This wonderfully written memoir about a man, his dog, and their journey together is as revealing about life as it is warm and amusing. The author, Joseph Monninger, is the kind of man who "feels a connection with an animal beyond what others might consider normal." When his dog, a golden retriever named Nellie, develops lumps that are most likely cancer, the forty-year-old author refuses to abandon her to the animal hospital; instead, he takes her on a final road trip through the West to visit their old mountain haunts and fish their favorite trout streams. As they wend their way through Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, the author rediscovers the pleasures of fishing and hiking--"and also rediscovers his past. The memories of Nellie and what she has seen him through weave together with their outdoor adventures to create a poignant meditation on life, freedom, love, and nature.