Donald McCaig has been awarded a fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Prix Literaire by the Societe Protectrice des Animaux, and multiple awards by the Dog Writers Association of America. He recalls that fall afternoon in 1987 when he and his dog, Pip, came in fifth at the Edgeworth Open Sheep Dog Trial. They beat some pretty good dogs that day.McCaig is the author of five novels including Canaan and Jacob's Ladder. He lives in the mountains of West Virginia with his wife and runs a sheep farm with the help of his border collies.