance she visits psychics, shamans and a Santeria priest; hangs flyers, sleeps with her door open, and begins to take strange comfort in television preachers. She is also “reunited” with several false Cleos and has to rehome them.

Each journey Gershon undertakes to find her beloved feline triggers an event in her childhood or young adulthood, focusing on her relationship with past pets, ostensibly exploring the nature of the strong bonds we form with them and how animals can be our greatest teachers when it comes to human interaction. Past and present are reflected upon with equal doses of sweetness, wisdom and self-deprecation. There are many laugh-out-loud moments as she recognizes the insane measures she’s undertaking to find Cleo (one involves urine and Tropicana bottles).

And in a pleasantly surprising turn, In Search of Cleo also tackles tough metaphysical issues as the hunt for the elusive feline brings up issues of life, loss, death, and the realm of unexplainable phenomena. Does Mr. Cleo return home? You’ll have to read this highly enjoyable book to find out.

Before you opt for obedience training, check out books for a better-behaved dog or cat. We suggest Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know and Before and After Getting Your Puppy. Let American Kennel Club’s Meet the Breeds help you match a pet with your family’s personality. Barron’s Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds will do the same for potential cat owners. Good cat behavior books include The Smart Guide to Understanding Your Cat and The Complete Cat’s Meow. Also check out harder-to-find titles on exotic pets.

Click for Book List (pdf)

Discover grooming do’s and don’ts (don’t use human toothpaste to brush your pet’s teeth). Learn how to read your pet’s distress signals and which breeds are prone to disease. Pick up training tutorials, from housebreaking to simple commands.

From using the rug as a bathroom to chewing on your slippers, the problems pets create can be irritating. Remember it’s worth it and the library may just be your place to find pet peace. Pet Librarian Marta is here to meet one-on-one to discuss in-depth needs. Schedule a consult with a librarian via the web.

You’re at a pet store looking for a small pet to purchase when you spot the turtles and tortoises. At first glance, they appear to be an easy pet to have in your home. There are, however, important things to consider before purchasing a pet turtle or tortoise.

1. The initial cost of purchasing a turtle or tortoise is the smallest expense you will have. To properly care for your turtle or tortoise, you will have to provide appropriate housing, food, bedding, humidity, and veterinary care.

2.  Turtles and tortoises live for a very long time. Are you willing to keep this pet for its entire life?

3. Are you prepared to provide clean water, food, and fresh bedding every day for your turtle or tortoise? Will you be able to provide care for your pet when you travel and are not at home?

4. Most turtles and tortoises hibernate for 10 to 20 weeks. You will need to provide the proper hibernating environment for your pet.

5. Turtles and tortoises do not interact with humans very well.

6. Turtles and tortoises are not recommended as pets for children because of the risk of certain diseases that they can transmit.

Did you know that turtles have been on the earth for more than 200 million years, that serveral species of turtles can live to be over 100 years, and that turtles live on every continent except Antartica?

If you are ready to become a responsible turtle or tortoise owner, come look at the books the Library has in the Pets Neighborhood. They can inform you about the care and feeding of pet turtles and tortoises.

Puppyhood: life-size portraits of puppies at 6 weeks old

Here are large (life-size!) professionally photographed pictures of some of the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen, all set against a bright white background.  The dogs’ names and breeds are included and text is minimal.  Arguably the best centerfold is Gage the Husky with eyes the perfect shade of blue.

The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs

This would be a great gift for dog lovers.  Or give yourself a treat and check this out for three weeks. Poetry, the famous New Yorker cartoons, and stories from authors such as Ian Frazier, Malcolm Gladwell, and Susan Orlean make this a book to treasure.

The Life and Love of Cats

“They are wild at heart, with a veneer of domestication that helps them live alongside us.” — from The Life and Love of Cats

Lewis Blackwell has compiled an extraordinary book of close-up images, profiles, and generally spectacular photographs of cats and kittens.  This oversized book is one to be displayed in a prominent position, with cover face-out, on your book shelf.  It’s a unique collection of artistic photographs and not-to-be-missed macro photography.