A rare and absolutely enchanting look inside the Harvard of wild animal wranglers As is obvious to anyone who has read her most e-mailed New York Times article of 2006, "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage," Amy Sutherland knows a thing or two about animals. In Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, she takes readers behind the gates of Moorpark Community College, where students are taught such skills as how to train a hyena to pirouette and coax a tiger to open wide for a vet exam. As she follows the faculty, student body, and four- footed teaching aides at Moorpark's Exotic Animal Training and Management program, Sutherland produces a true walk on the wild side, filled with wonder, comedy, occasional heartache, and transcendent beauty.

"The animal rescue culture is one of the most fascinating sub-cultures in American life, and Amy Sutherland explores it with honesty, humor, and great insight. This is not another sappy book about saving animals, but a valuable journey into the best spirit of this extraordinary new movement." - Jon Katz, author of TALKING TO ANIMALS Terrified Penny Jane, brassy but filthy Dixie Lou, tough-guy Dingo and the crazed, nippy jester, Walter Joe. These are not your average cute-and-cared-for, well-trained pups, these are shelter dogs - they are scared, aggressive, so painfully shy that they can't look you in the eye, and have languished so long without attention that they are slipping into a dark place, one where they will no longer be able to bond with people. Best-selling author Amy Sutherland started walking shelter dogs in 2001 and is a member of the elite corps of volunteers at Boston's Animal Rescue League, where she helped train dogs with serious behavior problems. In Rescuing Penny Jane, Amy tells the story of her adventures working at a shelter, helping dozens of dogs discover that the right person can give them love, hope and a whole new life - and adopting two rescue puppies of her own. Alongside Amy's touching, funny and insightful stories, dog owners will find a wealth of practical tips, such as how to read a dog's body language, handle behavior problems and select a shelter dog. A humorous, affecting portrait of the relationships between shelter dogs and their rescuers, Rescuing Penny Jane is a book that dog lovers everywhere will take to heart and treasure.

While observing trainers of exotic animals, journalist Amy Sutherland had an epiphany: What if she used their techniques with the human animals in her own life-specifically her dear husband, Scott? As Sutherland put training principles into action, she noticed that not only did her twelve-year-old marriage improve, but she herself became more optimistic and less judgmental. What started as a goofy experiment had such good results that Sutherland began using the training techniques with all the people in her life, including her mother, her friends, her students, even the clerk at the post office. Full of fun facts, fascinating insights, hilarious anecdotes, and practical tips, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage reveals the biggest lesson Sutherland learned: The only animal you can truly change is yourself.