Prominent writer of dog books Tarrant dies

Monday, Nov. 30, 1998 | 11:11 a.m.

"I know dogs. I live dogs. I love dogs."

That passage from Bill Tarrant's book "The Magic of Dogs," sums up a career in the field of canine training that is matched by few.

Twice named Dog Writer of the Year by the Dog Writers Association of America, Tarrant also was known for his outdoors and hunting articles in magazines like "Field and Stream," for which he has been gun dog editor since 1973.

William D. "Bill" Tarrant, who won 23 national outdoor and dog writing awards and was once invited by the British monarchy to write a story about the royal kennels, died Nov. 22 at Sunrise Mountain View Hospital. He was 69.

A memorial service for Tarrant, who lived in Las Vegas for six years, was held Sunday at Palm Mortuary Cheyenne.

Tarrant's writings gave readers a look inside an animal's mind to help people better understand their pets.

"I want to hand you the keys to pup's psyche so you can read the dog and know what he's going to do before he does it," Tarrant wrote in "The Magic of Dogs."

"I want to sensitize you so you can feel and appreciate pup's gift: To lower your blood pressure, drain your tension, extend your life and ... give you something you care for and thus get up the cheerful gumption to take on each new day."

Between 1977 and '89, Tarrant also authored the books "Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog," "Hey Pup, Fetch it Up," "Bill Tarrant's Gun Dog Book," "Tarrant Trains Gun Dogs," and others.

He won the Dog Writers Association of America's Dog Writer of the Year awards in 1981 and '83. In '81, he also won best book of the year and column of the year. Throughout the '80s and '90s, hardly a year went by that Tarrant did not win one of the organization's major awards. The last was for article of the year in 1997.

Born May 4, 1929, in Wichita, Kan., Tarrant was a Marine veteran of the Korean War.

He earned bachelors degrees in American history and political science at Wichita State University in 1955 and a masters in journalism at the University of Oregon the following year.

Tarrant served as a Wichita city commissioner from 1963 to 1967, the last two of those years as mayor. He was a professor of journalism at Wichita State in the early '70s, before devoting his full attention to writing about the outdoors, hunting and dogs.

Tarrant was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, the Dog Writers Association of America, Elks, VFW, Masonic bodies and the National Rifle Association.

In addition to training dogs, Tarrant also was a fly fisherman, bird hunter and model train enthusiast.

He is survived by his wife, Dee Tarrant, of Las Vegas and a sister, Sharon Treaster of Beloit, Kan.

Donations: In Tarrant's memory to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Canab, Utah 84741-5001.