by Mike Gaddis

'. . . an unusually heartwarming novel no reader can ever forget. Opening doors into the heart, Gaddis writes about love and loss and about the important small things that are missed unless one takes time to look closely. He spins a warm, gentle tale about dogs and about people.' --Sanford (SC) Herald

'It is a treasure, JENNY WILLOW, a rare find . . . one no selfrespecting sporting library should be without.' --The NRA's American Hunter

Ben Willow loves above all else setter dogs, the mountains of West Virginia, and grouse. At eighty-three years old, widowed and lonely, a twist of fortune brings one last setter into his life: Jenny, a pup of undeniable brilliance. Jenny proves to be the best bird dog Ben has ever known, but more important, she becomes the old man's reason to live. He hopes he can last her lifetime. The greatest betrayal to a gun dog is to deny her her reasons for being: her master, the gun, and the hunt.

But when Ben's heart gives out while hunting, Jenny is suddenly alone on the mountain. A winter snowstorm comes in; Jenny is lost, attacked by a pack of wild dogs, and dog-napped by a sadistic hermit. Her hair-raising rescue by Ben's friend, Clyde-the local storekeeper-requires nothing less than murder.

JENNY WILLOW is more than a dog story. Beautifully told, steeped in the wonders of the natural world, it is about the relationship between a man and a dog, one man's transcendent love of freedom, and the loyalty true friendship requires. No one who reads this first novel will ever forget Ben or Jenny Willow.