No Better Friend

This New York Times–bestseller combines a gritty war story with a warm dog story—readers who like both will think they have gone to heaven ( Boston Globe). Flight technician Frank Williams and Judy, a purebred pointer, met in the most unlikely of places: an internment camp in the Pacific. Judy was a fiercely loyal dog, with a keen sense for who was friend and who was foe, and the pair’s relationship deepened throughout their captivity. When the prisoners suffered beatings, Judy would repeatedly risk her life to intervene. She survived bombings and other near-death experiences and became a beacon not only for Frank but for all the men, who saw in her survival a flicker of hope for their own. Judy’s devotion to those she was interned with was matched by their love for her, which helped keep the men and their dog alive despite the ever-present threat of death by disease or the rifles of the guards. At one point, deep in despair and starvation, Frank contemplated killing himself and the dog to prevent either from watching the other die. But both were rescued, and Judy spent the rest of her life with Frank. Frank and Judy’s story—of an unbreakable bond forged in the worst circumstances—is one of the great undiscovered sagas of World War II. The most inspiring true life account I’ve ever read of a human-animal bond.
―Maureen Corrigan, NPR By turns harrowing and heartwarming.
— Chicago Tribune With bite and substance, Slate columnist Weintraub chronicles Judy’s incredible life. . . . Weintraub’s research on the prisoners’ experiences in the camps is remarkable as he narrates Judy and Frank’s heroic tale.
— Kirkus Reviews