First published 1993
James Herriot stands at the championship trials watching Gyp, his sheepdog who has never made a sound. The Yorkshire countryside stretches around them as the competition unfolds. Then Gyp barks. The crowd stops. Herriot stares in shock. His quiet companion has broken years of complete silence at this pivotal moment. Herriot searches for reasons behind this single, unexpected sound. The bark pushes him to reconsider everything he knows about his dog. He thinks back through their time together in the dales, remembering how Gyp has always communicated without words. This one moment of sound opens new understanding between man and animal. Herriot sees fresh meaning in their bond and learns something new about how creatures speak to each other beyond human language.
Genres: biography, fiction, animals, dogs
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, man-animal-bond
Setting: England, Yorkshire
32 pages · Paperback · Pan Macmillan