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One Dog & His Man |
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One Dog & His Man |
 In this section:  On Agilitynet:                 
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Notes from an all-weather walkerBy Trevor Grove
Discover within these pages which of the famous has owned or admired Dalmatians, Picasso and George Washington numbering amongst this select body. Discover who else amongst the rich and famous has pampered a pet dog and find out what Napoleon really said to Josephine that night, and it was with reference to her pug, Fortuné! In fact, Bonaparte was apparently very fond of dogs, so perhaps he can’t have been as bad as we British made out. You’ll enjoy accounts of early-morning walks on the Heath, encounters with other canines. I probably enjoyed best the little literary snippets that the author has selected for our enjoyment, notably Stevie Smith’s poem about her pug. Best of all, the epitaphs. I always feel that, much as we love our pets, our own efforts at obituaries are usually pretty awful, so better on the whole to search out someone else’s, who can write! I’ve always enjoyed Michael Joseph’s poem written on the death of his Siamese, Charles, the last line of which is, ‘For while I live, you shall not die’ but here is another truly beautiful piece: Trevor Grove includes a poem from Ogden Nash, ‘For a Good Dog’. It is worth buying this book just to discover this little gem of an obituary.
Could be improved: Perfect little book, so no criticisms, but it would be nice if the author went on to compile a treasury of good dog literature. Format: Hardback, 122 pages. Nice quality production with charming illustrations by Posy Simmonds, the well known cartoonist. Price: £4.99 Value for Money: 10/10 on all counts. Good value at £4.99 as a present. You can buy this book at good bookshops everywhere Amazon.co.uk
Posy Simmonds was also born in 1945. She is the award-winning Guardian cartoonist and author-illustrator of several books including Fred and Gemma Bovary.
She trains at Buckland Agility under Carol Smith whose considerable help has assisted in making Buzz a Senior dog. She also trains at Cannington ATS, just outside Bridgwater, where she does her level best to give a few lessons, too. In 'real life' she runs her own business as a publishing consultant.
Publisher: Atlantic
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Description:
Best
Features: This book is probably
only for you if you like books with a literary flavour, or love Hampstead Heath or love
Dalmatians. Whereas there are myriads of cat books indulging in the peculiarities and
lovability of a pampered feline, there are not so many canine equivalents, Virginia Woolf’s
Flush probably being the most famous.
And
just to make my day, the book includes that really funny story about the dead rabbit. If you
don’t know it, ask me at a show and I’ll tell it to you!
About
the Authors...
Trevor
Grove was born in Colwyn Bay in 1945. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Grove. He is a former
editor of the Sunday Telegraph. He is also the author of A Juryman's Tale and
The Magistrates Tale which describes his work as a JP.
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