A Dog Year

First lines

He was a two-year-old border collie of Australian lineage, well-bred but high-strung, and in big trouble.

About this book

The book that inspired Marley and Me, published in the UK for the first time.When Jon Katz takes in a young troubled border collie, his calm, sedate life will never be the same again. Jon and his wife live in a New Jersey suburb with two perfectly behaved Labradors. Then into the mix comes Devon, who creates havoc from the moment he arrives at the airport, when it takes Jon, two baggage handlers and three police officers to track him down after he escapes.Jon learns the hard way how to encourage Devon to behave. But amongst the difficulties of their first year together, Jon discovers his life is enlivened by a creature with so much mischievousness and joie de vivre. In fact, Jon finds that he is to change as much as Devon.By turns insightful, hilarious and deeply moving, A Dog Year is a delightful true story of the age-old bond between man and dog.

Themes & subjects

About the author

Jon Katz

8 August 1947

Jon Katz is an American journalist, author, and photographer. He was a contributor to the online magazine HotWired, the technology website Slashdot, and the online news magazine Slate.