Blessings On The Sheep Dog

From the violent world of apartheid South Africa to the supposed immigrant haven of the United States, the people in Saunders’s debut story collection brave life’s big questions about connection, displacement, death, love, race, and justice. Grappling with feelings too disturbing to articulate, they turn to anthropology or math, music or cosmology, to make sense of the dissonance around them. More often than not, the only truth they find is that life is a complicated dance, and doing the right thing a moment by moment decision. In "We’ll Get to Now Later,” a guilt-stricken white South African immigrant confronts his apartheid past when he meets a Zulu dancer traveling with a circus in the United States. In "Pig Day,” an American teenager accidentally kills his best friend Nick, the son of a Romanian immigrant, and is co-opted by the bereaved father to build Nick’s coffin. In "A Sudden New City,” Heila, a frail and mentally faltering white South African grandmother, drives a tractor into a black crowd as revenge for her husband’s infidelity across the color line. In the tradition of Nadine Gordimer and Norman Rush, but with its own sense of comedy and metaphor, Blessings on the Sheep Dog is a first work by a master storyteller.

CLASSIC More than 200K in print In a modern-day parable about a man and his transforming love for his dog, Lass, best-selling author Phillip Keller paints a vivid picture of God's love for the unlovable. What you see is not always what you get - and this true story of a man and his dog is no exception. Woven just under the surface of this simple parable, Keller presents profound spiritual truth. It is the story of Lass, a worthless animal thought to be untrainable, who becomes a magnificent and valuable sheepdog - not terribly unlike how God's love can transform our worst characteristics into blessings that serve to further His Kingdom. Allow yourself to see Biblical truth in this classic tale of what can happen when you yield to the Master.

“Delightful . . . filled with accounts of the many magical moments these dear companions provide . . . and their impact on our days and our doings..” —Spirituality & Practice Featuring heartwarming passages by a renowned inspirational author, this gift book celebrates puppy joy, the “welcome home” wag of the tail, unbridled affection, bittersweet love for an aging pet, and the sublime moments shared between humans and their canine companions. “My dogs are my life. Let this book be a great part of yours..” —Doris Day, actress and founder of the Doris Day Animal Foundation “A moving and tender book of poems, prose, and prayers that gracefully honors our dog companions. Page after page, I found my heart opening even more to the deep love I share with dogs and how much they mean to me. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll call your dog over for a full-body hug. I heartily recommend this book to dog lovers everywhere!.” —Marty Becker, DVM, resident veterinarian on ABC’s Good Morning America “Anyone who lives with dogs knows how special they are and how much they affect our lives on a daily basis . . . In this anthology of poems, prayers and prose by famous and lesser-known writers, Cotner has gathered words that convey the sacred connection dogs and their humans have with each other..” —Best Friends Magazine

An oblivious sheep wants to be the best sheep protector around, but unbeknownst to her, Sheep is being steadfastly guarded by a patient sheep dog.

In A Dictionary of Early Middle Turkic Hendrik Boeschoten describes the lexical material contained in works written in different varieties of Eastern Turkic before the classical age of Chaghatay.

Sam doesn't think he is a very good sheep dog when he can't get the sheep he is taking to the Sheep Show to take a bath.