Albert Payson Terhune is one of those rare writers whose dog stories have captured the hearts of readers for year. I can still remember reading Lad: A Dog over and over again and then watching the movie version. For those who wonder WHY his books remain favorites,  clues can be gathered from looking at parts of Terhune's own life and his beliefs about writing dog stories. For one thing, he often claimed that his books were not written for children and perhaps, oddly enough, this explains their appeal TO children. They aren't watered down, simplified or patronizing and both children and adults continue to appreciate Terhune's heartfelt appreciation and love of dogs as well as his honesty about dog behavior.
     He was not only a writer, however, but a knowledgable breeder of collies. Sunnybank (mentioned in some of his books) was a REAL place and his love of collies resulted in his featuring a collie in most of his books. I think his books stand the test of time because his obvious admiration for dogs comes through.
  Here is some little-known trivia about Terhune:
1. Amy Vanderbilt was once his press agent
2. He wrote scores of articles that weren't about dogs for magazines and other publications
3. He had a stint as a prizefighter.
   If you haven't gotten acquainted with Terhune's dog stories, I urge you to see them out and discover them and perhaps share them with a favorite son, daughter, grandchild,etc.