Marty Becker D.V.M. - The Ultimate Dog Lover: The Best Experts Advice for a Happy, Healthy Dog with Stories and Photos of Incredible Canines

Dogs can teach us to enjoy the ride.

Smile and your dog smiles with you.

Friends are as important to dogs as they are to people.

Dogs are sometimes our greatest listeners.

The
ULTIMATE
DOG
Lover

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

Marty Becker, D.V.M.
Gina Spadafori
Carol Kline
Mikkel Becker

Health Communications, Inc.
HCI Books, the Life Issues Publisher
Deerfield Beach, Florida
www.hcibooks.com
www.ultimatehcibooks.com

On the Cover: Lilly, the wondermutt, is a coconut retriever (island dog)a breed not recognized by the AKC but coveted by human companions. Christy Dove adopted Lilly from the Humane Society of St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands) after she was found in the bush at four months old, having been severely beaten and abandoned. Today, Lilly is full of personality and prefers being dressed to going naked, being carried, especially when she feels insecure, and playing and wrestling with her grandfather. Lilly doesnt realize that she is not a human child, and no one is about to burst her bubble. (Mom takes some responsibility for these self-image issues.) To contact Lilly, e-mail her at lilly@stjbigfish.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available through the Library of Congress.

2008 Marty Becker, Gina Spadafori, Carol Kline, Mikkel Becker
eISBN-13: 978-0-7573-9786-8 (ebook) eISBN-10: 0-7573-9786-7 (ebook)

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and its marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190

Cover Design: Larissa Hise Henoch
Cover Photo: 2007 Patrick Shannon
Photo Editor: Justin Rotkowitz
Interior Design: Lawna Patterson Oldfield

We dedicate this book to every dog who
lavishes gifts on a human family.

To the families who make sure their dogs health
and happiness are a priority.

To all members of the veterinary healthcare team
and everyone involved with animal treatment,
rescue, and rehabilitation.

To all healthcare providers who harness
the healing power of pets to improve
human health and well-being.

To the special love of dogs as celebrated
in stories, photographs, memories,
and heartfelt emotions.

And finally to God for the gift of animals and the
life-affirming bond we share with them.

Is something Ultimately important to you?Then we want to know about it....

We hope you enjoyed The Ultimate Dog Lover. We are planning many more books in the Ultimate series, each filled with entertaining stories, must-know facts, and captivating photos. Were always looking for talented writers to share slice-of-life true stories, creative photographers to capture images that a story cant tell, as well as top experts to offer their unique insights on a given topic.

For more information on submission guidelines, or to suggest a topic for an upcoming book, please visit the Ultimate website at www.ultimatehcibooks.com, or write to: Submission Guidelines, Ultimate Series, HCI Books, 3201 SW 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

For more information about other books by
Health Communications, Inc., please visit www.hcibooks.com.

Contents

Bonnie West

Isabel Bearman Bucher

Diane M. Ciarloni

Marianne Allen

Rinda Pope as told to Carrie Pepper

Harris Bloom

Lila Guzman

Linda Newton

Dallas Woodburn

D. Lynn Black

Aubrey H. Fine, Ed.D.

Lisa Price

Deborah Blair

Pierre ORourke

Sheri Ryan

Calder Reid

Ailene Wilson as told to Amanda Borozinski

Peggy Frezon

J. Vincent Dugas

Jon Wong

Michael Martin as told to Mikkel Becker

Teresa Rodney

Liisa Kyle

Traci R. Smith

Jacqueline Michels

Carol Kline

Betty Sleep

Rachael HaileSelasse

Bill Mullis

Christine Albers

Linda Mehus-Barber

Gina Spadafori

Mimi Greenwood Knight

Carol McAdoo Rehme

Kimberly Ripley

Marty Becker, D.V.M.

Marcia E. Brown

Liz Palika

Gary Landsberg, D.V.M.

Gregory Ogilvie, D.V.M.

Troy Snow

Maria Goodavage

Craig Griffin, D.V.M.

Melissa Bain, D.V.M.

Cheryl S. Smith

Liz Blackman

Tony Johnson, D.V.M.

Steven Hansen, D.V.M., and Dana Farbman

Rachael Carpenter, D.V.M.

Thomas Carpenter, D.V.M.

Pat Miller

Ian Dunbar, Ph.D., B.V.M.

The Ultimate Coauthors

The Ultimate Coauthors

W e love dogs.

It may seem todays canine craziness is new, but its not. Dogs and people have always been intricately entwined, our ancestors and theirs, living and working together throughout the generations. And it wasnt just a working relationship: archaeologists have found fossilized evidence of ancient dogs curled up with ancient humans, suggesting a bond that was about more than just dogs helping us hunt for our food or control our livestock. We wanted them in our lives, and they wanted to be in ours, from the beginning.