Chicken Soup for the Cat and Dog Lover's Soul : Celebrating Pets as Family with Stories about Cats, Dogs and Other Critters

by Canfield, Jack

• ISBN13: 9781558747111
• ISBN10: 1558747117
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul spoke directly to the hearts of all readers whose lives have ever been changed by the love of a pet. Now the coauthors bring readers this volume, honoring the unique and enduring love that people share with their cats and dogs. Like its predecessor, this book is a joyous and inspiring collection--sometimes poignant, sometimes amusing, always filled with the special and incredibly unconditional love only cats and dogs can give. The stories in this collection celebrate those lovable furry, four-legged creatures that bring out the best in all of us, inspiring us to be happier, kinder, more understanding and more loving. Readers will discover that many of humanity's greatest heroes, healers and teachers are not humans at all, but those amazing cats and dogs that brighten all our lives.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xviii
Share with Us	xx
On Love
Rescued by Love	3	(4)
Lisa Duffy-Korpics
Bumpus	7	(3)
Janine Adams
Agnes and Mattie	10	(5)
Shari Smyth
Friends in Arms	15	(4)
Rosamond Young
The Yorkshire Christmas Cat	19	(8)
James Herriot
Princess Was a Nuisance	27	(2)
Carol Ann Baum
A Horse and His Boy	29	(3)
Alicia Karen Elkins
Greyfriars Bobby	32	(4)
Tim Jones
A Friend in Need	36	(2)
Stephanie Laland
Lucy	38	(4)
Carol Kline
Weep Not	42	(4)
Richard Severo
Love Makes Us Whole	46	(9)
Aletha Jane Lindstrom
The Magic of the Bond
The Fishermen	55	(4)
Mike Lipstock
Sister Seraphim's Deal with God	59	(4)
Jane Eppinga
Heart of a Champion	63	(3)
Ellen Harvey
A Duchess in the Desert	66	(4)
Sarah
Boris in New York	70	(4)
Bill Holton
The White Dog	74	(5)
Carol Kline
The Princess and the Toad	79	(3)
Joan Sutula
Sheba	82	(3)
Michael A. Obenski
Ranch of Dreams	85	(4)
Cleveland Amory
Prince Charming	89	(4)
Sharon Landeen
Fifteen Minutes of Fame	93	(3)
Marty Becker
A Gift Exchange	96	(3)
Mary Bucher Fisher
Chitra's Calling	99	(6)
W. Bradford Swift
Pets As Healers
The Therapy Team	105	(4)
Terry Perret Martin
Medicine Cat	109	(4)
Joan M. Walker
Sweet Pea's Mama	113	(4)
Jim Kerr
Meant to Be	117	(4)
Cindy Midgette
Is Holly Working Today?	121	(4)
Barbara J. Wood
The Healing Touch	125	(3)
Allen M. Schoen
The Language of the Heart	128	(3)
Maureen Fredrickson
Body and Soul	131	(5)
Cynthia Knisely
Dolly	136	(3)
Renee Sunday
The Cat Doctor	139	(4)
Norma
Vincent Hans
Pet-Pourri
Paw Prints in the White House	143	(4)
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Church Dog	147	(3)
Evelyn Olson
Bahati: The Lucky One	150	(5)
John E. Cooper
Hamster on the Lam	155	(4)
Amy
Jim Grove
The Dog Show	159	(3)
Dave Barry
Moving Together	162	(4)
Sheldon Oberman
Dogs Just Wanna Have Fun	166	(2)
Susan White
The Cat Lady	168	(3)
Patti Thompson
When Puss Comes to Shove	171	(4)
Joe Kirkup
The Day We Almost Didn't Go	175	(8)
Arthur Gordon
Celebrating Pets As Family
Letters from Vietnam	183	(4)
Joe Fulda
I Love You, Pat Myers	187	(5)
Jo Coudert
Jake and the Kittens	192	(4)
Christine Davis
We Are Family	196	(4)
Jan Paddock
Me and My Mewse	200	(3)
Cindy Podurgal Chambers
Step-Babies	203	(5)
Christie Craig
Jet	208	(4)
Lynn Pulliam
Obedience	212	(3)
Lori Jo Oswald
A Cat Named Turtle	215	(5)
Ellen Perry Berkeley
Woman's Best Friend	220	(4)
Holly Manon Moore
Bedroom Secrets of Pets Revealed	224	(3)
Marty Becker
Mighty Hercules	227	(5)
Barbara Bartocci
Angie's Dog Always	232	(7)
Nancy Roberts
Pets As Teachers
Lesson in Love	239	(6)
Pam Johnson-Bennett
More Than Medicine	245	(4)
Liz Gunkelman
Wheely Willy	249	(5)
Deborah Turner
The Education of Jeeves	254	(3)
Debbie Freeberg-Renwick
Silky's Test	257	(5)
Christine Townend
Cat's Paw	262	(3)
Eric Swanson
Charity	265	(5)
Susan Chernak McElroy
Killer Angels	270	(5)
Marty Becker
Amazing Animals
Pampered Persian	275	(2)
Brad Steiger
Three-Dog Night	277	(5)
George Feifer
King of Courage	282	(2)
Stephanie Laland
Ginny, the Dog Who Rescues Cats	284	(4)
Philip Gonzalez
Leonore Fleischer
Jim the Wonder Dog	288	(6)
Bryan Aubrey
Ding, Dong, Bell	294	(3)
Eric Swanson
The Cowboy	297	(4)
K. Salome-Garver
The Cat Who Needed a Night Light	301	(3)
Susan McCullough
Flight over Little Egypt	304	(7)
G. Edgar Hall
Saying Good-Bye
The Christmas Angel	311	(3)
Pamela S. Zurer
Shorty	314	(3)
Larry Monk
Prince's Golden Season	317	(4)
Irving Townsend
Hondo	321	(4)
Page Lambert
A Gentle Good-Bye	325	(4)
Toni Eames
Banjo	329	(5)
David C. Hoopes
The Cantor's Cat	334	(4)
Jacqueline Shuchat-Marx
Circle of Love	338	(4)
Maria Sears
One Last Gift	342	(7)
Kate Murphy
On Companionship
Soldier Dog	349	(4)
Ron St. James
Mr. Reed	353	(4)
Ruth Hanessian
Wendy Bounds
A Moggy for Michael	357	(7)
John Keane
Double Duty	364	(3)
Lisa Hurt
An American Cat in Paris	367	(4)
Peter Mandel
Waiting at the Door	371	(3)
Barbara J. Crocker
Flying Free	374	(5)
H. Gordon Green
Of Dogs and Angels	379	(3)
Roger Caras
More Chicken Soup?	382	(1)
Problems with Your Pet?	383	(5)
Who Is Jack Canfield?	388	(1)
Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?	389	(1)
Who Is Marty Becker, D.V.M.?	390	(1)
Who Is Carol Kline?	391	(1)
Contributors	392	(12)
Permissions (continued)	404

Excerpts

A Friend In Need Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses. One evening, Brownie?s family noticed that Brownie hadn?t returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn?t show up the next day, and, despite their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing. Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie?s house alone, barking, whining, and generally pestering Brownie?s human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog. Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take onoo for an answer. Ted, Brownie?s owner, was steadily harassed by the furious, adamant little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently, then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, oFollow me! It?s urgent!o Eventually, Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a fence, past clumps of trees, to a desolate spot a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leghold trap. Horrified, Ted now wished he?d taken Spotty?s earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable. Spotty had done more than simply lead Brownie?s human to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps - which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week! Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort. Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators, snuggling with him at night to keep him, warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up. Brownie?s leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses. #151Stephanie Laland The Cat Lady I have lived in my neighborhood for twenty years. It seems to me that I?ve spent at least ten of those years looking for a lost pet, either mine or one I?d seen listed in the newspaper?s lost-pet column. Recently, I was at it again, going door-to-door looking for one of my own lost kitties, a little black cat named Nicholas who?d slipped out the door before I could stop him. I made my rounds, visiting with all the neighbors, describing Nicholas. Familiar with this routine, everyone promised to keep an eye out and call me if they spotted him. Two blocks from my house, I noticed a gentleman raking leaves in the yard of a home that had recently been sold. I introduced myself and presented my new neighbor with the plight of the missing Nicholas, asking if he had seen him. oNo,o he replied, oI?ve not seen a little black kitty around here.o He thought for a moment, looked at me and said, oBut I know who you should ask. Several of my neighbors have told me that there?s a woman in the neighborhood who?s crazy about cats. They say she knows every cat around here, probably has dozens herself. They call her ?The Cat Lady.? Be sure to check with her.o oOh, thank you,o I said eagerly. oDo you know where she lives?o He pointed a finger down the street, oIt?s that one.o I followed his finger and started to laugh. He was pointing at my house! #151Patti Thompson _ 1999. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of Health Communications, Inc. from Chicken Soup for the Cat and Dog