Did you resolve to read more this year? Are you looking for some fresh ideas, or new inspiration to keep you going through the long winter months? Don’t worry – United Spay Alliance has you covered! Here are a few of our favorite titles that will keep you engaged, energized, and motivated to reach all those goals you’ve set for yourself in 2022.
$5 For a Cat Head: True Stories of Animal Welfare with Hand-On Tips for Helping Animals
by Linda Chitwood
Do you love pets but feel powerless to help those less fortunate than yours? Ever wonder how you can improve the lives of the homeless cats living in your community, or what you can do to convince your neighbors to fix their dog? How you can be an effective animal advocate when you don’t have a big budget, or the best way to approach a vet for help with a stray animal? Drawing upon experience gained over 23 years, $5 For a Cat Head shows you how to promote pet welfare by focusing first on efforts to fix pets and halt the reproduction of unwanted animals. It provides practical tips that will jump-start your efforts to help pets in your community while telling stories of the amazing animals encountered over decades of animal welfare work. You’ll rediscover the joy, grace, comfort, peace, and beauty of those precious cats and dogs who stand with us as our beloved companions.
Dr. White
by Jane Goodall
Everyone loves Dr. White, a furry practitioner with four paws, a wagging tail, and an unorthodox bedside manner who day by day works his magic on very ill children at the hospital. Although his treatment is unconventional, it has a great success rate. But one day the health inspector arrives and bans Dr. White from the hospital. Who could have predicted the terrible coincidence that ends up bringing Dr. White back to the patients who love him? Based on a true story from a London hospital, Jane Goodall’s enchanting book reminds readers of all ages of the healing power of love.
Doctor Dogs: How Our Best Friends Are Becoming Our Best Medicine
by Maria Goodavage
In this groundbreaking book, Goodavage brings us behind the scenes of cutting-edge science at top research centers, and into the lives of people whose well-being depends on their devoted, highly skilled personal MDs (medical dogs). With her signature wit and passion, Goodavage explores how doctor dogs are becoming our happy allies in the fight against dozens of physical and mental conditions. The emotional element in Doctor Dogs delivers as powerfully as the science. You don’t have to be a dog lover to care deeply about what these dogs are doing and what we are learning from them—although if you’re not a dog lover, you probably will be by the end of the book.
Love Can Be: A Literary Collection About Our Animals
Edited by Louisa McCune and Teresa Miller
An anthology of poems and prose, Love Can Be: A Literary Collection About Our Animals, is proof of what love can be, as thirty acclaimed authors join together to champion life in all its forms. This is their gift to the world, not just the artistry of their words, but their vision of an extended community that includes cats, birds, frogs, butterflies, bears, dogs, raccoons, horses—a full-out menagerie of being that enriches us all. A moving and uplifting read; a book you’ll want to have on your bookshelf to peruse in quiet moments.
The Dog Merchants: Inside the Big Business of Breeders, Pet Stores, and Rescuers
by Kim Kavin
In what promises to become an “Omnivore’s Dilemma” for dog lovers—breed devotees and adoption advocates alike—The Dog Merchants is the first book to explain the complex and often surprisingly similar business practices that extend from the American Kennel Club to local shelters, from Westminster champions to dog auctions. Without judging dog lovers of any stripe, The Dog Merchants makes it clear that money spent among these dog merchants has real-world effects on people and canines. Instead of pitting rescue and purebred people against each other, The Dog Merchants shows how all dog lovers can come together, with one voice as consumers, on behalf of all our beloved companions.
–
Linda Chitwood is the volunteer Director of The Homeless Animals Relief Project, which provides free or low-cost spay/neuter surgery for pets living with the poor in north MS. The recipient of The Annie Lee Roberts Courage & Compassion Award from The Summerlee Foundation, Linda has 25 years experience in addressing pet welfare challenges. She is the author of $5 For a Cat Head: True tales of animal welfare, with hands-on tips for helping animals.