New: Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, by Sharon Sakson

Dogs have always helped humans and changed our lives for the better--by herding sheep, guarding our homes, and giving us unconditional love--but our dogs may save our lives as well. Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs(Alyson Books, December 2007, $24.95 Hardcover) provides individual accounts of beloved pets that have supported their families, in miraculous ways, through periods of ill health; and it reviews the science that lends credence to claims of dogs' healing power. For the first time, the array of fascinating information on this topic has been gathered in one place.

Author Sharon Sakson's investigation took her to academic institutions, veterinarians' offices, dog breeders, charitable organizations, and even the military--wherein she discovered documentation for what so many of us already understand: that the loving presence of a dog can avert, and transport us through, grave illness, whether physical or psychological.

As Paws & Effect makes clear, dogs are not only faithful and intuitive companions, but also, on a deeper level, spiritual guides, who, in their resilience, intelligence, affability, courage, and perseverance, both model and support healthy living. Seamlessly weaving research and narrative, Sakson redefines the age-old bond between human and dog--a bond that is proving to be without limits.