KATE & PIPPIN

The true story, captured in intimate photos, of an old Great Dane and an abandoned fawn. Awwww.

Anthropomorphizing with gusto as he goes, the author places the crying fawn, “certain she had found a new mother,” next to the sleeping dog—who is “surprised” upon waking up, but aside from a quick sniff displays no visible reaction to her new companion. Pippin learns to negotiate a milk-bottle nipple and later a set of porch steps and frisks alertly about the photographer’s yard. At one point, she wanders into the nearby woods (“Kate and Isobel worried they might never see Pippin again”) and back, but grave and grizzled Kate seldom seems to move, aside from a couple of gambols in the grass, or even summon up the energy to open her eyes all the way. Nonetheless, the two plainly enjoy each other’s company, and the pictures underscore their closeness at rest or play. Next to a final headshot of the pair (dog and adult deer almost exactly the same size) the narrative properly notes that Pippin is a wild animal “but she and Kate remain the best of friends.”

Again, awwww.