WIN a fascinating new book - "Animal Grief"

I'm thrilled to see how well Peggy Frezon and Kelly's great book "Dieting With My Dog" is doing and how much support it's getting from fellow bloggers. If you've not got a copy yet you really should.

You may have seen me blog before about Hubble & Hattie - the company who have published Peggy's books and lots of other great animals books.

The company is named after two very special West Highland White Terriers called Hubble and Hattie.

The Lady Of The House has just reviewed a new Hubble & Hattie book called "Animal Grief - How Animals Mourn". 

Don't think it's a depressing read, because it isn't. The LOTH found it really fascinating. The man who has written it - David Alderton - has looked at animals in the wild, like elephants and chimpanzees and whales, as well as companion animals.

He's looked back at what people in the past thought about animals having emotions and feelings - going back to the Greek philosophers - and he comes right up to date with the latest scientific research which actually proves some stuff about animals and their emotions.  But he makes it all very easy to understand and it's liberally decorated with some beautiful colour pictures so it would make a great gift for anyone who loves the natural world as well as a pet lover.

Anyway! Hubble & Hattie have given me TWO copies of the book to give away. And me and the LOTH thought it would be nice if ALL our blogger friends could enter wherever they are in the world. So you can! We'll post it out to you whether you are in America, or Australia, or wherever if you win.

All you have to do is go to this page on the LOTH's Lost and Fond website and fill in the online form before November 12 and TWO entries picked at random after that date will win a copy. The LOTH will email you to get your address if you are a winner. We'll publish the names of the winners on this blog and on the Lost and Fond website too.

I am also going to add this give away to the great new Blogville Community Calendar which Sarge has created - such a great idea to keep up with everything that's going on. Thanks Sarge!

Dieting With My Dog - Winnie's first book review

Drum roll please!

May I welcome you to my first ever book review.

You may know the lovely Peggy Frezon from her blog Peggy’s Pet Place. But she’s also an author, columnist and freelance writer.

Well, she’s written a book that’s just been published in the UK called Dieting With My Dog and I was very honoured to be among those offered the chance to review it. (If you are in America I think you have to wait a TINY bit longer before it’s available to buy).

The Lady Of the House and I read it together this weekend.

I think a quote on the back page sums it up quite nicely: “This book is for anyone who has ever loved an animal – through thick and thin”.

But, the idea is that I’m supposed to say what I think about the book, isn’t it?

Well, I’d say, “It’s a book about love”.

Love leaps off every page at you: Peggy's love for her husband Mike and their children Kate and Andy; the family’s love for each other and their adorable spaniel Kelly – and, yes, Peggy and Kelly’s love of food.

Being a freelance writer working from home, Peggy admits she’s always just a tempting few steps away from the fridge. But that wasn’t the only reason that her diet (and Kelly’s) wasn’t always as healthy as it could have been.

In this warm, and frequently funny book Peggy charts her journey of discovery. We learn how she came to realise why she was over eating – and what she did to bring about a drastic change. She lost a staggering three stones. Kelly also lost 15% of her bodyweight too as she took up the vital role of Peggy’s furry fitness coach.

Peggy tells us some lovely anecdotes along the way. Many folks will identify with the fears she had to overcome of loose dogs and unfriendly dog owners as she tried to step up her exercise levels too.

Peggy’s book is inspirational as well as being an enjoyable and entertaining read.

There’s some lovely pictures of Peggy and her family – including Kelly, of course. And I think it’s a book that my fellow bloggers and their people would enjoy.


Not to be outdone by her mum, Kelly has also teamed up with Kol to run a K9 camp from September 8 until October 13. Together Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place will be sharing diet and exercise tips and setting a weekly challenge….to prove that getting fitter and eating more healthily CAN be fun and is definitely worthwhile.

Dieting with my Dog, by Peggy Frezon, is published by Hubble & Hattie and costs £9.99 in the UK. You can order it in bookshops or buy it on Amazon.

Dieting With My Dog - one busy life, two full figures and unconditional love

Simply sailing down the canal

We've had some lovely walks along the canal in recent days. I love all the tantalising smells in the hedges by the path.

I was a bit jealous when I saw these two hounds who smiled and waved (in a doggy way) as they sailed past us. That looks a great way to ride.

I suppose for now I have to stick to walking the paths...but maybe one day we'll have our own canal boat trip.

Have you ever read Narrow Dog to Carcasonne?

It's a brilliant book by a man called Terry Darlington from the Midlands who took his whippet (and his wife) on a really adventurous trip to France on a canal boat. The LOTH can thoroughly recommend it. It's a fabulously funny and entertaining read.

Today I am again joining the Saturday Pet Blog Hop hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.

If you'd like to join in and make new pet blogger friends, please follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste this week's new Linky code into the html editor of your own blog. The list will automatically update on everyone's blogs as new sites add themselves over this weekend and we can all hop from blog to blog and find out everybody's news.

Thanks again to our three hosts for putting on the hop!

If you follow a new blog after finding them in the blog hop - please let them know that you found them on the Saturday Pet Blog Hop.