The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout

Jill Abramson

Oct 2011 · Sold by Macmillan

About this ebook

An instructive and marvelously entertaining chronicle of a puppy's first year, by the executive editor of The New York Times

One sparkling summer day, Jill Abramson brought home a nine-week-old golden retriever named Scout. Over the following year, as she and her husband raised their adorable new puppy, Abramson wrote a hugely popular column for The New York Times's website about the joys and challenges of training this rambunctious addition to their family. Dog-lovers from across the country inundated her with e-mails and letters, and the photos they sent in of their own dogs became the most visited photo album on the Times's site in 2009.

Now Abramson has gone far beyond the material in her column and written a detailed and deeply personal account of Scout's first year. Part memoir, part manual, part investigative report, The Puppy Diaries continues Abramson's intrepid reporting on all things canine. Along the way, she weighs in on such issues as breeders or shelters, adoption or rescue, raw diet or vegan, pack-leader gurus like Cesar Millan or positive-reinforcement advocates like Karen Pryor.

What should you expect when a new puppy enters your life? With utterly winning stories and a wealth of practical information, The Puppy Diaries provides an essential road map for navigating the first year of your dog's life.

Ratings and reviews

OK, so let's see, judging by the blue cover with yellow text, and puppy dog, Scout, the white Golden Retriever, this is a dead-end choice for anyone hoping to learn about investigative journalism or at least the kind that is of consequence. Scout, becomes the new Buddy, the author's old family pet Westie Terrier that has passed. Abramson goes on the chase with Scout, and takes a trip without Scout in which she breaks her face and back. Second accidental brush with death in 5 years. Some very intimate details about her fantasies and her personal life are revealed. Scout also kind of reads as a story, the next big scoop, that she'll agree to publish in exchange for maintaining the delusion that Buddy is Scout. Or something. It's pretty heady stuff, the author writes with a tone that would read nicely to her grand kids at bed time, when a little delusion helps with better sleep.

About the author

Jill Abramson, a bestselling and award-winning author, is the executive editor of The New York Times. An unabashed dog-lover, she has long been fascinated by the complex relationship between dogs and their owners. She, her husband, and Scout live in New York City and Connecticut.