What are favorite animal books you are reading now?

What Angel Animals Is Reading

Being authors of animal books, we are always fascinated by what others are writing on the subject. Below are some of the books we are reading and enjoying. Perhaps they will find their way to your bookshelf too.

THE INNER WORLD OF FARM ANIMALS: Their Amazing Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Capacities by Amy Hatkoff (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009, hardcover, $19.95, 176 pages, color photos) with a foreword by Jane Goodall and afterword by Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States

The jacket for this informative, entertaining, and eye-opening book says, "Chickens can count. Pigs are smarter than poodles. Cows form close friendships. Turkeys know one another by their voices, and sheep recognize faces -- of other sheep, and of people. Far from lacking thoughts and feelings, barnyard creatures demonstrate sophisticated problem-solving abilities, possess rich social lives, and feel a wide range of emotions."

Getting to know farm animals in such an intimate way as they are presented in this book offers a perfect opportunity to love them as individuals. One of our favorite stories is "Hope and Johnny: Loyal and Loving." It's about two pigs from Farm Sanctuary in Orland, California. They were such loyal friends that when Hope's leg was injured and she could no longer walk, Johnny kept other pigs from bothering her when she ate. Johnny stayed by Hope's side day and night. After Hope died of old age, Johnny, although younger and healthier, died several weeks later, presumably of a broken heart.

Because of all the time and effort we put into writing our award-winning book RESCUED: Saving Animals from Disaster, we are always interested in good books about animal rescue. MOORE TAILS: Rescuing Mutts in the South: An Intimate Portrait of Animal Rescue & Cruelty by Maureen Burke-Horansky (2009, Ink Stain Publishing Corp., $15.00, 286 pages, color photos, authormaggie@pinehurst.net) is a unique entry in this genre.

This book shares the true story of five passionate women who managed to get a local North Carolina county animal facility to allow adoptions. The women fight animal cruelty and attempt to lower the kill rate in the facility. They are creative, courageous, and persistent.

Jane Goodall writes in a letter at the end of this book about the organization the women founded, Animal Advocates of Moore County, Inc. in Pinehurst, North Carolina. "Eight women in the village of Pinehurst learned of the euthanasia crisis from articles in the local newspaper. They met to form an organization of animal lovers, choosing to take action to resolve this grim situation. They began trapping feral cats, spaying and neutering them, inoculating them against disease. Then they offered a no-cost spay-neuter program for low-income residents. . .I support what they have achieved and urge you to support them in any way you can."

Another animal rescue book that caught our attention is GREYHOUND TALES: True Stories of Rescue, Compassion, & Love, ed. By Nora Star, Inception by Kari Mastrocola, Introduction by Susan Netboy (1997, Lost Coast Press, Order: Nora Star, 9728 Tenaya Way, Kelseyville, CA 95451 or http://www.cypresshouse.com, $15.95, 116 pages, color photos).

This anthology of stories from wonderful people who rescue and adopt greyhounds offers insight into the once multi-billion-dollar greyhound racing industry and its tragic consequences for the six-thousand-year-old greyhound breed. It includes information on how to determine if adopting a greyhound is right for you and how to join the National Greyhound Adoption Network and subscribe to the GREYHOUND NETWORK NEWS quarterly newsletter.

On the back cover Jeffrey Moussaieff Mason, author of THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF ANIMALS writes, "The people who tell their stories in this book show sympathy and compassion for these marvelous animals who are themselves so filled with sympathy and compassion for us, even though humans have proved to be such untrue friends. Somehow these dogs still love and trust us after all our degradation and betrayal. This in itself is a small miracle."

What are favorite animal books you are reading now?