I grew up in the American South with a father who had a strict shoot it or feed it policy when it came to strays. Mostly he fed them. That's how we ended up with a spanielesque creature of indeterminant origin named Kindness. Our neighbor's mom died and Dad sent the dog to live with him and he said she was just what he needed. Anyway, I developed, at that young age, the belief that the Universe sends you the support you need when you needed it most and quite often in the form of a four-legged, furry thing that will be enough trouble to distract you from what would otherwise be overwhelming personal mess. Don't tell them, but my dad and my brother will probably get this book for Christmas.
You don't have to have read Bragg's other books to enjoy this one. As a librarian, I'll recommend it to every patron who loves rescue pet stories and bad dog stories. But my Rick Bragg readers are already lined up for this one and they won't be disappointed!.

I was born in North Alabama. One thing you will find in most homes there is the latest copy of Southern Living magazine. I still get a monthly copy and the first thing I do is turn to the very back page to read an article by Rick Bragg. I think I've read all of his books and love them because he describes the people near all the places where I grew up. The Speckled Beauty describes not only the people I know and love but the dogs. This book is about Speck, not a "good dog" but a dog like our "church dog, the dog at Papaw's store, the dog that ate the food meant for my mamaw's dog - I think I know this dog. This is my favorite book of the year. Maybe later, I'll say my favorite non-fiction book but for now, it's the winner!

Author Rick Bragg grew up and currently lives in rural Alabama. He recently was ill with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and lives with his mother and near one of his brothers and sister-in-law. Into his life slowly comes a stray mostly Australian Shepherd, a large dog with one bad eye and sketchy hearing. They already have two other stray dogs, many cats and even some donkeys, but "Speck" eventually wins his way into everyone's heart. Bragg also takes the reader through the seasons in Alabama and the wildlife there and his family life over the last few years. This is a lovely book to read on a Sunday afternoon at home with the pawed ones you share your life with beside you. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say about this book? One word: Awesome! What a heartwarming story about a dog and a man, Rick Bragg, which need each other to help the other cope with life’s trials and tribulations. This dog was no Lassie, but I think Speck was more loved than a dog like Lassie would be loved, by Rick Bragg. This is a book not just for dog lovers but anyone who enjoys a heartwarming and uplifting story!

No one writes about home like Rick Bragg, the good and the bad of it, defend to the death of it, and so it is with the story of Speck. No sugar- coating the shepherd mix who had seen better days before he became part of the Bragg family, who loves to roll in decaying deer carcasses more than anything, who will indeed herd cats and who refuses to be put in a particular category. Some animals you love in spite of their behavior and so it is with Speck. Bragg will have you laughing out loud at the dog’s antics and then misting up over mankind and nature’s cruelty. The book shows family life at a certain age with its frailty and a pet’s also. Bragg welcomes you into his world, warts and all. It’s a wonderful book of not just a rambunctious dog, but a family who continues to strive despite all life hands to it.

I've learned about Rick Bragg's family through his writings, his mother, his father, his brother Sam, and his home in Alabama. With The Speckled Beauty, I learned about his and his family's love for animals, but more, their love for the underdog. When a dog that no one should want or loved wandered onto their property, no one but Rick wanted anything to do with the "throw-away dog.' It takes a special love to see the possibilities in such a creature, and Rick did. There have been so many books about dogs in the past ten years but with humor, humility, and love, Rick opens a glimpse into this animal's world that we wouldn't know about if not for the way he writes. I've always said I would read anything Rick writes. I so happy he tells good stories about the South, and the people and creatures who make it their home.

I'm a little prejudiced, because Rick is a distant cousin, but this is another excellent book by him. His love and understanding of dogs comes through on every page. Writing about he and his brother's cancer, it can be a sad book at times, but then stories about dogs herding miniature donkeys and cats on screen doors make you laugh out loud. His books are like sitting down and having a long visit with my family, which is just what many of us need now.

If Samuel Clemens were alive today, he would be best friends with Bragg. Both have the ability to see both the absurdity and the beauty in life. In Bragg’s newest memoir he recounts the story of Speck, a dog unlike any other, smelly, wild and totally untamable. He showed up at Bragg’s home starving, filthy and in desperate need of a friend. Bragg, suffering himself from cancer, kidney failure and pneumonia, is reluctant to take on this dog who so clearly needs a serious commitment. Still, it’s not long before Bragg realizes that saving Speck may just be the best way to save himself. Like all of Bragg’s books, this is a wry, sarcastic, funny, honest and incredibly beautiful story. Bragg is a national treasure