A Dog Called Harry

You want a friend, get a dog - Gordon Gekko

'Jeez, look at you, my friend blurted. 'You hardly smile. You used to be hilarious but you haven't laughed in weeks.'She listed the things she thought might help: a bottle of wine, six months at the beach, a year overseas.

I was having none of it.

Finally, she said: 'Jill, you need something to love.'

She was right. I needed someone who cuddled me at night and was still excited to see me in the morning. I just hadn't met him yet.

Newspaper editor Jill Baker arrived home to find her husband dead on the bedroom floor. Within weeks, still in shock, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and told her chances of surviving. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment followed in a year from hell.

At her lowest ebb, Jill took a chance. She needed something or somebody to make life worth living again. But could it really be a crazy, howling, snoring, digging, chewing, barking orange pup?

Turns out Harry and Jill were made to be together. They are an unlikely duo. Jill is quiet, Harry is loud as hell. Jill meticulously plans the day while Harry says let's wing it. She sips pinot while he's an espresso martini guy. Theirs is a beautiful friendship, an unbreakable bond.

A DOG CALLED HARRY is the moving story of a dog dubbed Dirty Harry who helped Jill love life again.

“With humour, wit and no trace of indulgence, Baker captures the shock and sorrow of recovery, all aided by the most unlikely of heroes.-- PRINT [NSW&ACT] Spectrum, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age”

Review The Courier Mail
With humour, wit and no trace of indulgence, Baker captures the shock and sorrow of recovery, all aided by the most unlikely of heroes. PRINT [NSW&ACT] Spectrum, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
A Dog Called Harry is the moving memoir of how this "crazy, howling, snoring, digging, chewing, barking, orange pup" helped her love life again. The Senior
This memoir about how a tiny dog healed a very broken heart is a moving and truthful account of love and loss. The Daily Telegraph, Adelaide Advertiser, Herald Sun, Courier Mail
This is a heart-lifting memoir about the power of love and pups and just what is we need to put a smile on our faces during this time of uncertainty and social distancing PRINT [NATIONAL] New Idea AUDIENCE : 211,855 ASR: AUD 9,440
Jill Baker came home one day to find her husband, George, dead on the bedroom floor. Then just weeks later she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At her lowest, she decided to get a cavoodle, whom she named Dirty Harry. Jill writes that: "Harry tried to be the perfect dog, and every year or two he was, but some days I wondered how this dog had a hope in hell of saving my life when he couldn't get his own in order." This is an uplifting read about a bond between a woman and her dog. And it's a reminder of the human spirit's ability to survive in the most trying of times NATIONAL [PRINT] Take 5 AUDIENCE : 135,061 ASR: AUD 24,541

Jill Baker is an award-winning journalist. She edited two newspapers (The Sunday Age and the Sunday Herald Sun) and was a group publisher at Australian Consolidated Press, running about 20 magazines including The Bulletin, Australian Gourmet Traveller, House & Garden and Belle. She won a Walkley award for feature writing in 2010, the Keith Murdoch award for journalism (News Limited's highest award) and the Melbourne Press Club's gold quill. She loves great words and how great writers tell stories. She's undoubtedly the only newspaper editor who can pull a calf if needed or get a red-bellied black snake out of the chook yard (if she absolutely has to!). At various times she has bankrolled a herd of cattle, two alpacas called Boomer and Sally, a slew of cats and more chooks than you can have roast dinners. She now lives with a mutt known on his bad days as Dirty Harry. Harry is her first dog.

You want a friend, get a dog - Gordon Gekko 'Jeez, look at you, my friend blurted. 'You hardly smile. You used to be hilarious but you haven't laughed in weeks.'She listed the things she thought might help: a bottle of wine, six months at the beach, a year overseas.I was having none of it.Finally, she said: 'Jill, you need something to love.'She was right. I needed someone who cuddled me at night and was still excited to see me in the morning. I just hadn't met him yet.Newspaper editor Jill Baker arrived home to find her husband dead on the bedroom floor. Within weeks, still in shock, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and told her chances of surviving. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment followed in a year from hell.At her lowest ebb, Jill took a chance. She needed something or somebody to make life worth living again. But could it really be a crazy, howling, snoring, digging, chewing, barking orange pup?Turns out Harry and Jill were made to be together. They are an unlikely duo. Jill is quiet, Harry is loud as hell. Jill meticulously plans the day while Harry says let's wing it. She sips pinot while he's an espresso martini guy. Theirs is a beautiful friendship, an unbreakable bond. A DOG CALLED HARRY is the moving story of a dog dubbed Dirty Harry who helped Jill love life again.

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