Love Is the Best Medicine (34 page)

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of this would have been possible without the cooperation, honesty, and trust of Sandi Rasmussen and Eileen Aronson. I am sure there were certain details and nuances of their stories that I failed to convey. Realistically, I could only ever hope to capture a fraction of what it meant to know Cleo and Helen. For any discrepancies or mistakes I made in trying to achieve this goal, I am sorry. My thanks go out to their husbands, Jan and Ben, whose roles and importance in what transpired was undoubtedly far greater than I portrayed. And, of course, I cannot forget Sonja and Dave. Sonja’s quiet understanding and forgiveness at such a difficult time still astounds me. I tried to be respectful of her relationship with Dave, to intimate tension while leaving the rest to imagination. I wish them both all the best.

In no particular order I should like to acknowledge Nick Glynn, Neil Burnie, Allen Sisson, Sherry Nadworny, Lisa Moses, Leah Myrbeck, Kara and Grace Dunne, Mary Pizzachino, Frances Cardullo, Lois Wetmore, Meaghan Tracey, Ava McGarr, Peter Demosthenes Raft, and James McDonough. Thanks to my agent, Kristin Lindstrom, and all the fabulous folks at Broadway Books. I owe them a huge debt of gratitude and in particular, my editor, Christine Pride.
Once again, Christine performed magic as she polished, refined, and enhanced. I am truly fortunate to have her on my side.

Finally, working a full-time job and playing make-believe as a writer can only come about through the love and support of my family. Whitney, bless you for your tireless optimism and confidence in my success; Emily, you are the angel who changed my life, opened my eyes, and made all of this possible; and Kathy, my wife, best friend, and trusted confidante, you are our heart and soul.

Copyright © 2010 by Dr. Nicholas Trout

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

BROADWAY BOOKS
and the Broadway Books colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Photograph on title page by GK Hart/Vikki Hart/Getty Images.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Trout, Nick.
Love is the best medicine / by Nick Trout.
p. cm.
1. Dogs—Anecdotes. 2. Human-animal
relationships—Anecdotes. I. Title.
SF426.2.T76  2010
636.7—dc22            2009022423

eISBN: 978-0-7679-3199-1

v3.0