The Ultimate Dog Lover: The Best Experts' Advice for a Happy, Healthy Dog with Stories and Photos of Incredible Canines

Are You Crazy About Your Dog?

From their life's work as a veterinarian, a pet-care columnist, and an animal rescue volunteer respectively, Marty Becker, D.V.M., Gina Spadafori, and Carol Kline have been privy to some incredible stories about dogs and their humans—psychic dogs, heroic dogs, and therapy dogs who have healed their owners physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They've also fielded just about every question under the sun pertaining to our furry friends' health, wellness, training, and behavior: 'Why doesn't my dog come when I call him?', 'Why is she being aggressive at the dog park?', 'Will my house ever be free of tumbleweed hairballs?'

These esteemed experts have compiled a winning mix of heart-tugging, tail-wagging stories about some of the world's most endearing and amazing dogs with essential expert information in the areas of behavior and training, sports and leisure activities, and preventative care and health issues. With comprehensive facts, stunning four-color photography, and awe-inspiring true stories, this is the 'ultimate' book for ultimate dog lovers.

Marty Becker, D.V.M.,  is passionate about his work fostering the affection and connection between animals and people that he calls, "The Bond." Dr. Becker is regularly featured on ABC-TV's, Good Morning America. He is a contributing pet-care writer for Parade magazine, and frequent veterinary contributor to The Martha Stewart Show. He also co-writes the award-winning weekly column on pets and their care, PetConnection, which appears in newspapers across the United States and Canada through the Universal Press Syndicate. Becker is also the host of "The Pet Doctor" on PBS. He has been named Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year for the U.S. by the Delta Society and the American Veterinary Medical Association, and also coauthored fourteen pet books that have sold over six million copies including Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, bowWOW and The New York Times bestseller Why Do Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet?  Marty and his family enjoy life in Northern Idaho and share Almost Heaven Ranch with four barn cats, three dogs, and four Quarter Horses.

Gina Spadafori was named the 2007 recipient of the annual Excellence in Pet Industry Journalism Award by The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) & Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA). She is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller, Why Do Dogs Drink out of the Toilet?, Why Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?, and the bestselling Dogs for Dummies. Since 1984, she has written an award-winning weekly column on pets and their care, which now appears in newspapers across the United States and Canada through the Universal Press Syndicate. Gina has served on the boards of directors of both the Cat Writers Association and the Dog Writers Association of America. She has won the DWAA's Maxwell Medallion for the best newspaper column, and her column has also been honored with a certificate of excellence by the CWA. Her books have been translated into many languages, including French, Serbian, Danish, Japanese and Russian. Gina has also headed one of the first and largest online pet-care sites, the Pet Care Forum, America Online's founding source of pet-care information. Gina lives in northern California in a decidedly multispecies home.

Carol Kline has been an animal rescue volunteer for over ten years. At present, she is affiliated with the Noah's Ark Animal Foundation, in Fairfield, Iowa, a volunteer effort that saves lost, stray and abandoned cats and dogs. A freelance writer, she has written for numerous publications and coauthored several books on a variety of topics, including the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul.    

Mikkel Becker has been a contributing author to Knight Ridder newspapers and Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover's Soul, and has written for Cat Fancy Magazine. She is the children's education coordinator for the Whitman County Humane Society in Washington State.