Description: Sometimes, change comes on four legs.

In his popular and widely praised Running to the Mountain, Jon Katz wrote of the strength and support he found in the massive forms of his two yellow Labrador retrievers, Julius and Stanley. When the Labs were six and seven, a breeder who'd read his book contacted Katz to say she had a dog that was meant for him -- a two-year-old border collie named Devon, well bred but high-strung and homeless. Katz already had a full canine complement -- but, as he writes, "Change loves me . . . It comes in all forms . . . Sometimes, change comes on four legs." Shortly thereafter he brought Devon home. A Dog Year shows how a man discovered much about himself through one dog (and then another), whose temperament seemed as different from his own as day from night. It is a story of trust and understanding, of life and death, of continuity and change. It is by turns insightful, hilarious, and deeply moving.

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Reviews: "This gentle book is a great reminder -- as if anybody needed one -- of what animals can mean to people at particular times in life." --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Moving, funny . . . This is a loveable mutt of a book." --Chicago Tribune

"Part cautionary tale, part love story, A Dog Year reminds us that adopting a pet is a massive responsibility but one that rewards the owner with a richer, more meaningful life." --Los Angeles Times