Rick Bragg wasn’t looking for a dog and if he were this wasn’t the one he would have picked. So maybe the dog picked him. Bragg, recovering from a variety of health issues including cancer, kidney failure, and bouts of pneumonia, isn’t exactly a picture of health but neither is the wild dog which he spots with a part eating trash in the middle of an Alabama country road. Perhaps the skinny, torn-up, smelly dog saw a man in need of companionship. And instead of running off he took a shine to Bragg and moved in with him, his mom, a couple of other dogs, an assortment of cats, and some jackasses.
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Bragg recounts how this mutt became known as the Speckled Beauty, Speck for short, and takes us through the trials and tribulations of building a relationship built on mishaps, bad judgment, love, and affection. So in the end, they picked each other.
Bragg is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin’ and Ava’s Man. If you haven’t read him, you should. He’s a master storyteller who can break your heart and crack you up in the same sentence.
Carol is the Director of the Churchill County Library. She almost missed this title and is grateful to a loyal library patron for requesting this book.
Condolences to the family. I felt honored to read the obituary. A real Nevada cowboy. I felt his hard work,...