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Il cuore di un cane, paperbackPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soon
Il cuore di un cane, hardcoverHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soon
About this book

A dog’s loyalty is easy to praise—but what happens when danger puts it to the test?

In The Heart of a Dog, Albert Payson Terhune brings together eight stories of dogs who guard, wait, fight and forgive. Each tale places a strong animal at its center and a bond with a person at its heart. Trouble tests that bond, and courage means facing bigger animals, rough men or bad weather, sometimes at a painful cost.

Terhune knows dogs through life with his collies at Sunnybank in New Jersey. His attention rests on how a dog moves, listens and decides. These stories explore dogs as beings of character, loyalty tested by danger and time, and courage that costs something. A clear, brisk style keeps the action close and gives each tale a strong moral shape.

What you’ll discover

  • Dogs with character Meet animals whose honor, pride and will make them more than charming companions.
  • Loyalty under pressure Follow bonds between dogs and people as trouble puts devotion to the test.
  • Courage with a cost Feel the stakes when brave dogs face threats that can leave them hurt.
  • An attentive eye Notice the movements, listening and decisions that give Terhune’s dogs their vivid presence.
  • Stories that move Enjoy direct sentences and short scenes that keep each animal’s choices in view.

Who will love it

For animal lovers, anyone who grew up on dog stories, and readers who enjoy short tales with a clear moral shape, loyalty, courage and the bond between dogs and their people.

What’s inside

The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary

  1. Terhune sees dogs as people of character
  2. Loyalty is tested by danger and time
  3. Courage costs something and is never wasted
  4. A plain style serves a simple, strong idea

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Large-print eBook
The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
Audiobook
6 h 57 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
15-minute summary
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Paperback
6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Hardcover
6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Large print paperback
8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Large print hardcover
8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.

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Short Stories

Il cuore di un cane

by Albert Payson Terhune · 1924

Dogs guard, wait, fight and forgive as loyalty and courage are tested for the people and places they love.

Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages

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In short

The Heart of a Dog is a collection of dog stories by Albert Payson Terhune, an American writer who raised collies at his home, Sunnybank, in New Jersey. He wrote for magazines and books in the early twentieth century, and his readers loved his tales of dogs who guard, wait, fight and forgive.

Il cuore di un cane by Albert Payson Terhune, the cover

From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1

Terhune sees dogs as people of character

Terhune writes about dogs as beings with honor, pride and will. A dog in his stories is not a cute pet or a mere machine of instinct. It has a code, and it lives by that code even when it costs a great deal.

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What is The Heart of a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune about?

It is a collection of short dog stories about loyalty, courage and the bond between dogs and the people they love. Terhune shows dogs as animals with character who act bravely for their families and homes.

Who was Albert Payson Terhune?

He was an American writer and journalist who bred collies at his home, Sunnybank, in New Jersey. He became widely read for his dog stories, including his books about the collie Lad. He died in 1942.

Are the stories in The Heart of a Dog true?

They are fiction, but they draw on Terhune's long experience with collies at Sunnybank. He wrote what he saw of dog behavior and shaped it into short adventures with clear emotion and moral lines.

The author

Albert Payson Terhune

1872–1942 · American novelist and dog writer

Albert Payson Terhune (1872–1942) was an American writer and journalist born in Newark, New Jersey. He lived at Sunnybank, his family's home in Wayne, New Jersey, where he bred collies. He wrote books about dogs, including Lad: A Dog (1919) and The Heart of a Dog (1924).

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