A Buffalo in the House

Book excerpt: From a #1 New York Times–bestselling author, “a heartwarming tale of bonding between people and animals” (Booklist). A sprawling suburban house in Santa Fe is not the kind of home where a buffalo normally roams, but Veryl Goodnight and Roger Brooks are not your ordinary animal lovers. Over a hundred years after Veryl’s ancestors, Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight, hand-raised two baby buffalo to help save the species from extinction, the sculptor and her husband adopt an orphaned buffalo calf of their own. Against a backdrop of the American West, A Buffalo in the House tells the story of a household situation beyond any sitcom writer’s wildest dreams. Charlie has no idea he’s a buffalo and Roger has no idea just how strong the bond between man and buffalo can be. In the historical shadow of the near-extermination of a majestic and misunderstood animal, Roger sets out to save just one buffalo—in a true story featuring “one of the most memorable characters in recent nature writing” (Publishers Weekly). “More than a touching man-beast buddy tale . . . lovingly chronicles the history of an embattled species and its importance in the American West.” —Entertainment Weekly “Moving proof of the restorative powers of man’s relationship with nature.” —People