The bestselling story of survival and our powerful bond with man's best friend, in the aftermath of the nation's most notorious animal cruelty case. Featuring a new Afterword with updates on the Vick dogs.

Animal lovers and sports fans were shocked when the story broke about NFL player Michael Vick's brutal dog-fighting operation. But what became of the fifty-one dogs who survived? As acclaimed writer Jim Gorant reveals, their story is the truly newsworthy aspect of this case. "The Lost Dogs" traces the effort to bring Vick to justice and turns the spotlight on these infamous pit bulls, which were saved from euthanasia by an outpouring of public appeals coupled with a court order that Vick pay nearly a million dollars in "restitution" to the dogs.

As an ASPCA-led team evaluated each one, they found a few hardened fighters, but most were lovable, friendly creatures desperate for compassion. In "The Lost Dogs," we meet these amazing animals, many of whom now live in loving homes and work in therapy programs. "The Lost Dogs" exposes the terrible practice of dog fighting and shows us that even after being subjected to heartbreaking abuse, above all, a dog still wants to be man's best friend.

A unique and compelling exploration of why humans need animal companions - from dogs and cats to horses, birds and reptiles - as seen through the eyes of bestselling author Jacky Colliss Harvey. In The Animal's Companion, the acclaimed author of Red: A Natural History of the Redhead explores the human desire to share our everyday life with pets, a history that can be traced back to a cave in France where evidence has been unearthed of a boy and his dog taking a walk together, some 26,000 years ago. From those preserved foot and paw prints, Colliss Harvey draws on literary, artistic and archaeological artefacts to sweep readers through centuries and across continents to examine how our relationships with our pets have developed, but also stayed very much the same. Through delightful stories of the most famous, endearing and sometimes eccentric pet owners throughout history, she suggests fascinating new insights into one of the most long-standing of all human love affairs.

The bestselling author of Dog Sense and Cat Sense explains why living with animals has always been a fundamental aspect of being human In this highly original and hugely enjoyable work, John Bradshaw examines modern humans' often contradictory relationship with the animal world. Why, despite the apparent irrationality of keeping pets, do half of today's American households, and almost that figure in the UK, have at least one pet (triple the rate of the 1970s)? Then again, why do we care for some animals in our homes, and designate others only as a source of food? Through these and many other questions, one of the world's foremost anthrozoology experts shows that our relationship with animals is nothing less than an intrinsic part of human nature. An affinity for animals drove our evolution and now, without animals around us, we risk losing an essential part of ourselves.