The Dog I’ve Always Wanted

I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for quite a while. Its been given a nod of approval by the likes of Patricia McConnell, a behavourist whose judgment I respect. I wasn’t disappointed. This is an important book for those of us who are interested in the study of canine behaviour and who would like a deeper and more accurate understanding of dogs.  Horowitz is an ethologist; that is she studies the cognition of various species including rhinoceroses, humans and of course dogs.

What is offered to the reader between these covers is a rare opportunity to get beyond the anthropomorphisms that cloud our thinking about dogs and , “Understanding a dog’s perspective – through understanding his abilities, experience, and communication-provides that vocabulary. But we can’t translate it simply through an introspection that brings our own umwelt along….We can glimpse this by ‘acting into’ the umwelt (Perception and action combine to define and circumscribe reality for each living thing; umwelt is essentially any creature’s subjective reality.) of another animal-mindful of the constraints our sensory system places on our ability to truly do so.”

This book will lead you to be much more observant of your dog’s behaviour. After reading the section in “Inside of a Dog” that describes olfactory functioning in canines I began to notice details about how dogs sniff when out on walks. I was able to visualize the physiology of their exploration and begin to imagine the intensity of the input. It puts a whole new spin on yellow snow. As is always the case, the more one knows about a certain thing the more fascinating it becomes.

Alexandra Horowitz is a devoted and enlightened lover of dogs. Her capacity for empathy is remarkable. This book is authentic; there is no dumbing down. At the same time it is very readable; the authorial voice is warm and intimate. It manages to convey a wealth of intriguing information.

I can not resist quoting here the epigram the author has chosen to precede her text because it never fails to make me smile. Its a classic:

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend,
Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

Attributed to Groucho Marx

I have to admit that I am not a fan of Dean Koontz’s novels. I did read one once because others in the family are fans and the book was to hand. All I can recall about this particular novel is that the protagonist was distressed by squirrels who seemed to be both psychic and evil. I was enduring a particularly long, hard winter that year and I began to be troubled by a bold squirrel who developed the habit of staring at me through the kitchen window while I did dishes. I found this increasingly unnerving and I began to wonder, “Who is he? ” and  “What does he know?” I decided that perhaps Dean Koontz was not the best author to read just then given the combination of my over-active imagination and a bad case of cabin fever. Having said that I must hasten to add that I very much enjoyed “a big little life ” .

Koontz and his wife Gerda, long time supporters of Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that trains and places service dogs for people with a variety of disabilities, adopted a dog who had to retire from her post having had elbow surgery which disqualified her as a service dog. Trixie, a lovely golden retriever who embodied all the best attributes of her breed, was of course extremely well trained. She also possessed qualities that can only be described as spiritual. There was definitely  something other worldly about Trixie. After all, she was Dean Koontz’s dog.

The title is apt. Although she lived a dog’s life, in the best sense of that term, and granted that it was a life of wealth and privilege, she was in no way spoiled or corrupted by it. Her sweet and loving disposition endured throughout her life. It was a big life in the sense that she fulfilled her mission which was to bring change and insight to the humans with whom she lived. The bond that was forged between the Koontzs’ and Trixie was deep and was characterized by mutual respect. “The life of a seamstress is no smaller than the life of a queen, the life of a child with Down syndrome no less filled with promise than the life of a philosopher, because the only significant measure of your life is the positive effect you have on others…..If by example of her joy and innocence, a dog can greatly change two lives for the better, then no life is little and every life is big. The mystery of life is the source of its wonder and the wonder of life is what makes it worth living.”

When the end inevitably arrives it comes with dignity and much sorrow. I confess that I wept. I do recommend this book because it is illustrative of the depth and strength of that unique and indeed mysterious bond that is so often created between a human and a dog.

“Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make because of those illusions.”

Fetching Dylan  by Stephen Foster

When I discovered that the author of Walking Ollie had a new book out I was very eager to read it. I wasn’t disappointed. Fetching Dylan is a sensitive account of the acquisition and rearing of the saluki pup who has the distinction of being Ollie’s “little brother”. Foster is an acute observer of his dogs as well as a witty and entertaining  story teller.  The book has a literary flavour with plenty of relevant references. All most all of this narrative is set outside in fields or beaches, anywhere that two dogs who were born to run can cut loose and have a tear.  There are hilarious accounts of adventures and misadventures. Stephen Foster is endowed with a rare degree of patience and an intense love for his dogs as they are meant to be.  As the cliche goes, read this book; you’ll laugh; you’ll cry.

[Read more]

This is a lovely memoir. The author, Stephen Foster, a sports writer, is greatly challenged by Ollie. (The dog formerly known as Ernie.) The puppy in question is a rescued lurcher. A lurcher is a dog that is half greyhound and half something else. In Ollie’s case his non-greyhound half is saluki, also a sight hound. The lurcher breed was developed in Britain due to the fact that only the nobility were permitted to own greyhounds. Lurchers were and probably still are the poacher’s breed of choice. Ollie is adopted from the animal-welfare home at Snetterton in Norfolk.

Ollie proves to be a nervous pup who seemed to spend a great deal of time running around and looking worried. (This description reminds me of my basenji, Cleo.) Walking him proves to be a major challenge as he wants only (naturally enough) to play with other dogs, to chase and be chased. And as is typical of his breed and sight hounds in general he does not come when he is called, very poor recall. The author calculates the time he spends walking Ollie, chasing Ollie, at about five hours a day. He had imagined that dog walking would be a contemplative activity that would allow him to think about his writing. Instead he must endure the scorn of other dog walkers (mostly Lab owners) who proclaim Ollie “out of control”. [Read more]

While I was researching the topic of sighthounds, greyhounds in particular, I of course searched the library catalogue under subject “greyhound”. There were four hits. Three of them have been reviewed as a trio of books about retired racing greyhounds. This is the fourth.
It is not about dogs. It is about buses. But ever since my interest in greyhounds has been awakened I get a small thrill from seeing the greyhound on the side of a bus. A little smile, oh yes, I think. I know what a greyhound is like and I certainly delight in the visual beauty of one running flat out as portrayed on the side of the bus. Since my reading and researching often seems to be an organic process fueled by free association, curiosity and chance why not read the fourth book ?

‘The Greyhound Story’ documents the growth and development of a very successful business. Founded in 1914 by a Swedish immigrant named Carl Eric Wickman, the bus line expanded its service until in 1939 the figures were presented at the annual stockholder’s meeting indicating that the company’s gross income for the year had been $55,989,765 with a net income of $6,562,802. Greyhound employed, at that point, close to 10,000 people. The history of the company’s expansion, under the direction of several executive officers, is related in great detail. By the mid ’80′s Greyhound had become one of the largest leasing companies in the world. Various international subsidiaries lease aircraft, supply vessels, and oil drilling rigs, among other things.It may be said that the key to the success of Greyhound Corporation has been diversification.

Lady Greyhound

One of the most interesting aspects of this book, as far as I’m concerned, are the photographs of the buses or ‘motor stages’ as they were initially called. Stages because what they replaced were stage coaches! It was not until the 1930s that the now traditional image of the racing greyhound first appeared on the exterior of buses. In 1957 the company introduced a mascot, Lady Greyhound, who attired in a wide rhinestone collar and tiara, made public appearances at various charity events, was named America’s canine symbol by the American Humane Association. And (this is my favourite) she opened the brand new Greyhound terminal in Detroit by biting through a ribbon of dog biscuits! It was reassuring for me to discover that there was an actual dog involved in this story somewhere. “Once, when someone commented that Greyhound’s president ‘worked like a dog,’ his secretary said , ‘But not as hard as the dog.’ ”