Pukka: The Pup After Merle

Since the publication of the best-selling Merle's Door, Ted Kerasote has received thousands of e-mails asking two questions: "Have you gotten another dog?" and "Are you writing a new book?" Pukka: The Pup After Merle answers both, in the most heartwarming way.

Told in Pukka's charming voice and accompanied by more than 200 photos, Pukka: The Pup After Merle tells the story of how Ted found Pukka, recounting the early days of their bonding as they explore Kelly and the wider world. Walks become hikes and hikes become climbs, their adventures culminating in a rugged wilderness journey that teaches both Pukka and Ted something new about the dog-human partnership.

Filled with stunning images of the West, Pukka is a love story as well as Ted's take on raising a puppy. It will do pictorially what Merle did with words show how dogs thrive when treated as peers while illustrating the many ways that any dog opens the door to our hearts.

Amazon Exclusive: A Note from Ted Kerasote

Dear Amazon Reader,

After my dog Merle died in 2004, it took me five years to get over his death and let my heart heal. In that time I wrote his biography (Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog), traveled on his book tour, and finally began to look for another dog. The details of this time, how I searched for Pukka, trying to find a dog who was genetically healthy and who also had some of Merle's best qualities great athleticism and a calm nature are related in my next book, Why Dogs Die Young and What We Can Do About It.

Pukka: The Pup after Merle wasn't planned as a bridge book between the two. Rather, it evolved from my love of photography and my habit, from childhood, of making photographs of those around me. From the day I met Pukka in Minnesota, I took photos of him, just as I had taken photos of Merle from the day we met on the San Juan River in Utah. These photos of Merle eventually became a slide show of his life, set to his favorite dance tune. I received so many positive comments about Merle's slide show that I thought, "Why not create a similar one about Pukka's life so as to illustrate the role he plays in Why Dogs Die Young?

As I shot these puppy photos, I sent them to many of our friends, with captions that I translated for Pukka after sitting him down in front of the computer and saying, "Okay, my lad, what do you want to say about your first weeks in Wyoming?"

Before Pukka and I knew it, there were hundreds of images accompanied by his captions, telling not only about his early adventures, but also recounting his and my take on how puppies can be raised in a light-handed way that helps them to become freethinking, self-actualized dogs.

Pukka: The Pup after Merle contains the best of our photos and captions. We hope you enjoy them.

All our best,

Ted and Pukka

A Look Inside Pukka: The Pup After Merle
(Click to Enlarge)

Pukka has fun with the hosePukka hard at WorkIt's a big, big world, PukkaPukka learns to retrieve

Pukka learns to slidePukka goes raftingPukka sees a bisonPukka's travel arrangements