5 comments about My Fine Feathered Friend.

1. In 85 charming pages William Grimes weaves an entertaining, soul-touching and witty chicken story. It all starts when Mr. Grimes found a little black chicken in his tiny backyard in the middle of Queens. He has no idea where "The Chicken" came from. The Chicken ends up hanging out and eating with the stray cats that Mr. Grimes feeds. The Chicken ends up being a very tough girl. She survives ice, snow, low flying police helicoptors and roosting in a pine tree.
   
   It doesn't take long for the author to become a chicken fan. Mr. Grimes is soon on a mission to learn as much as he can about his new chicken. He fixes The Chicken a make shift roost and nest box where The Chicken rewards him with delicious fresh eggs. The Chicken also provides entertainment as she chases one of the cats daily for fun. Then as quickly as The chicken appears, he disappears.
   
   This book has a charming cover and very cute illustrations throughout. Any one who loves birds, has chickens or is considering getting them would love this great book. Another thing I love is that this book doesn't have any cursing or foul language. It would be a good gift for a preteen up to an adult. "My Fine Feathered Friend" is one that I will keep in my library for years to come.



2. My Fine Feathered Friend
   By William Grimes
   North Point Press 2002
   $15 USA, $24.95 Canada
   85 pages, illustrations
   ISBN: 0-86547-632-2
   
   Reviewed by Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns
   
   "I looked at the Chicken endlessly, and I wondered. What lay behind the veil of animal secrecy?"
   
   My Fine Feathered Friend is a bittersweet tale that leaves you aching after you put the book away. In part this is because the main character, a large handsome black hen who appears mysteriously one winter day in the writer's yard in Queens, disappears as mysteriously as she arrived. This is a true story. The author, William Grimes, a restaurant critic for The New York Times, is intrigued, fascinated, and finally haunted, by this hen. He perceives her as a kind of Earth Goddess, as solid as a tree trunk, rugged, compact, able and enduring, yet elusive, vulnerable, and, ultimately, as ephemeral as a fairy princess. She vanishes when he comes to love her. He calls the hen, simply and archetypally, the Chicken.
   
   When I first started reading My Feathered Friend, I was put off by the tone. Grimes refers to the hen for a number of pages as "it," while referring to his and his wife's cats as "hes" and "shes." His style is pat with similes and cultivated assurance. I thought, okay, Grimes wants to make sure that no one, including himself, gets emotionally involved with this chicken. He's keeping the lines drawn. But I was wrong. The story reflects his growing tenderness for the Chicken, moving through levity and wonderment to love, sorrow and loss.
   
   The Chicken has an aura of the "familiar" in folklore, an enigmatic being regarded as both a homely acquaintance and a supernatural spirit embodied in an animal that links that animal to a particular person while retaining an inviolable otherness. Grimes's Chicken is like a visitor from another planet (exotic and ineffable) who probably escaped from the local poultry market in Queens (squalid and local). She is a hero and a survivor -- "a brave little refugee"-- who flouts false stereotypes about chickens. "I'd look out back and see a cat chasing the Chicken across the yard," Grimes writes. "Ten minutes later I'd see the Chicken chasing a cat." She is at once endearingly personal and profoundly impersonal. She has her own projects. She is self-possessed. She projects an arch authority, like the author himself. She dominates Grimes's yard, his cats, and his consciousness. She is, he confesses protectively, "a hard read."
   
   The Chicken tracks through the universe by way of a residential patch of earth -- a "pocket paradise" reclaimed from a "wasteland of weeds" in New York City. She captures the eye of a beholder who becomes a Witness driven to Inscribe Her Being. Grimes attempts to fit what he "knows" about chickens (he eats them and makes his living writing about them as food; otherwise he says "the humble chicken was foreign to me") with his deepening perception of, identification with, and ultimate yearning and mourning over this particular hen. She moves him. He is affected by her "air of mystery," her "appetite for play," her "brilliant evasive maneuvers," her "genuine courage," her "character," her "willful high-spirit," her evocation of what the poet William Wordsworth inestimably versed as "something ever more about to be."
   
   Grimes reads up on chickens, passing on to us pieces of information (some accurate, some not) about Gallus domesticus in folklore, history, and poultry manuals, as a backdrop to, an explanation of, the Chicken, a creature so definite, and infinite, so solid and numinous, she eludes classification. He muses:
   
   "Was it pure coincidence that she liked to sneak up on Yowzer, the cat most likely to develop a nervous twitch when caught unawares? Time after time I saw the Chicken trot up delicately when Yowzer had his back turned, squawk a couple of times, and then watch as the cat leaped a couple of vertical feet. The Chicken, after a successful ambush, would run off jauntily, with a cackle that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle."
   
   At other times, "I'd see Bruiser and Crusher snoozing in the basket, Yowzer draped along a nearby wooden bench, and the dark, shapeless form of Midnight filling out the sagging seat of an old sea grass chair we had bought for a couple of dollars at a yard sale. And in the midst of the group, perfectly content, sat the Chicken. It was a heartwarming sight."
   
   One night a police helicopter hovers over the yard, causing the pine tree in which the Chicken is roosting to sway violently under a wind of hurricane force. "Somewhere, deep in the branches," Grimes writes, "the Chicken was holding on for dear life. I couldn't begin to imagine what was going through her tiny mind. By now, I figured, she had either suffered a fatal heart attack or had been dashed to the ground. But no. The next morning, amid wreckage out of Apocalypse Now, the Chicken reappeared, brimful of vim and vigor."
   
   But one spring day, the Chicken is gone. She does not return. Grimes and his wife Nancy look everywhere. They wrack their brains trying to remember if there were any behavioral signs they failed to notice. "The previous afternoon I had watched her resting comfortably in her nest beneath the pine tree," Grimes writes. "I searched for signs of violence but did not find any. The only trace of the Chicken was a single black feather near the back door. The Chicken was definitely, profoundly missing."
   
   It is hard reading the final pages of this book. The depression Grimes describes is not roguish but real, though he tries to make light. "We had grown to love the Chicken," he says. We believe him: so had we. "She really was a big presence in the backyard," Nancy sighs. You go back to the book cover and study the jet black sweet bird face with its rosy comb and pert expression, framed in an oval mirror. If you know chickens, you know the look of that bright round eye, so attentive yet pensive.
   
   My Feathered Friend is like an exquisite blade sliced across your bowels in the midst of a light-hearted romp that won't heal. The book ends with unappeased longing and unsettled questions (unhappy questions on many levels), not "closure," nor should it. Though Grimes says the story is "at an end, at least for us," still, he wonders and hopes, maybe the Chicken will come back. Maybe she's on a journey. He bought things for her. He and Nancy wait for her. They keep a light in the window. Maybe he'll wake up one morning, look out the window, and see "a large feathered form bustling around the patio, scattering cat food and clucking."
   
   But for now, as Alice Walker said about a horse named Blue, in her excruciating essay, "Am I Blue,"* let us not let the animals whom we piercingly perceive become for us merely "images" of what they once so beautifully expressed and are. The Chicken is every chicken. One like no other. Take the next step.
   
   
   *In Living By the Word: Selected Writings 1973-1987. This book of Walker's essays also includes "Why Did the Balinese Chicken Cross the Road?" ("[T]o try to get both of us to the other side.")
   _________________________________________________________________
   Karen Davis, PhD, is the founder and President of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl (www.upc-online.org). She is the author of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry; A Home for Henny; Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless "Poultry" Potpourri"; More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality (Lantern Books, 2001); and The Holocaust and the Henmaid's Tale: A Case for Comparing Atrocities (Lantern Books, 2005).
   
   
   



3. A poignantly told memoir of a season spent in the company of a somewhat bohemian chicken. I gave a copy of this book to my vet after we tried for several months to save the life of one of my pet chickens. She hadn't much experience with chickens, more so with the fanicier hookbills often found in one's the parlor, so I wanted her to know what it was like to know a chicken on a more personal level. The author accomplishes this very well, sharing valuable chicken lore with his affectionate and often respectful look at the life of a chicken and life from The Chicken's point of view.



4. I ran across this book at the library looking for substantive books on chickens--the cute cover caught my eye. This is a very entertaining and enjoyable read!

   I'd recommend this book as one you'll finish quickly, share with a friend or two, and want to read again yourself one day.




5. This extremely short book really qualifies as more essay than "book," and as much as I enjoyed it, I wondered who would shell out hard-earned cash for its slim contents.

   Then I found myself handing it around to people as I would share a cartoon or funny email. "Zip through it over lunch," I said, "Take it instead of a magazine while you're waiting for your oil change or dentist appointment."

   And so I learned what this book is best for: for a few bucks, you can pass a smile around to your friends. The eye-catching cover is hard for anyone to resist, and the illustrations are great. If you know someone who's been adopted by a stray animal, this is perfect for them. But if not, pass it on anyway. It's a light, funny read that will make anyone smile.

   In Grime's hands this unusual bird manages a truly universal appeal. I loved the pleasure it seemed to take in sneaking up behind a skittish cat and sending the cat vertically airborne with a sudden cackle. Then there's the pet store employee who tries to explain that they don't carry chicken feed, because a chicken is not a "particular animal." Grimes has an eye and ear for gem moments like these.

No comments about More Stories Of Cats and the Lives They Touch.

2 comments about Pet Miracles: Inspirational Stories of Our Beloved Animal Companions.

1. THis book was very good and heartwarming. The stories in this book are real life expeciencies. Even thou I have never experiencies any of the stories I have read in my life. I believe with all my heart that animals are special and if treating right will save their human for what ever is going on.



2. Animals who waken their owners just in time to escape from a fire. A rat who warned a miner of impending disaster. Donkeys who guard sheep better than sheepdogs. Animals who grieve for their dead owners for years. Animals who find their way "home" to homes they have never lived in. Two-hundred-forty-nine pages packed with interesting and charming stories.
   
   Some of the stories are more believable than others; a few are downright silly. One or two didn't make sense, or needed some editing. All in all, though, these are cute, tender, charming stories of our furry (feathered, finned, scaly) friends. And of the two-legged animals who love them.
   
   If you like cute and sentimental stories about animals you will like this book. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber

1 comments about The Spirituality of Pets.

1. It was interesting, and some what informative. I have read many dog books and I didn't find this one exceptional. I read it because it was a gift but wouldn't purchase it for myself. This book holds your interest and is worth reading as I said if you are a stong dog lover.

5 comments about Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter.

1. The best place to get a pet is from a shelter, and if you read this book, you will learn why. I have always gotten my pets from shelters, but did not know the behind-the-scenes story until I read this (and a few others). Ms. Hess writes for the general reader, and is a bit less introspective than I would have liked, but her information is sound. In fact, I would recommend this book to teenagers, precisely because it is not too high-brow. Today's kids are tomorrow's pet owners, and it is important to educate them in the realities of pet overpopulation, puppy mills, and the fact that pets are not designer accessories, but living beings who require more than some kibble and water.



2. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering a pet. It makes you think about what repercussions are possible if you obtain a pet on a whim and do not dedicate yourself to training and caring for it. It shows the results of our society's "throwaway" mentality, the lack of education on the effects of pet overpopulation and the way our declining economy has added to the problem by not allowing many citizens the money to afford proper pet care and sterilization.
   
   This books shows a cross section of a typical animal shelter and the fact that there are many not so happy endings, mostly because of humans and their failure to do right by their pets.



3. I've volunteered at the animal shelter in my town for a few years now, but have never had quite as much insight as this book provided. I get the feeling the shelter in the book has a smaller volunteer base than the shelter I have dealt with based on the details they were willing to share with her. This was a very uplifting book that explained a lot about why shelters work the way they do (ie rules about who can adopt, what happens when they get lost pets, etc.). Unfortunately, it is most likely to be read by the people that already understand these rules and why they exist.



4. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I'm among those who do know what kind of responsibility it takes to own a dog. I'm the happy 'Mom' of 2 terriers, one of which is a rescue dog. It is true about rescued animals - they know they've been given another chance and will give you their love many times over.

   Elizabeth Hess was down to earth in showing the trials and successes an animal shelter goes through. If you know someone who's not sure about getting a pet, I highly suggest they read this book. It'll make them think twice. If you know someone with misconceptions that all shelter animals get homes, give them this book as a wakeup call! A pet can take up as much or more of your time than a human baby, but the human race has made dogs, cats and other animals disposeable. There are happy endings as well as sad in the book, but it's worth buying. As the kids would say, we give it a 2 paws up!




5. This book was so good I could not put it down. A realistic yet compassionate look at shelters today. A must read!

5 comments about Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers: Stories that celebrate our feline friends (Cup of Comfort).

1. This book is simply wonderful for any animal lover, but purr-fect for cat lovers. Each story, there are 50, is enjoyable and there is not one among them that won't touch you in some way. Each tale is unique but carries a common heart-warming thread. You could reasonably read a complete story in small snatches of stolen time, or you may find you must keep reading. :-)
   
   You will laugh and cry and you will FEEL. The stories in this book are short in duration but long on feeling. The reader comes away with a better understanding of just how much they will never wholly understand the depth of soul held by our feline friends. I have 2 kitties myself and have always had cats in my life. I have long held the belief that cats have personalities and spirits and a greater intelligence and sense of empathy they are usually given credit for. This book proves the point many times over.
   
   I loved reading this medley from the first story to the last. What a fantastic collection.



2. I bought this book from the recommendation of my mother who is also the mommy to two Tonkinese cats. My kids adore her cats, and although we have a dog in our household, after reading this book, I can see why so many are touched by cats, and how individual they really are. This book definitely had a warm and wonderful touch that brought smiles and tears to my eyes!



3. The best book I have ever read about our feline friends.Each author shows its love of cats.I highly recommen this book to anybody who has or does not have a cat."The Power of the Purr"was one of the best of the short stories.The compasson showen by both the author and our animal friends makes you feel good inside. Thanks Gail.



4. You can't meet the mysterious eyes of a cat and not think about what she's been up to. Now we know.
   
   Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers is a delightful anthology that includes 50 kitty-inspired tales guaranteed to charm any feline fan. Whether you're in the mood for a laugh or a tug of the heartstrings, this satisfying volume delivers.



5. I loved the book. As a Mom of two little guys, 3 ½ and under along with three energetic felines, I really don't have much time for myself. This book was great in the fact that whenever I had a moment to myself I could read a story or two. They were all so entertaining. Some made me laugh and some brought a tear to my eye but all of them were very enjoyable.

5 comments about Out of Harm's Way.

1. Great book on the plight of unwanted and abandoned animals and the humans who care enough to do something about it by rescuing them and finding homes for these homeless pets.



2. Terri Crisp is a dinosaur and hopefully she has been replaced by more enlightened people. She randomly euthenized every feral cat she came across, proclaiming that ferals are not adoptable and are basically a scurge. Obvioulsy she has never heard of T.N.R. programs. I was very disappointed in this book and in Crisp's actions and can only hope people will NOT use it as a guide to animal welfare. It is just one uneducated womens accounts of her exploits.



3. This is in response to the post about Terry Crisp's organization being investigated by California's Attorney General's office. This is what's posted on her website:
   
   Noah's Wish Board of Directors, March 26, 2007
   
   We are writing to inform you that Noah's Wish is in the midst of an ongoing civil investigation by the California Attorney General's office concerning funds received by Noah's Wish during Hurricane Katrina. The California Attorney General has taken the position that certain funds donated to Noah's Wish during this period, and its immediate aftermath, are restricted and may only be used for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, rather than the animal victims of other disasters or for general disaster preparedness. Noah's Wish disagrees with the Attorney General's position with respect to those funds, but is working cooperatively with the Attorney General toward a timely resolution of the dispute.
   
   In response to the California Attorney General, Noah's Wish has set aside the disputed funds and agreed not to use those funds pending final resolution of the investigation. Noah's Wish is unable to predict when the matter will be resolved. Because Noah's Wish does not presently have access to the disputed funds, it is unable at this time to continue with its efforts to provide disaster preparedness services and volunteer training.
   
   We will provide you with an update once we have resolved this matter.
   
   We appreciate your patience and also wish to express our gratitude for all that you have done to support Noah's Wish in carrying out our charitable mission.



4. State probe forces animal-rescue nonprofit to close
   Queries $8M raised in wake of Katrina
   Sacramento Business Journal - March 30, 2007
   by Kelly Johnson
   Staff Writer
   A local animal-rescue nonprofit that gained national attention for its work after Hurricane Katrina, sparking more than $8 million in donations, was shutting down this month amid a state investigation into how it used that money.
   Noah's Wish, which rescues and cares for animals in disasters, was preparing this week to close its El Dorado Hills headquarters. About a dozen workers have resigned or been laid off since late last year.
   The California Attorney General's Office has been investigating the organization since last summer, examining how Noah's Wish used donations that might have been designated for relief efforts in the hurricane-ravaged area. The probe led to most of the nonprofit's funds being set aside in accounts where they couldn't be used for other operations.
   The nonprofit contends the funds were used properly and said it is cooperating with investigators.
   The group received millions in donations after news stories showed its efforts in an area devastated by the August 2005 hurricane. Former Noah's Wish insiders allege those millions were intended to relieve suffering in the storm-battered zone but were improperly used for other purposes.
   According to documents obtained by the Business Journal from a former employee, an accounting firm hired by Noah's Wish to examine its books concluded that it would be impossible to conduct a reliable audit because so many records were missing from the period when the group and its volunteers were working on the ravaged Gulf Coast.
   Documents filed by the nonprofit or provided by the former employee indicated Noah's Wish had about $210,000 in revenue in the year ended June 30, 2005, and almost 40 times that much -- $8.4 million -- in the next six months.
   Expenses shot upward, too, from about $212,000 in 2004-2005 to more than $2 million in the last six months of 2005, including almost $400,000 to purchase vehicles. In early 2006, the group bought a storage building in East Alton, Ill., for $65,125 and leased office space in New York City, according to documents provided by the former employee.
   Terri Crisp, founder of the group and its executive director until this week, was paid $6,200 in 2004-2005, tax records show. The documents supplied by the former employee covering July through December 2005 indicated Crisp received compensation of almost $141,000.
   The nonprofit's board this week acknowledged the investigation on the group's Web site. "The California Attorney General has taken the position that certain funds donated to Noah's Wish during this period (of Katrina), and its immediate aftermath, are restricted and may only be used for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, rather than the animal victims of other disasters or for general disaster preparedness," a letter posted online said. "Noah's Wish disagrees ... but is working cooperatively with the Attorney General toward a timely resolution of the dispute."
   Noah's Wish has agreed not to use the disputed funds while the investigation is pending, and the nonprofit cannot continue its work without access to the money, the letter said.
   A spokesman for the state's top lawyer would not confirm or deny an investigation.
   Ralph Nevis of Downey Brand Attorneys LLP in Sacramento, who represents the group, would not discuss the nature of the inquiry.
   Founder was asked to leave board
   Staff members are being paid through April 11, but this week only the office manager remained at the El Dorado Hills headquarters to close things down over the next couple of weeks.
   At one point, the nonprofit had 15 employees working at offices in El Dorado Hills and New York City and from homes in other states. The three-person office in New York closed in January.
   "They've reduced the staff because of funding. It's everybody," Crisp said Wednesday. She said she's taking her remaining days as sick leave, but by Wednesday evening a message on the group's Web site said she was no longer connected with Noah's Wish.
   Crisp also served on the organization's board of directors from its founding in 2002 until February. She's no longer on the board, she said, "partly because it's a conflict of interest." The Attorney General's office "had asked for me not to remain on the board."
   Because she's no longer on the board, Crisp said she did not have the latest information on the investigation or details about what it covers. Investigators, she said, have not interviewed her and were working only through the nonprofit's attorney and its board chair, Amy Maher.
   Maher did not return calls Wednesday. Board members Lyn Kendrick, Gail Monick and David Lesser declined to comment on the investigation; another, Heather Hathaway, did not respond to a request for an interview.
   Asked about allegations that the nonprofit inappropriately used money, Crisp said, "I don't know of any misuse of funds."
   Lori Polk, chair of the Noah's Wish board during Katrina, left it the month after the hurricane. Before and after Katrina, she said, she voiced concerns about "the organization and the allocations of the donations we were collecting." She said she felt she was "fighting a losing battle trying to maintain my fiduciary responsibility to the organization."
   The group "did not make decisions based upon board approval," she said, and made "expenditures without approval."
   The former employee, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, said that "the amount of money that was spent by the organization was unbelievable."
   The Attorney General's authority over charities includes investigating the loss of substantial funds during one year, illegal use of funds, diversion of funds from their intended purpose and excessive amounts paid for salaries, benefits, travel, entertainment, legal and other professional fees, according to the agency's Web site.
   Raising money last month
   Noah's Wish was soliciting funds as recently as February. In a letter to potential donors, Crisp wrote the nonprofit had "made a concerted effort to only ask for donations when the need truly exists, and not become a pest with repeated appeals."
   Later, the letter said, "So why am I contacting you now? Noah's Wish is prepared for the next disaster, but lately this has become increasingly challenging." Because 2006 was a "fairly uneventful year," Crisp wrote, donations declined significantly.
   Tax documents for Noah's Wish obtained by the Business Journal reported revenue of $8.4 million, almost all of it from contributions, between July 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005. Some $4.8 million was in unrestricted assets and $1.5 million in temporarily restricted assets at the end of that year, financial documents indicate.
   In June 2006, the accounting firm engaged to audit the books wrote the board that it could not express an opinion on the 2005 financial statements, according to documents provided by the former employee.
   "A significant portion of corroborating evidence such as vendor invoices, receipts, deposit slips and other supporting data were not maintained during the period that the organization was responding to the needs of animals during Hurricane Katrina. The records that remain are not sufficient to permit the application of auditing procedures that would be adequate for us to express an opinion on the accompanying financial statements," according to the letter from John Waddell & Co. CPAs.
   For the second half of 2005, Noah's Wish paid $405,948 in salaries and compensation, according to the Form 990 supplied by the former employee. Of that, Crisp received $140,900, while the second-highest compensation went to Sheri Thompson at $118,125, the tax documents show.
   If the numbers are correct, it appears the compensation for Crisp and Thompson is well above the norm for nonprofits of this size, said Ann Lucas, executive director of the Nonprofit Resource Center. The annual median base salary for the executive director of a nonprofit of this size is $130,000, according to the 2006 Compensation and Benefits Survey of Northern California Nonprofit Organizations, which is produced by the Center for Nonprofit Management in Los Angeles.
   Noah's Wish committed $1 million to the city of Slidell, La. for construction of a new animal control center; the old one was severely damaged by Katrina. The city has not received any of those funds, Slidell City Attorney Tim Mathison said.



5. I thought it was an okay book, but as I was reading, I found myself skipping through all the blah blah blah to get to the actual animal stories. The stories about the animals were great, but you have to wade through a lot to get to them.

5 comments about Bear, Heart of a Hero: The Story of a Man and His Ground Zero Search and Rescue Dog.

1. Poor bear! This man lead an 11 yr old golden retriever (if he was a true SAR dog, should have been retired by then) to ground zero. Scott as well as Bear was not a rescuer, Scott is not a Captain of anything other then his own private boat. He admitted to his fraud charges in March and should be sentenced shortly. Rescue workers during Katrina and WTC did not have time for photos and utube videos. They were there busy saving lives. Shame on you Scott!



2. I read this book and wept at the bravery and sacrifice of Scott Shields dog, Bear. But after hearing that the story was one of mostly made up facts, I can only justify giving this book this rating. Shame on you Scott Shields for sacrificing your "beloved" Bear for your own personal gain.



3. My husband and I purchased the book as a gift for our son to read on our vacation to Marthas Vineyard. It is a loving tribute to Mr. Shields golden retriver Bear and his mother Honeybear. It highlights the darkest days of September 11,2001 but it also speaks to the loving bond between a man and his dog. This is a story for the whole family. I have now purchased several more copies to donate to our school and our library.



4. It is obvious that Nancy West is a very clever and talented writer. Her ability to infuse Scott Shield's story with pathos and make a heart-rendering portrait of Bear is impressive. Too bad the character she chose to write about has turned out to be so much less than her words and book suggest. Her central character Shields has turned out to be a teller of tall talls in real life, and uses this book to misrepresent himself as a "great hero" of 911. Mr. Shields should stick to the facts of Ms. West's book and stop inventing stories such as "commanding" search teams at Ground Zero, calling himself a "Captain",saying that his dog made live finds and saved the most victims at 9/11.(Good grief even this book says he was only there for 3 days!) This guy even introduces his current untrained dog, Theodore, as Bear's son and parades him around in a search vest. Mr. Shields should try reading his author, Ms. West's, "notes to the reader" on this page so he can learn the facts of his own story. Please, Mr. Shields, stop trying to deceive the public with your tall tales. I give Ms. West's writing "2" stars. Shields character "0"



5. This is a great book about Bear (and Scott Shields) and how they happened to be at the WTC site shortly after the 9/11 attack. The work they did for some time. People that have their doubts about this book should first of all read it from cover to cover and than check the many references this books gives. I strongly doubt that any of the "nay sayers" have actually done so. Unfortunately there is a lot of "hash-wash" going around the Internet about 9/11. This book is a great account of somebody that has been at the sence and wrote about it. Confirmed by other people that were there and sacrified their time and as many of them have learned later, their health...

2 comments about What Animals Tell Me: True Stories of an Animal Communicator.

1. After adopting my first rescue, I had many questions concerning her behavior, where she came from, her physical & mental condition, etc. I contacted Dr. Monica through her website and set up a consultation. Her conversation w/ Ruby Jewel was both enlightening and comforting to me. I subsequently purchased her book which brought a further understanding of my pet and how to meet her wants and needs. I have purchased this book and given as gifts to all of my "animal loving" friends, who are also enlightened by her practical advice. A must read for pet owners (we know who 'owns' who!)



2. What Animals Tell Me: True Stories Of An Animal Communicator is a collection of testimonies from an animal communicator. Dr. Monica Diedrich has been speaking with animals since the age of eight, earned a Doctorate of Metaphysics from the Metaphysical Fellowship Church in Anaheim, California, and has also worked as a veterinary assistant. Chapters recount her experiences with the strong wills of living animals, as well as the spiritual essence of animals that have crossed over to the other side. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this heartwarming and spiritually uplifting anthology, sure to touch the hearts of devoted pet owners especially.

5 comments about Cat Women: Female Writers on Their Feline Friends.

1. If you love cats then this is the book for you! Very enjoyable and light. A series of delighful short essays by women writers about their cats. Many parts will have you laughing out loud. I loved it.



2. There's a reason this book was on the mark-down section. It is horrible. It is trying too hard to be edgy when its target audience wanted pro-cat stories. From the owner who let her cat get frostbit then brags about it, to the other stories of neglect and hatred of all things feline, this bunch of essays deserves to quietly get tossed in the recyle bin. It's actually not even worth the cost of printing nor the paper it was printed on.
   I happen to love cats, and fully expected to enjoy this book. I suppose I'm out of the demographic for this book anyway. It's aimed at 30-somethings who got a cat because they were lonely then were afraid to admit it.
   Yada yada yada.....bunch of hot hair by people who don't really understand cats.



3. I picked up this book for a very specific reason: to help me decide if I wanted to become a cat woman again. It had been a few years since my two feline loves had moved on to that bottomless bowl of cat treats in the sky, and it seemed time to welcome a new meow into my life. To be sure, I wanted to revisit that special, mysterious, hard-to-articulate-without-sounding trite relationship that develops between felines and females without the risk of falling in love again. And for this purpose, the book deserves five stars. More than the evocative prose, the funny stories, the intimate details, hearing the range of feelings -- physical and emotional -- that cats have evoked in other women, helped me realize I wasn't yet willing to dive into a new relationship with even the prettiest kitty. Special thanks to Megan McMorris for her right-on introduciton and Sophia Dembling for an unforgettable opening essay.
   Jean Fain



4. I can not say enough about this book without almost gushing. I found this book "staring" at me one day only days after my Mistie had passed away. Reading other people's stories about their cats unique habits and unique personalities and the bond that was there for him made me feel comforted somehow during this grief period that I am experiencing.
   
   I loved all the essays to one degree or another but two top favorites were about a little man named Murphy aka Murph dawg and how he wedged himself a place in the heart of his owner's significant other and then the editor's. Megan McMorris, own essay on trying to get her Lucy and her boyfriend to find some common ground.
   
   If you want to read how cats can affect your life...this book is the perfect place to start.



5. To me, cats have always been as mysterious as women--they're elusive one moment, playful the next, and you never know what's going on behind those eyes--so I read this book in the hope that the pairing of the two species together would offer some insight, that like with mathematical signs, the shroud of mystery would be cancelled out when multiplied. I wasn't disappointed.
   
   There's a lot of variety in the essays, some humorous, some sad, but all very genuine. My favorites are "Strutting the Catwalk: Seven Habits of One Sexy Beast" by Jennifer Jalalat, which compares the innate sexiness in cats with female sexuality, and "Saved by the Cat" by Melinda J. Combs, which tells a tale of how saving a cat saved a friendship.
   
   I haven't read all the essays yet, but the ones I have are great, and while they haven't taken the mystery out of women or cats--nothing ever will (and I think I like it that way anyway)--there are a lot of insightful and touching moments.