Golden Days: Memories of a Golden Retriever

There's no love quite like the love of a golden retriever. Anyone who has experienced this unique, wondrous relationship, or who simply enjoys a beautiful tale of the affection between people and their very special dogs, will fall in love with Arthur Vanderbilt's unforgettable memoir of a doting retriever named Amy and the seasons of joy she shared with those around her.

She had golden eyelashes, a fondness for Vermont cheddar, and a worn-out slipper she never tired of bringing to those she felt sure needed it. From the time she was an eight-week-old puppy, Amy considered herself in charge of the Vanderbilt family: making her round of bed checks each night, greeting long-absent members of her human pack with effusive affection, carefully bartering brand-new shoes for one well-chewed rubber frog.

Returning all the affection lavished on her--and then some--Amy led her family on marvelous outings from her seashore summer home: sun-filled sailing expeditions on the Bay, languorous beach walks and surf swims, moments of great pride at having uncovered and retrieved a dead, malodorous sand shark or having won the hearts of a gullible group of tourists. And anytime Amy had to be left behind during her family's evenings out, she would lapse into a sulk worthy of the very best Hollywood leading ladies.

Set on the outer shores of Cape Cod where Amy romped and rollicked, this tenderly told love story illustrates what a golden retriever can teach us about ourselves and the world we share. As her longtime human companion muses: She had taken us places we never would have gone and shown us things we never would have seen without her. Had we understood everything she showed us? Everything about fairness and faithfulness, about unconditional friendship and loyalty and love? "Sing praise" had been her message. "Bark and shout with joy! We are alive in the wonder of today."