Presents an endearing love letter to the pet dogs who have enriched the author's life, in a volume that celebrates the laugh-inducing moments, poignant exchanges, and heartfelt farewells shared by her family.

"Speck is not a good boy. He is a terrible boy, a defiant, self-destructive, often malodorous boy, a grave robber and screen door moocher who spends his days playing chicken with the FedEx man, picking fights with thousand-pound livestock and rolling in donkey manure and his nights howling at the moon. He has been that way since the moment he appeared on the ridgeline behind Rick Bragg's house. Speck arrived in Rick's life at a moment of looing uncertainty,...

"Poet and novelist Helen Humphreys's And a Dog Called Fig, a meditation on the benefits of dogs to the creative life, including the dogs of well-known writers from history, portraits of all the dogs from the author's life, and the arrival and raising of her new puppy"--

"Edie is an unusually anxious dog. She cowers around most people and the slightest noise sends her into a frenzy. Edie's fears become so intense that May can't leave the house. Is this normal puppy behavior or something more? May grows determined to fix Edie, but what will she do if Edie can't be fixed? In this poignant and heartfelt memoir, May shares her unforgettable journey with Edie, and the lessons about selflessness and unconditional love that...