Books Good Stocking Stuffers For Pet Lovers

Books make great stocking stuffers for pet lovers. Here are several recently released choices, including a fashion guide for dogs, a book filled with canine trivia, a pet health bible, a cat who-done-it with a feline sleuth, and a hamster care guide.

•"Dog Fashion: Haute Couture for Your Hound," by Susie Green (Cico Books, New York, NY, 2007; $12.95). This book is more about fashion than function. Take the doggy wedding. The Yorkshire Terrier bride is in white (of course), her bright eyes showing behind her veil, her outfit topped with a sparkly tiara and a bowser bling pink rhinestone Pucci collar. The Jack Russell Terrier groom wears a crisp tie and tails (oops, he already has a tail). Outfits are also suggested for Christmas, dogs seeking the preppy look, and proper dog park styling for urban canines.

•"Cat Deck the Halls: A Joe Grey Mystery," by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (William Morrow, New York, NY, 2007; $16.95). This is the 13th installment in the Joe Grey feline sleuth series. Joe Grey, feline private investigator; his girlfriend, Dulcie, and their tortoisehell friend, Kit, attempt to sniff out the killer of a man shot beneath a Christmas tree. Happy holidays!

•"Dogs Miscellany: Dogs and Their Famous Owners... Dogs in Literature.In the Bible.Tales of dog Heroism, Trivia, Jokes, A Doggy Dictionary and Much More!" by J.A. Wines (Delacorte Press, New York, NY, 2006; $10). This little book wins the award for the longest subtitle ever. Previously released in the U.K., here's a canine trivia handbook. Before microchipping and dog licensing, people did what they could so their beloved dogs wouldn't be lost. In 1910, King Edward VII had this inscription put on his Wirehair Fox Terrier's collar: "I belong to the King." He apparently reasoned that if Caesar ever wandered away, everyone knew where the king lived. The book is filled with proverbs, funny anecdotes and short stories about man's best friend.

•"Love Your DOG Pictures: How to Photograph Your Dog With Any Camera," by Jennis Bidner (Watson-Guptill Pubications, New York, NY, 2006; $19.95). The author says the secret to getting that great shot is capturing the spirit of your dog. She deals with both film and digital cameras, and their individual 'issues.' There are lots of tips on the sorts of topics you'd see covered in any basic photography book, such as lighting and angles. However, few other books suggest taking coat color into consideration. Maybe this is a book to check out before Christmas Day so you can snap that perfect shot of your puppy in Santa's lap.

•"The Nature of Dogs," photographs by Mary Ludington (Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2007; $35). Stunning, yet simply elegant photographs - all in black and white - capture the spirit of 60 breeds, with text on each.

•"The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health: Home Edition," editor Cynthia Kahn (Published by Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2007; $15.61). This unusual price is at www.merckbooks.com. The retail price is $22.95 - and even at that, it's a bargain. This giant can only be stuffed inside a stocking on steroids; it's 1,345 pages of animal health information. Not stopping with dogs, cats and horses, there's info on fish, reptiles, ferrets, rabbit, and chinchilla care, and more. This book is the definitive guide to your pet's health, and includes the latest in cutting-edge medicine, compiled by over 200 of the best vets in their fields. Simply put, there's nothing else like it.

•"Afternoons with Puppy: Inspirations From a Therapist and His Animals," by Aubrey H. Fine and Cynthia J. Eisen (Purdue University Press, West Lafayette, IN, 2008; $24.95). This tome is partly a guidebook for those seeking to utilize animals in therapeutic settings, and partly the life lessons that animals teach. The authors recount many heartwarming and heart-wrenching success stories based on Fine's experiences with his own birds and dogs, particularly Puppy, a formerly abused golden retriever. We certainly have a lot to learn from animals. What no one has quite figured out is exactly how animals can sometimes provide more effective relief than taking a pill.

•"My Hamster," by Peter Fritzche (Barron's Educational Series, Hauppauge, NY, 2007; $13.49). Especially at this time of year, consider buying a book before impulsively buying the real thing. There's lots of info here on proper care and nutrition for these little guys, plus advice on nippy hamsters, how to hold a hamster, and the various kinds of hamsters and how their needs vary.

•"All I Need To Know I Learn From My Cat (And Then Some)," by Suzy Becker (Workman Publishing, New York, NY, 2007; $8.95). Reissue of a fun little illustrated book with 48 new pages of wisdom and observations of life with cats. It's fun, funny, sweet and the observations about cats are right on. One observation: "There is always time for a nap."