(bell dings) (typewriter carriage returns) (guitar music) - [Rick] I'm Rick Bragg, and my book is "The Speckled Beauty".
- What is it about this dog that made him the foundation of this book?
- He had been a stray.
Someone just threw him away.
And he's a beautiful merle-coated Australian Shepherd.
One day he just left, and came back a few days later, and he was, again, torn to pieces again.
He was torn to pieces when I got him, when I found him, and then he was torn to pieces again.
I told my mom, "Stay here with him.
I'm gonna run in call the vet", and I came back out, and she was talking to him.
And she was saying, "I think we're going to name you after our third cousin.
She had these freckles all over.
Had a million freckles.
And my daddy nicknamed her The Speckled Beauty.
Because you've got freckles, I think that's what we're gonna name you."
I could see the title on the book jacket, "The Speckled Beauty".
Which, I think, is one of the three or four best book titles, he said, modestly, that he'd ever heard.
- I mean, thank God for mothers.
I mean that just that.
- The Speckled Beauty.
- What is it about dogs?
(Rick laughs) They can't talk.
They don't feed us.
They don't pay our bills, but we'd do anything for 'em.
- I think that might be it.
I think the fact that you read things into 'em.
I mean, everybody gets to read their own narrative into their dog, and what's the dog going to do?
I mean, the dog gonna say, "No, that ain't it", you know.
"No, you got, you read me all wrong."
(Jeremy laughing) They project their own feelings, and no matter what they project into the dog, and I don't want this to sound highfalutin, 'cause I am not that smart, but whatever they project into the dog, what they pull out is happiness.
(happy music) - [Jeremy] This has been a highlight of my life.
- Oh, it's fun.
- Thank you.
- It's easy.
- [Jeremy] Thank you for taking the time and doing this, Rick.
- It's my pleasure.
Thank y'all.
- And thank you for watching "A Word on Words".
I'm Jeremy Finley, and remember, keep reading.
(bell dings) - [Rick] Until the world runs out of bacon, egg and cheese biscuits, me and him are gonna be like this.
- [Jeremy] You're gonna be fine.
