THE SCOOP ON ANIMAL BOOKS
BOOKS BY SUBJECT (More subjects will be added as we get them)
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals
Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat
Natural Pet Care: How to Improve Your Animal's Quality of LifeANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
The Covenant of the Wild: Why Animals Chose Domestication
Wild Minds: What Do Animals Really Think?
Cats/Canine Can Communicate
The Language of Miracles: A Celebrated Psychic Teaches You to Talk to AnimalsANIMAL RIGHTS
Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy
The Scalpel and the Butterfly:The War Between Animal Research and Animal Protection
Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth- and Animal-Friendly Living
Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating
For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States
Saving Molly: A Research Veterinarian's Choices
Sacred Cows and Golden Geese: The Human Cost of Experiments on Animals
The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices MatterANIMALS: CARE AND HANDLING
The Healthy Pet Manual: A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
Natural Pet Care: How to Improve Your Animal's Quality of Life
Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts to Consider
The Whole Pet Diet: Eight Weeks to Great Health for Dogs and Cats
Allergic to Pets? The Breakthrough Guide to Living with the Animals You LoveANIMALS: DEATH AND DYING
Goodbye, Jake
There Is Eternal Life for Animals: A Book Based on Bible Scripture NEW!CARTOON
Happy Cat Day
Flawed Dogs: The Year-End Leftovers at the Piddleton “Last Chance” Dog PoundCATS: GENERAL
Lessons in Stalking…Adjusting to Life With Cats
The Cat Master
What's the Matter with Henry? The True Tale of a Three-Legged CatCATS: CARE AND HEALTH
Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook
Flower Essences for AnimalsCATS: FERAL
TNR Past, Present and Future: A History of the Trap-Neuter-Return MovementCATS: TRAINING AND BEHAVIOR
Good Cat! A Proven Guide to Successful Litter Box Use and Problem SolvingCHILDREN
Goodbye, Jake
Hey Bossie, You're a Spokescow!
Forever Friends
Keri Tarr Cat Detective
Misty the Freeway Foxhound: The Dog Who Became a Legend
What's the Matter with Henry? The True Tale of a Three-Legged CatDOGS: BREEDS
Dog Eat Dog : A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Designer DogsDOGS: CARE AND HEALTH
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dog Health & Nutrition
The Natural Vet's Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs
Flower Essences for AnimalsDOGS: GENERAL
For Every Dog an Angel
Visiting the Dog Park: Having Fun Staying SafeDOGS: REFERENCE
The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine CompanyDOGS: TRAINING AND BEHAVIOR
Rover, Get Off Her Leg!: Pet Etiquette for the Dog Who Pees on Your Rug, Steals the Roast, and Poops in Improper Places NEW!
Dog Eat Dog : A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows
The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company
The Adventures of Bro and Tracy
Visiting the Dog Park: Having Fun Staying SafeDOGS: WORKING
The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned Pet DetectiveENVIRONMENTALISM
Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West
Kinship with the Wolf: The Amazing Story of the Woman Who Lives with WolvesFICTION
Nobody’s Pets
Robin: The Lovable Morgan Horse
Targets of Affection
The Cat MasterHORSES
Robin: The Lovable Morgan HorseHUMOR
Lessons in Stalking…Adjusting to Life With CatsNUTRITION
Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts to Consider
Natural Pet Care: How to Improve Your Animal's Quality of LifeOPINION/ESSAY
Pieces of My Heart: Writings Inspired by Animals and Nature
Curious Creatures, Wondrous Waifs: My Life With Animals
The Dog Who Met the Queen and Other Stories
A Scattering of Cats
Tears and Tales: Stories of Human and Animal Rescue
Remember the Alamo: A Sentry Dog Handler's View of Vietnam from the Perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base
Barkley: A Dog's Journey
Rescued: Saving Animals from DisasterPET DETECTION
The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned Pet DetectivePETS: TRAVEL
Have Dog Will Travel, California: Comprehensive Guide to over 2,200 Dog-friendly Accommodations [Have Dog Will Travel Series]
Have Dog Will Travel, Northwest Edition: Hassle-Free Guide to Traveling with Your Dog over 2,100 Dog-Friendly Accommodations throughout the Pacific Northwest [Have Dog Will Travel Series]PHOTOGRAPHY
People I Sleep With
Calico Tales . . . And Others
The Adventures of Bro and Tracy
What's the Matter with Henry? The True Tale of a Three-Legged CatPOETRY
Calico Tales . . . And Others
Cat House Sonnets: 100 Poems Celebrating Cats
Through Katrina's EyesVEGETARIANISM AND VEGANISM
Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth- and Animal-Friendly Living
BOOKS BY TITLEBOOKS BY AUTHOR ADAMS, CARL S.
ALBRECHT, KAT
ANDERSON, ALLEN & LINDA
ARDEN, DARLENE
ASKANI, TANJA
BEERS, DIANE
BERKELEY, ELLEN PERRY
BONHAM, MARGARET
BONHAM, MARGARET
BOZARTH, SANDRA
BREATHED, BERKELEY
BROWN, ANDI
BUDIANSKY, STEPHEN
CARLSON, DELBERT
COHEN, BARBARA S.
CONHEIM, CATHY & GALLAGHER, BJ
DAVIS, CHRISTINE
DE RHAM, MICKEY
DEVI, LILA
FAY, JOYCE
FELD, ELLEN
FINEBERG, JILL
GRANDIN, TEMPLE
GREEK, C. RAY & JEAN SWINGLE
HAMILTON, DONALD
HAMPLE, TIGER
HARRIS, DENA
HAUSER, MARC D.
KALSTONE, SHIRLEE
KALSTONE, SHIRLEE
KINKADE, AMELIA
KOSTRO, ED
KOSTRO, ED
LEMENT, WENDY
LEVY, JULIETTE DE BAIRACLI
MAHONEY, JAMES
MARCUS, ERIK
MARTIN, ANN N.
MARTINEZ, AL
MESSONNIER,SHAWN
MESSONNIER,SHAWN
MURPHY, PATRICIA
NEWKIRK, INGRID
NULL, GARY
OHRING, MARGY
PEMBERTON, BONNIE
RAMSEY, M.K.
ROBINSON, MICHAEL J.
RUDACILLE, DEBORAH
SCHILDKRAUT, BAM
SCHWARTZ,CHERYL
SCULLY, MATTHEW
SHANAHAN, NIKI BEHRIKIS
SINGER, PETER & MASON, JIM
SMITH, CHERYL S.
STERN, JANE AND MICHAEL
STOWE, BETSY
STRAW, DEBORAH
THOMAS, ELIZABETH MARSHALL
VASSALLO, RUSSELL A.
WASSERMAN, BERNARD
WHITAKER, BARBARA
WHITE, DEBRA
WILLEMS, RG
WILLIS, JIM
The Adventures of Bro & Tracy
by Joyce Fay
Joyce Fay, 48pp. 2005. $20.00
If you love dogs and you love the Southwest, this is a must have book. Joyce Fay,a professional photographer, has a love affair with dogs and the stark beauty of the Southwest, which she demonstrates in every picture. It would be difficult for me to pick my favorite picture in this lovely book, but the ones of Bro and Tracy in a tree in Monument Valley and in the Painted Desert would be high on my list. Beyond the gorgeous photographs of her dogs playing, climbing trees, sitting on stools at a restaurant, and enjoying the farolitos on Christmas Eve in Old Town, Fay gives sound advice on traveling with your dogs and just having fun. As she says, “Climbing trees wasn’t the goal. It was the accidental result of the relationship, a relationship that involves having fun, communicating, traveling and enjoying dogs.” Her love of dogs led her to found the Bro and Tracy Animal Welfare, which fosters and gives hope to homeless dogs. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go to Bro and Tracy Animal Welfare to support their work. If you can’t get enough of the pictures, some of the photographs are available on greeting cards through the web site at www.broandtracy.org. This would be a wonderful gift book for all your dog-loving friends. - N. Marano
Allergic to Pets? The Breakthrough Guide to Living with the Animals You Love
by Shirlee Kalstone
Bantam Books, 2006, 147pp., $7.99
Allergic reactions to animals are one of the main reasons that animals are relinquished to shelters. But now there Is hope for all of you who love animals but sneeze at the thought of being in the same room with a cat for more than two seconds. This small book is a “must read” for anyone who suffers from pet allergies.
Kalstone is thorough in discussing what allergies are and what causes them. By the end of that section I was sneezing. Then she deals with various popular pets and explains what causes a person to be allergic to them. The main animals she covers are cats, dogs, birds and horses. But she also devotes space to rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, chinchillas, mice, rats and ferrets. She provides tips for minimizing the allergens in your home and office as well as giving the latest information on what doctors have in their arsenals to help allergy sufferers. Kalstone suffers from allergies herself, but it hasn’t kept her from having many animals in her life.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves animals but is afraid to adopt a pet because of allergies. Kalstone give advice, explanations and easily followed tips for dealing with your allergy symptoms. A wealth of information in a small package. Everyone needs this book either for himself or for a friend. - N. Marano
Animals in Translation : Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
Scribner, 368 pp. 2004. $25
I have a real problems with this book and with Temple Grandin, a designer of humane handling facilities for livestock and Colorado State Professor who sees herself as an animal advocate. For decades she has been trying to straddle the vast divide between agribusiness and animal advocacy, and as a result, in my opinion, she’s made life easier for factory farmers and worse for farmed animals. She’s improved living and dying conditions for the victims of factory farming (the animals) at the expense of allowing the industry to feel less guilty and increase its profits, thus perpetuating a system that has wreaked havoc on the environment, on human health, on slaughterhouse workers, as well as on the animals who are imprisoned and murdered by the millions every year to keep it all going. It is irresponsible of Grandin, if she really considers herself an animal advocate, to enable a system that is so harmful on so many levels.
On the last page of her book, she reflects on her career choice:
“After I developed my center-track restraining system, I remember looking out over the cattle yard at the hundreds and hundreds of animals milling around in their corrals. I was upset that I had just designed a really efficient slaughter plant. . . . Cows are the animals I love best. Looking at those animals I realized that none of them would even exist if human beings hadn’t bred them into being.” (!)
So in other words, bioengineered animals should be grateful to humans for their existence, even if it’s a miserable and short one ending in slaughter? I find that a strange rationale.
In the area of pets, although I agree with Grandin that mixed breed dogs are the best bets for people to adopt, she also insists, several times, that pit bulls and Rottweilers are more aggressive dogs than other breeds-although she stops short of calling for a ban on them-even though it should be clear to anyone familiar with dogs that ANY dog is capable of being dangerous, depending on its environment and how it’s treated.
Bizarrely, Grandin also implies that insects and humans aren’t animals. Maybe she feels that insects are too lowly to be called animals and humans are superior to other animals.
I get the feeling, after reading this book, that Grandin is schizoid about our fellow animals. She obviously is attracted to them, has great admiration for their extraordinary abilities, and believes that she as an autistic person has a lot in common with them, yet she can talk about the ghastly experiments of Harry Harlow with baby monkeys without bothering to point out how sadistic they were. And she only mentions in passing her brief experiment with ethical vegetarianism that ended in failure because she felt ill, apparently causing her to conclude that she needed meat to survive. As a vegan for seven years, I know that no human needs meat to survive. It takes some getting used to, but anyone can do it. Although she does present some original and thoughtful ideas about animal behavior, as an animal advocate I can't recommend this book. - A. Baxter
Animals in Translation : Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
Barkley: A Dog’s Journey
by Al Martinez
Angel City Press, 157 pp. 2006. $14.95
For those of us who’ve had the privilege of sharing our lives with pets, there are usually one or two with whom we bonded more tightly and who will always shine brighter in our memories. LA Times columnist Al Martinez and his wife had that in Barkley, an ebullient Springer Spaniel who was a beloved member of their family for nine years. “Barkley: A Dog’s Journey” documents a 3,000-mile road trip tailor made for Barkley up California and Oregon and back down to LA during a period of remission from the leukemia that killed him prematurely, with philosophical musings, local color, and recollections from the author’s long life thrown in for good measure. Thoughtful and lyrical, it encourages readers to contemplate their own lives and loves, but without being maudlin or indulging in over-sentimentality.
In the final chapter, Mr. Martinez explains that since Barkley’s death, they have not seen fit to replace Barkley with another dog because that would be too difficult. Instead, a feisty cat named Ernie is now attempting to fill some of the vacuum Barkley left behind. So life goes on, and the journey continues. Small book, big message.
- A. BaxterCalico Tales…and Others
by Betsy Stowe
Infinity Press, 109 pp. 2004. $14.95
When poetry is good it touches your mind and intellect. But, for me, great poetry grabs my heartstrings and emotions. It won’t let me go even when I close the book. That is how I felt after reading Calico Tales…and Others. No cat lover could read this book of poetry without a tear, a laugh and a smile of recognition. The incidents and emotions portrayed in the poems perfectly reflect the personality of cats. The author has captured the playfulness, aloofness, warmth and love cats share with their chosen people. But you get more than graceful, effortless poetry, although that would have been enough. Each poem is balanced by a beautiful black and white photograph showing cats in the mood of the poem. The two together make it an outstanding book. My personal favorite poems were “Jump the Moon,” “Sleeping Cat,” “The Street” and “Flat Out.”
Whether you like poetry or photography or you just love cats, this is a must have book. I know I will look at these photographs and re-read these poems whenever I need to touch the essence of what a cat is all about. This would make a wonderful gift for any cat lover on your list. - N. Marano
Cat House Sonnets: 100 Poems Celebrating Cats
by Margy Ohring
Jorlan Publishing 116pp. 2006 $14.95
Margy Ohring has captured the true essence of cat in this wonderfully touching book of sonnets. Her poems celebrate ordinary events - feeding time, using the litter box, sleeping sitting on a windowsill, or playing with a toy. Yet the reader sees every nuance of the scene in great detail. It would be difficult to pick favorite poems here because each of them works. It is nice to see a classic poetic form used with a modern subject to such good effect. Ohring manages to get inside the minds of the felines she so lovingly describes. I felt I knew the personality of each cat in the book. This is a wonderful achievement that any cat lover would enjoy dipping into frequently when a smile, a laugh or even a tear is needed. Bravo for such a delightful read. - N. Marano
The Cat Master
by Bonnie Pemberton
Marshall Cavendish, 2007, 260 pp. $16.99
Buddy, the pampered, rescue cat who lives indoors, and Jett, the feral who has survived life in the alley, may just look like cats to the average person but in reality their intertwined fate will play out the age-old clash of good vs. evil. They are locked in battle to be the next Cat Master, spiritual leader of all felines. Which one wins is at the heart of this book.
The old Cat Master is dying. He sends out a message, “Rise from the alley, my son. Of all my blood, you are the Chosen.” But his message is telepathically interrupted so Buddy hears only, “Rise from the alley…” The feline world plunges into darkness waiting for the next leader.
Buddy was badly hurt, when The Boy found him and nursed him back to health. Now Buddy lives the life of an Indoor with two other cats, Pris and Zekki. They are young and look up to Buddy for training and guidance. Buddy is haunted by the message that keeps playing over in his mind, “Rise from the alley…” and the arrival of Jett in his yard. Even though he doesn’t want to leave The Boy, he knows he must return to the alley to meet his fate. He warns Zekki and Pris to stay indoors where they are safe. But, like most cats, who are burdened with endless curiosity, they don’t listen and wander out the front door instead. Jett lures them into the dangerous world of the Outs where they become bait in his trap to lure Buddy into his web.
It takes the help of five cats, two dogs, a lizard, a possum and a mockingbird for Buddy to fulfill his mission. Of all the minor characters, Orie, the lizard, is the most satisfying. His actions turn him from a timid lizard into a lizard who is special indeed. The heroic German Sheperd, Tenba, continuously demonstrates the courageous loyalty of her breed.
Pemberton uses exciting, vivid descriptions to describe the animals, their surroundings and the perils they face on their adventures. Some of the fight scenes are filled with gore leading to death, which might be a bit strong for younger readers. But Pemberton depicts the bonding of animal to animal and animal to human beautifully. When I finished, I felt I these characters were part of my family.
I would recommend this book for older children and adults. Pemberton gets into the animal mind and gives her readers access to the mysterious feline world. -N. Marano
Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook
by Delbert G. Carlson, DVM and James M. Giffin, MD
Howell Book House, 448 pp. 1995. $24.95
This is one of those books every cat guardian should keep, for informational purposes, alongside their books on complementary veterinary medicine. It's an allopathic encyclopedia of what can go wrong with cats written in layman's language, and furnished with photos and other graphics as well as other interesting tidbits about cat physiology and anatomy.
The authors also wrote “Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook”, which is equally informative. - A. Baxter
Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook
Cats/Canines Can Communicate
by Patricia Murphy, Ph.D.
JPM Publishers, 107 pp. 1998. $9.00
The possibility of mental telepathy between animals, plants and humans is fascinating, and there are animal intuitives and psychics who have made a career out of it. This book, with its somewhat misleading and awkward title (she talks about more than just cats and dogs), would have been much more effective had it been better organized and written more carefully. As it is, it's a far too short introduction to the world of animal/human communication, with a number of anecdotes included to illustrate how people can "talk" to their pets, wildlife and even plants to find out how they feel and what they need.
It's part how-to book and partly a story of Murphy's and other's experiences with animals. Some of the incidents she describes and the advice she gives strain the edges of credibility, but if you suspend your disbelief and open your mind to the magical, you'll get a kick out of this book. You may even find yourself giving and getting telepathic messages back from your pets and plants. As for me, I'm still working on it. - A. Baxter
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat
by Juliette De Bairacli Levy
Faber & Faber, 323 pp. 1991. $16
European natural rearing advocate De Bairacli Levy is clearly a highly respected and very knowledgeable herbal and natural pet care expert, and I have no problem with her advice in these areas. However, her negative comments about spaying and neutering (i.e., that it's a bad idea, and that humans do it for their own convenience, not for the benefit of their pets) are off base. She has a great respect for ancient lore, but in this case, I think that she's gotten old wive's tales and true wisdom confused. I don't know where Ms. Levy resides, or what the pet population statistics are for her area, but in the U.S., some six million dogs and cats are killed every year because there are not enough homes for them all. Is there any benefit to the animals in having to destroy entire litters? Has Ms. Levy ever seen a pile of just-euthanized shelter dogs and cats, killed merely because there were too many of them? In New Mexico, dogs and cats, kittens and puppies are routinely dumped like garbage because those responsible for their existence are not willing to care for them. We took these animals out of the wild and domesticated them thousands of years ago, and they can no longer live as if they were still wild. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of having pets, but I believe that since we've created them and made them dependent on us, we have to take responsibility for their care. And that includes spaying and neutering to prevent their numbers from getting out of control and preventing the suffering of so many of them who are forced to live on the streets, or who are abused or neglected, or euthanized because of lack of space. That's the real suffering, to me.
In an ideal world, dogs and cats could live as nature intended--with gonads intact--if their guardians would only be willing to control their roaming behavior. But this is far from an ideal world. Because of the gross irresponsibility of pet guardians who allow their unaltered animals to run around and freely breed because they've decided it's inconvenient and too expensive to have them spayed and neutered--and because of professional breeders who add to the problem by perpetuating their favored breeds, as well as puppy mills and backyard breeders who produce millions more animals, the U.S. has ended up with a tragic overpopulation problem. I wonder what measures Ms. Levy would suggest to deal with that, if not spaying and neutering.
Otherwise, I found the book fairly useful and educational. - A. Baxter
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Designer Dogs
by Margaret H. Bonham
Alpha Books, 2005, 238pp. $14.95
This is the only book I’ve seen on the new concept of “designer dogs.” It is a subject that needs some discussion. Bonham provides a lengthy section devoted to listing the various designer dog combinations, telling breed characteristics, history and personalities. This section is quite helpful for people who are deciding which designer dog is right for them. The rest of the book is standard information for dog ownership. She covers the field from choosing a puppy to nutrition, training, health, grooming and safety concerns.
While the book would be helpful to anyone thinking about adding a designer dog to their lives, it poses a dilemma for this reviewer.
People usually want these dogs because they are advertised as being hypoallergenic, non-shedding and trendy. But what you get for a large price tag, sometimes as high as $3,500, is a glorified mutt who may not live up to all the advance hype. His parents are purebred dogs, but he isn’t considered a purebred because the AKC doesn’t recognize his breed. He still may cause allergies for people with allergen sensitivities, and the trend may fade away as trends usually do.
With so many desirable mixed-breed dogs languishing in animal shelters, I have a hard time rationalizing the need for “designer dogs.” But if you are considering such a purchase, this book will be helpful to you.
- N. Marano
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Designer Dogs
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dog Health & Nutrition
by Margaret Bonham and James J. Wingert, DVM
Alpha Books, 298 pp. 2003 $14.95
If you don’t have the time or the inclination to really study these areas of dogology, this book is not bad to have around. However, I do have a number of issues with it. Number one is that one of the co-authors, Margaret Bonham, is an aficionado of dogsled racing and even puts in a plug for the Iditarod, the most brutal and canine-cruel race on earth, in my opinion.
Another is that the co-authors seem to be prejudiced against the “holistic crowd”, as it’s termed at one point, and harbor a grudge against them for successfully crusading against the use of the chemical ethoxyquin as a dog food preservative. They also feel that “meat by-products” and “meat meal” are perfectly good sources of nutrition for dogs. Nutritionist Gary Null, whose book, Natural Pet Care, I’ve reviewed below, writes that most commercial dog food is made of dangerous and toxic stuff, including rendered shelter dogs, road kill, and flea collars, and that no dog should eat it. In contrast, the authors seem to believe that if a dog food is certified by AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials), a self-policing group run by pet food manufacturers, it’s perfectly healthy to eat. It’s interesting that the only blurb on the book is from a pet food manufacturer.
Other prejudices that I uncovered are an anti-soy milk bias (the book states parenthetically that children who drink soy milk often develop rickets!). As a vegan, I know that soymilk contains sufficient calcium for any human. They also seem to be against what they term “fad” diets: the vegetarian as well as the BARF (bones and raw food) diet, both of which have been fed to dogs with no apparent ill effects for a number of years.
The authors also claim that today’s dogs live longer and healthier lives than they did before commercial dog foods were available, and that home-cooked diets are usually inferior to commercial diets. Although admittedly this is hard to prove one way or the other, authors like Gary Null and Ann N. Martin (see Protect Your Pet book review below) believe that most dogs are actually sicklier than they once were, largely because of the commercial diets they’re put on and the frequent vaccinations they get. They contend that cancers and autoimmune disorders are showing up in increasingly younger dogs, and that average life spans are actually shorter than they used to be.
To their credit, the authors are pro-spay/neuter and anti-obesity, and the medical chapters are written in layman’s terms.
Having said all that, I certainly can’t recommend this book with any degree of personal enthusiasm, but it does contain the bare bone basics for busy dog guardians. - A. Baxter
Complete Idiot's Guide to Dog Health & Nutrition (The Complete Idiot's Guide)
The Covenant of the Wild: Why Animals Chose Domestication
by Stephen Budiansky
Yale University Press, 216 pp. 1999. $18
Science writer Stephen Budiansky attempts to prove against all evidence to the contrary that man and domesticated animals (farm animals, horses, dogs, cats) are willing partners in a mutually beneficial pact, and that agribusiness/factory farming is just part of the evolutionary process. He cites the fact that the (free) wild counterparts of cows, horses, etc., are languishing while their (enslaved) domesticated cousins are flourishing as a justification for domestication! (Reminds me of cattle chute designer Temple Grandin's response, when asked if cows should even exist, that at least they have a life, even if it's a miserable one). He presents anecdotal "evidence" that chickens and sheep enjoy confinement. He believes there are so many surplus pets that shipping them to labs isn't a bad idea, and that adopting a shelter cat may not be wise because it kills birds. He also attributes the current human-engendered, accelerated rate of species extinction to (what else?) evolution. (Darwin must be turning over in his grave.)
The author, a small-time farmer, waxes romantic about hunters, farmers, and ranchers- that they're closer to nature than pampered, ignorant city slickers, and connect spiritually with those whom they kill. He includes many cheap shots at animal rights activists (simplistic, sentimental, squeamish, seeking a return to a nonexistent Eden). He ridicules progressive towns such as Berkeley, CA, which "encapsulates America's loss of knowledge about the real world"; and Takoma Park, MD, a nuclear-free zone with a socialist mayor and a vocal animal rights community- apparently three strikes against it.
Mr. Budiansky apparently believes it extremist to liberate lobsters from a supermarket, but not to boil them alive for a taste treat; extremist to rescue hens for a farm sanctuary, but not to debeak them, force moult them, and then kill them at 1-2 years of age, despite their 15-year life expectancy; extremist to free minks from a commercial farm to fend for themselves, but not to electrocute, gas, poison, or strangle them so their fur isn't damaged for fashion mavens; and extremist to remove toxoplasmosis-infected cats from a "research" lab, but not to continue to exploit them with Machiavellian experiments and then kill them as a reward for their service. And he apparently doesn't think it extremist to create more and more drugs and vaccines to help humans survive and live longer (at last count we number SIX BILLION), while destroying millions of "lower" animals in the process.
Agribusiness pollutes the environment terribly, and it pollutes human beings who feed off meat products. In evolutionary terms, I say Budiansky is wrong; Homo sapiens are gradually moving away from the exploitation of domesticated animals and toward compassionate veganism. I see mandatory spay/neuter laws and the elimination of breeding programs in our future. After all, if we're part of the evolutionary problem, we should be part of the solution. Richard Dawkins states in The Blind Watchmaker, "Our legal and moral systems are deeply species-bound.” A book such as this only contributes to that speciesism and anthropocentrism. But it's worth reading just to know what we're up against. - A. Baxter
The Covenant of the Wild : Why Animals Chose Domestication
Curious Creatures, Wondrous Waifs: My Life with Animals
by Ed Kostro
Publish America, 216 pp. 2003. $9.00
Many animal lovers have probably thought about writing a book similar to this, an affectionate family memoir starring the animals we have known and loved. Ed Kostro, a middle-aged, self-confessed animal person and the owner of a truly prodigious memory (most people wouldn't vividly remember an incident from when they were three years old), reminisces about pets and wildlife he has encountered and lived with.
I was prepared to really enjoy the read, and for the most part I did. Some of his stories brought tears to my eyes, and a few made me laugh. However, I had some problems with it, including Kostro's enthusiastic description of buying parakeets to fly around the house just so he could drive his bird-phobic sister crazy, or the hypocrisy of his fishing activities set against the assertion that he loves and respects all animals (but not fish, apparently). To Kostro's credit, in the last pages he does say that eventually he gave up fishing because he found himself releasing more of the fish than he caught.
As a writer, Kostro leaves a bit to be desired. The book could have been improved with a good editor in tow to control his addiction to certain adverbs (e.g., merrily, hysterically) and, too often, his indulgence in soupy oversentimentality. - A. Baxter
Curious Creatures - Wondrous Waifs
Dog Eat Dog: A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows
by Jane Stern and Michael Stern
Fireside, 192 pp. 1998. $13.95
A more apt title might be "Human Eat Human" because the dogs in this book are civilized. It's the people who are vicious. This book is meant to be a light-hearted romp through the wacky world of dog shows, but I found it downright depressing.
Dog show human participants are a strange breed themselves. They seem to look upon dogs as decorative objects born to win them ribbons (and to suffer whatever consequences go along with that). The people involved in dog shows are closely akin to those who drag their kids around the country in order to compete in beauty pageants: cold-blooded, calculating, and often back-stabbingly competitive. Show dogs lead an unnatural, lonely life stuck in a kennel when they're not on the road in a trailer headed towards the next competition. There might be some merit to it if the contests were honest, but there's back room politics involved and it seems to have more to do with seducing the judge, putting the right makeup on your dog, or getting a judge that happens to like your dog's body type or breed than honest competition.
Mimi, the main human character in the book, works at her local animal shelter and visits retirement homes with retired show dogs. So you would think she should know better because of her exposure to the plight of homeless animals. But apparently not. She supposedly loves her dogs, but I suspect she loves them for what they can do for her ego in the show ring. And if they fail, as Rusty did at first, she has no qualms about giving him away to another trainer at very short notice.
The obsessive mating (or artificial inseminating) of so-called "purebreds" (the bullmastiff, the main focus of this book, has been so genetically manipulated that its lifespan is only about nine years) in order to sell puppies to equally obsessed clients who have a "thing" about the look of a certain breed reminds me of the Master Race theories of the Nazis. And considering the huge number of healthy, available dogs in shelters and with rescue groups in this country, it's insane that breeders continue to produce often physically and psychologically impaired purebreds for the market (as well as to appear on the dog show circuit), especially when you consider the fact that at least 15% of surrendered shelter animals are purebreds.
At one point, frustrated in her attempts to produce a healthy litter, Mimi has a moment of enlightenment: "I am thinking of getting out of this business altogether. Purebred dogs are nothing but heartache. I just want nice mutts from the pound who live forever." Unfortunately, at the end of the book she doesn't follow up on this wish. - A. Baxter
Dog Eat Dog : A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows
The Dog Who Met the Queen & Other Stories
by Bernard Wasserman, DVM
Bennington Press, 153 pp. 1999. $12.95
After a short spell during which he was an assistant professor of animal pathology, the co-director of a diagnostic laboratory for animal diseases, and a researcher on viral diseases, Bernard Wasserman, AB, DVM, turned to the practice of small animal medicine. In 1957 he opened his own small animal hospital in Brooklyn Heights, NYC, and stayed with it for 30 years. The Dog Who Met the Queen & Other Stories tells the tales of those animals and their people who came and went at the Hicks Street clinic.
Not one of the 25 stories that make up this small book failed to hold my attention. From cleaning up birds after an oil spill to treating Truman Capote’s dog, the subjects of the stories are wonderfully diverse. If I had to say something un-glowing, I would say that I would have felt better, as a reader, if Wasserman had arranged the tales in chronological order and if the very first one had not been about animal hoarders. That tragic and important subject was a bit off-putting as an introduction to what was to come. I was tempted not to go on but am glad I did.
For those readers who have vicariously traveled the Yorkshire dales delivering calves in mid-winter or have stooped next to the vet looking for patients under the bed, these tales of running a veterinary practice in the middle of Brooklyn will be a treat. The scenery is different, but the delight in helping people care for their animals and the compassion Wasserman shows for the animals in his care remain the same. - S. DeWitt
The Dog Who Met The Queen and Other Stories
Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy
by Matthew Scully
St. Martin’s Press, 464 pp. 2002. $27.95
Let me say at the outset that it's about time a born-again, conservative Christian wrote a pro-animal rights book. Matthew Scully is a former speechwriter for George W. Bush and an ethical vegan of many years’ standing. I recommend this book highly; the riveting chapters on Scully’s close encounters with Safari Club International and the North Carolina pig factories are alone worth the price. But I do have a few problems with it.
One of Scully's 'bêtes noires' is the utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer, who wrote the groundbreaking “Animal Liberation” that defined the animal rights movement. As a Christian, Scully seems to mistakenly believe that, first of all, atheists like Singer have no moral grounding and think life is basically meaningless. The fact that Singer believes we should be kind to animals just because they are sentient and they suffer doesn't seem to be as important to Scully as their 'souls', and the 'souls' of the humans dealing with them. And he gratuitously discusses Singer's controversial ideas about euthanasia of humans, infanticide and the treatment of retarded humans as if to imply that Singer can't be trusted on animal issues if he holds such views about the treatment of humans. That's like throwing the baby out with the bathwater (so to speak). I could just as unfairly point out that Scully has worked for and admires George W. Bush, who is anti-environment, anti-animal rights, and pro-corporate ranching, and thus Scully should not be trusted to write on animal rights issues.
I also have a problem with Scully's insinuation that one cannot be pro-choice/abortion as well as an animal advocate without being a hypocrite. I disagree. In my opinion, birth control or abortion for humans and domesticated animals (cats, dogs, etc.), who are overpopulating the planet and severely straining its resources is absolutely vital for the sustainable future of the planet and its residents--all of them, both plant and animal. It's far more humane to control the number of births and abort unwanted embryos and fetuses than to allow too many humans and domesticated animals to be born, only to suffer or starve because of competition for food (in the case of humans), or (in the case of dogs and cats) to be rounded up and “humanely” euthanized because there are too many of them and not enough homes. Scully apparently does not agree.
Despite my quibbles, I urge everyone interested in animal and environmental issues to read this book. It's beautifully written, well-researched, thoughtful, and clearly comes from Scully's heart. - A. Baxter
Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy
For Every Dog an Angel
by Christine Davis
Lighthearted Press, 2004, 32pp., $9.95
For those of us who have multi-pet households or who have had several pets throughout our lives, there is no doubt that we love them all. Often though, we’ll find that there is one who captures our heart and soul just a little bit more than the rest. For me, that animal was my dog, Remi, who I called my “soul dog”. After Remi died, the book, “For Every Dog an Angel” by Christine Davis, found its way into my hands. The back cover calls it “A magical little book for those who have found their forever dog, or hope to.” I couldn’t agree more and I’ve found myself reading it over and over. The words are comforting and the illustrations delightful. Davis talks about your “forever” dog in a way that makes you know that your beloved companion will always be with you. I’ve shared this book with many people and they’ve all said they got the same warm feeling that I got. This book makes a great gift for someone who’s just lost a furry family member. If the love of your life is a feline, her book “For Every Cat an Angel” is just as enchanting for those of us who also love cats. - K. Winters
Flawed Dogs: The Year-End Leftovers at the Piddleton “Last Chance” Dog Pound
by Berkeley Breathed
Little, Brown, 2003. 37pp. $18.95
Berkeley Breathed brings his own unique twist to the overwhelming problem of animal overpopulation. The creator of the Bloom County and Opus comic strips has created a book of cartoons and poems describing some of the inhabitants of the Piddleton Last Chance Dog Pound. While these dogs may not be beautiful in the conventional sense, they are waiting to find their soulmate in you. Multiply the Last Chance Dog Pound by thousands across the country and you see why your search for an animal to share your life should start at your local animal shelter.
Last Chance was founded by Heidy Strüdelberg, a one-time judge of the Westminster Best-in-Show Award. She caused a riot when she chose a three-legged dog as the winner and left the dog-show world for the quiet of Piddleton, VT, where she took to finding homes for the unloved.
As Breathed sums up: So in this world / Of the simple and odd, / The bent and plain, / The unbalanced bod, / The imperfect people / And differently pawed, / Some live without love…/ That’s how they’re flawed.
That says it all for me. As a fan of Breathed’s quirky sense of humor, this book has a center spot on my bookshelf. - N. Marano
Flawed Dogs: The Year End Leftovers at the Piddleton "Last Chance" Dog Pound
Flower Essences for Animals: Remedies for Helping the Pets You Love
by Lila Devi
Beyond Word Publishing., 2000. 237 pp. $14.95
Flower Essences for Animals talks about the use of flower essences, which are herbal tinctures “for strength and balance”, for pets as well as their persons. The book is well written and organized, and it certainly got me interested in trying some of the remedies for various problems my pets have. But not having done so yet, it requires a leap of faith to believe that tinctures made from ordinary nuts, fruits and vegetables (almond, apple, avocado, banana, blackberry, cherry, coconut, corn, date, fig, grape, lettuce, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, raspberry, spinach, strawberry, and tomato) can actually improve the behavior of both animals and humans, often quite rapidly.
For example, lettuce is supposed to calm an animal down. Cherry makes him more cheerful, banana more humble, peach more selfless, pear more peaceful, and tomato more courageous.
Ms. Devi talks about the theme essence, a particular positive behavior which each animal and person possesses. In other words, an animal or human might have the theme essence of raspberry or coconut. Plot essences, on the other hand, are particular needs, lessons, or challenges that require a particular essence or essences to treat.
She also includes a chapter about how flower essences can help you and your pet deal with impending death, as well as after death issues.
For those who want more specific guidance, there are extensive lists in the back of the book of plot qualities and theme qualities of animals as well as their guardians and the appropriate essences to apply.
I don’t know if any of the claims or case histories in this book are valid or not, since I have not tried any of the essences. But since I have used other herbal tinctures before successfully, I would be willing to give these essences a fair shake, so to speak. - A. Baxter
Flower Essences for Animals: Remedies for Helping the Pets You Love
Forever Friends
by Barbara S. Cohen, illustrated by Dorothy Louise Hall
Smallfellow Press, unpaged. 2002. $16.95
Forever Friends is the story of Petey and Skip, a dog and his boy. Petey has a big job showing Skip how make new friends, get enough exercise, get to school on time or enjoy nature. But the biggest lesson they teach each other is the importance of having a forever friend who will be there whenever you need a little help and who will love you no matter what. Turns out this doesn’t have to be a human friend. It might just as easily be the dog who shares your life. Love definitely can come from both ends of the leash.
Forever Friends is a picture book for children 2-8 years old. Dorothy Louise Hall’s whimsical, naïve illustrations add humor to the story.
This book will make you want to give the Petey in your life an extra hug. - N. Marano
For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States
by Diane L. Beers
Swallow Press, 2006. 312 pp. $19.95
Diane L. Beers is a historian who decided to take on the challenge of writing about the history of animal rights in the United States. I thought I knew a lot about this subject, but after reading her book, I realized that there were serious gaps in my knowledge. Not an animal rights advocate herself, but clearly sympathetic to the cause, Ms. Beers writes in an even-handed manner about the impact of animal rights on society, and vice versa, from its beginnings in the 19th century to 1975.
She discusses the courage of the early pioneers, including Henry Bergh, George Angell, and Caroline Earle White, and how animal advocacy originated in the white middle and upper classes. She explains the enthusiasm of women who joined animal groups and did a lot of the dirty volunteer work, not ascending into positions of importance until after World War II. She talks about the early and continuing tension between the moderate animal advocates who were willing to compromise with factory farmers, research labs, hunters, and other animal exploiters, and the more radical, all-or-nothing advocates, and how that has weakened the movement.
Among the many things I learned is that Mark Twain, an avid animal advocate, wrote two short stories, one condemning vivisection ("A Dog’s Tale") and the other criticizing bullfighting ("A Horse’s Tale"). And that Jack London was passionately against using animals in entertainment and wrote two novels illustrating his feelings. He also started an anti-circus movement that continued after his premature death, until the beleaguered Ringling Brothers actually suspended its animal acts for five years.
These and other little-known facts make this book a fascinating read for anyone who wants to understand animal rights in its historical context, in particular how early animal advocates pioneered methods to get the attention and sympathy of the public that modern advocates have since adopted. I look forward to a second book by Ms. Beers covering the period from 1975 until the present. -A. Baxter
For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States
Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs
by Cheryl Schwartz
Celestial Arts, 412 pp. 1996. $27.95
I first checked this book out at the library, then checked it out again, then realized that I really needed to buy it because there was an awful lot of useful information packed into it. As the guardian of nine dogs and cats, I predict this book will be nearby for a long time to come.
For those of you who look askance at so-called "alternative" or "holistic" veterinary medicine, you will get a new slant on Chinese medicine as applied to dogs and cats through this book. Written by a DVM, it's the kind of medical book that is interesting enough to be read from cover to cover (and then returned to again and again for specific help on various conditions). It's not just a how-to book; it also explains the philosophy behind Chinese medicine so that you understand why specific herbs, or diets, or acupressure points are used to treat particular conditions. This book serves as a great introduction to the complex world of Chinese medicine.
I recommend it for anyone with dogs and cats who has an open mind. - A. Baxter
Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs
Good Cat! A Proven Guide to Successful Litter Box Use and Problem Solving
by Shirlee Kalstone (illustrations by John Martin)
Wiley Publishing, Inc., 120 pp. 2004. $7.99
I've been trying to figure out for years why my spayed female cat Karma and, to a lesser extent, my neutered male cat Tao, have taken it upon themselves to urine mark our house in a number of places. I had always heard that spaying and neutering eliminated that problem. But after reading this informative book, I think I may have the answer. My tentative conclusion is that it's the social pressure of having five cats. Karma and Tao, who are siblings, were the first to inhabit our house as kittens. So they both believe they're better than the three johnny-come-latelies, who were all adopted as adults, and they're out to prove it. The added stress of four dogs probably doesn't help.
The number one reason for cat guardians to abandon their cats at a shelter is litter box problems. But since doing that is of course not an option, what do I do? Shirlee Kalstone explains the choices, including cleaning with an enzymatic cleaner, spraying with the pheromone product Feliway, changing the type of litter, having enough litter boxes and keeping them clean, or even putting Karma and Tao on anti-anxiety medications. She includes tips on specific products and where you can buy them.
But there's much more to this book than just litter box talk. Ms. Kalstone discusses the social dynamics and complex psychology of cats, keeping cats healthy, how to introduce a new cat or a new baby into the household, how to move without freaking out your cat, and how not to react when she marks or house soils. She also offers practical suggestions on how to clean up and protect your floors and furniture. It's a good book to have around when you're frustrated at that enigmatic and independent creature you call your cat.
I also like that one of the pet supply houses she lists in her appendix is my favorite: Drs. Foster and Smith - A. Baxter
Good Cat!: A Proven Guide to Successful Litter Box Use and Problem Solving
Goodbye, Jake
by Bam Schildkraut
Operation-Outreach-USA Press, 2007, 45pp, $7.95
How do you deal with the death of a pet? And how can you explain that death to a child? These end-of-life issues are difficult for all of us to understand and even more so when a child is involved. Goodbye, Jake tackles them head on.
Jake, his grandparents’ beloved greyhound, is dying, and Cole is trying to understand what it will be like to say goodbye to him and to have him die. On Saturdays he visits Grammy and Pop but this Saturday is marred because he knows Jake is very sick. Following his usual Saturday activities, Grammy takes him in to visit with Jake, who is lying on his fuzzy, blue bed. She helps him say goodbye to a dog he knows he won’t see again. On the following Saturday, Cole is sad that Jake isn’t there, but Grammy takes him to visit the Memory Garden, where all her dogs are buried. She explains that every time she has a good memory of a dog she puts a stone on the dog’s grave. She invites Cole to think of a good memory he has of Jake and then put a stone on the grave. The next week Cole brings a special stone to put on Jake’s grave to honor a special memory. Then Cole can run off with a lighter heart to breakfast on his favorite chocolate-chip waffles.
Schildkraut approaches the issue of a pet’s death with sensitivity and warmth. She gets the child involved with the animal, honors the boy’s feelings and fears, and then shows him a way to turn his sadness into something positive. The idea of using ritual to help heal after a pet’s death is beautifully handled and provides parents with a coping mechanism they can use when they talk with their children about this difficult subject. The soft, watercolor illustrations by Whitney Martin set the perfect tone for the story and add texture to the words. Written for young children, it is a book that will touch adults as well. Goodbye, Jake is an outstanding addition to children’s books on death and how to discuss it. I highly recommend it to parents, libraries and anyone facing the trauma of a pet’s death. - N. Marano
Happy Cat Day
by Tiger Hample
Willow Creek Press, 80pp. 2004. $14.95
Tiger Hample is a cat with vision. His bigger-than-life idea is CAT DAY, a special holiday just for cats. Tiger, a “Go-For-All-The-Marbles kind of cat,” thinks a three-day holiday for everyone - except dogs - would be ideal. Assisted by his human co-conspirator, Stu Hample, an illustrator and author of over 20 books, Happy Cat Day gives you all the particulars on why Cat Day is a must and what you can do to celebrate the day in style. In Tiger’s mind a parade akin to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade would be just about right. The cartoons are appealing and take the reader on a romp through Tiger’s fantasy life. The book made me laugh and look at my own felines a little differently. How would they feel about a Cat Day parade? If I see them marching through the house with signs saying, Celebrate August 15, I’ll know they take the idea seriously. - N. Marano
Happy Cat Day: A Manifesto for an Official Cat Holiday
Have Dog Will Travel, California: Comprehensive Guide to over 2,200 Dog-Friendly Accommodations [Have Dog Will Travel Series]
by Barbara Whitaker
Ginger & Spike Publications 432 pp. 2005 $19.95Have Dog Will Travel, Northwest Edition: Hassle-Free Guide to Traveling With Your Dog Over 2,100 Dog-Friendly Accommodations Throughout the Pacific Northwest [Have Dog Will Travel Series]
By Barbara Whitaker
Ginger & Spike Publications 399 pp. 2003 $19.95
This series of guide books to dog-friendly lodgings will be welcomed by those traveling in California or the Pacific Northwest. At the beginning of each volume is a series of chapters covering the necessities of traveling with your dog. Whitaker gives you tips on what you need to pack for your dog, what you need to do before you start to make sure your dog is well-trained and well-behaved and first aid information so you can treat your dog’s minor problems. There is a helpful section on what to do if your dog gets lost. Another useful section lists animal emergency clinics in the areas covered by the book.The main body of the book is a listing by city. Under each city are entries for all the hotels or motels that allow dogs. Within each listing is the name, address, and contact information for the hotel or motel. Whitaker also gives the fee-per-dog and the rate-per-room as well as the amenities offered. You are advised to check with the lodging before going there to be sure the rates are still the same. One of the indexes lists lodgings by name so you can fine a place even if you don’t know the city where the hotel is located.
There will be an updated version of the Pacific-Northwest edition by the end of 2006.
If you’re traveling with your dog, take advantage of Barbara Whitaker’s 20 years of experience traveling with her dogs. Make your travel planning easier and have good trip. - N. Marano
The Healthy Pet Manual: A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
by Deborah Straw
Healing Arts Press, 288 pp. 2005. $14.95
The most frightening thing a veterinarian can say is that your beloved companion animal has cancer. The word hangs in the air, and you don’t even hear the rest of the conversation. As our animals live longer, more of us will face that diagnosis. Deborah Straw’s book, The Healthy Pet Manual, will help you understand what you can do to help your friend live with cancer.
Straw, l an established animal, health and lifestyle writer, lost four pets to cancer. Frustrated at the lack of information she found on what caused the disease and how to make crucial decisions affecting her animals, she wrote her own boo on the subject.
The reader will find a tremendous amount of information in this revised and expanded version of that first book. It helps fill the gap that is left if your veterinarian does not communicate well enough with you about what is happening to your companion animal and what you can do to help. Straw has done extensive research on the causes of the disease, and how it manifests in dogs, cats and other small animals. This includes environmental, dietary, and vaccine-related agents that may cause cancer as well as the preventive measures that can be taken to help ward off this disease in the first place.
If your companion animal has been diagnosed with cancer, this book gives a well-balanced approach to various forms of treatment both conventional and alternative. She covers everything from chemotherapy and laser surgery to herbal treatments, flower essences, touch therapy and the latest in pain relief. Straw doesn’t limit herself to a dry explanation of treatments, though. She explains how to care for a sick companion animal and delves into the grieving process that needs to take place if all the treatments fail and the animal dies. In addition to the excellent material presented in the book Straw gives an in-depth section at the end of the book containing notes and references so the reader can pursue particular points more fully.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has received the diagnosis of cancer for a companion animal or to anyone who is interested in the latest research on animal health issues. The reader will come away feeling that a cancer diagnosis may not be the end of the road for a beloved companion animal. Packed with wisdom and options this book is an excellent basic resource for any animal lover. - N. Marano
The Healthy Pet Manual : A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
Hey Bossie, You’re a Spokescow!
by Mickey de Rham, illustrated by Leigh Gusterson
Plaidswede Publishing, 24pp. 2004. $9.95
In this children’s picture book, Bossie takes her job as spokescow quite seriously. Bossie lives at the White Mountain Animal Shelter in New Hampshire. A former dairy cow, Bossie’s new job is to travel throughout New Hampshire telling children, and their families, to spay and neuter their pets so there won’t be so many homeless animals. Bossie has a mark on her shoulder that looks like the Old Man of the Mountain, a famous rock formation that is still seen on the New Hampshire state quarter. When she marches in parades and goes to schools, Bossie wears a necklace made of 100 New Hampshire state quarters. Leigh Gusterson, a Taos resident, has provided catchy, colorful illustrations to accompany the text. They show Bossie at a school, playing cow flop bingo, and marching in a parade. The book’s spay and neuter message is admirable and one that people need to hear in as many ways as possible. - N. Marano
Hey Bossie, You're a Spokescow!
Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals
by Donald Hamilton, DVM
North Atlantic Books, 482 pp. 1999. $25
Before I read "Small Doses," written by a New Mexico holistic veterinarian, as far as I was concerned the jury was still out on homeopathy. It seemed a little too "out there" to accept. But Dr. Hamilton's book, with his explanation of why and how he thinks it works, along with case histories, a materia medica, and a review of body systems, convinced me that there's something very powerful going on in a homeopathic cure. And his argument against routine vaccinations is cogent and convincing.
Dr. Hamilton uses a combination of allopathic (modern) and homeopathic as well as other modalities like herbs in his treatment. I admire his willingness to go the extra mile with his clients. He is someone I would trust with my animals. - A. Baxter
Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals
Keri Tarr Cat Detective
by Wendy Lement
Breakaway Books, 2004, 96pp. $9.95
Keri is a bright, daring girl who discovers that she has the ability to talk with cats. One morning her cat, Sally speaks to her and Keri understands every word. As the news spreads about her talent, people began asking for her help in finding lost cats. Keri becomes a cat detective, with Sally’s help of course.
Her detection abilities take Keri and Sally to Paris to rescue her aunt’s cat. She and Sally stow away in a plane’s baggage compartment where they meet the “baggage cats” who regularly fly around the world. Since cats are very gossipy, Keri learns all she needs to know to rescue the wayward cat from great peril in the Paris catacombs. Keri becomes an international celebrity for her exploits and the way is left open for a possible sequel.
This is a fun book for children who love cats or who just like a good story. -N. Marano
Kinship with the Wolf: The Amazing Story of the Woman Who Lives with Wolves
by Tanja Askani, Sabine Lutzmann (photographer), Douglas Hayes (translator)
Park Street Press, 2006, 144 pp. $19.95.
Translated from the German, this lovely, wise book is replete with wonderful photographs of wolves and the author’s interactions with them. Associated with a wild game park in Germany and with an academic background in animal science, Tanja Askani looks upon wolves differently from other so-called wolf experts. You might call her the wolf whisperer, except she’s not trying to train them-she respects their wildness. Askani treats wolves with great respect, and as animals that are absolutely vital in the food chain, not as fairy tale monsters that humans need to fear and eradicate. And the many wolves she has raised have responded in kind, considering her one of their pack.
Askani deals with the specific (her own personal experiences with wolves), expanding it into the general (wolf myths; world-wide wolf protection projects; how wolves respond to death, other species, living in captivity; pack life as she has observed it, and more). She also discusses wolf hybrids and half-breeds-a topic of interest to me, because my neighbor raises wolf dogs and wolfhounds-warning that wolf hybrids are a sin committed against the dog as well as the wolf and highly unpredictable in their behavior.
I finished the book with even more admiration and compassion for wolves than I began with. -A. Baxter
Kinship with the Wolf: The Amazing Story of the Woman Who Lives with Wolves
The Language of Miracles: A Celebrated Psychic Teaches You to Talk to Animals
by Amelia Kinkade
New World Library, 332 pp. 2006. $15.95
Amelia Kinkade is passionate about what she believes. That’s for sure. An actress, dancer, artist and animal psychic (and niece of Rue McClanahan, the actress/animal advocate), this young woman (she’s in her early 30s) has written her second book on a controversial field: communicating telepathically with animals. Her first, which I have not yet read, was a how-to for people who want to learn to do it themselves (“Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: How to Talk to Animals and Get Answers”). This book takes it further and presents a multitude of case histories supporting her thesis. And what a thesis that is!
Kinkade manages to meld quantum theory, wave/particle physics, religion, spirituality, reincarnation, and life after death into a not-quite-seamless whole (she’s still working out the details) to explain why it is possible for animals, even insects, to “talk” to us, and vice versa. Her mother is a medical professor, and she clearly has great respect for the role of science in her work. One of her heroes is Edgar Mitchell, a former astronaut and egghead, as well as scientists like Albert Einstein and Nils Bohr. But at the same time, the importance of God, love and positive thinking in successful psychic communication is repeated over and over throughout the book.
Anyone can learn to be psychic, Kinkade claims, but it requires lots of practice and dedication. She includes a number of practices in the book on how to develop the ability to locate lost animals, analyze an animal’s health and behavioral problems, “talk” to both live and dead pets, figure out if a deceased pet has returned to you in the form of a new animal, etc. This book requires a suspension of disbelief and a willingness to go along on her mental rollercoaster ride, but it’s an intriguing read and the author clearly has an agile and original mind.
Kinkade comes out strongly against animal experimentation and wearing fur and includes a chapter describing her animal rights heroes, but I have a problem with her obvious pride in being hired by Buckingham Palace to “talk” with King Charles’s hunting horses to try to discover the source of their discontent. Any animal advocate worth her salt should not be encouraging horses or humans to participate in such a repulsive blood sport, no matter how illustrious they are.
Despite some misgivings, including the fact that so far, I can’t seem to get my dogs and cats to respond to my telepathic chats with them, I enjoyed this book. It occasionally teeters on the brink of mania, cutesiness and breathless idealism and definitely strains credibility, but all in all, it was well worth my investment of time.
- A. Baxter
The Language of Miracles: A Celebrated Psychic Teaches You to Talk to Animals
Lessons in Stalking… Adjusting to Life With Cats
by Dena Harris
Spotlight Publishing, 2005, 128 pp., $9.95
If you’ve ever been owned by a cat and if you’re looking for laughs, run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore (or amazon.com) and get a copy of “Lessons in Stalking…Adjusting to Life With Cats” by Dena Harris (Illustrations by Linda Santell.) This hilarious book will keep you in stitches from beginning to end. Harris starts with “It’s happened I’ve finally become that woman. The one obsessed with cats…How cool is that?“ She paints her husband as a patient, long suffering man who frequently rolls his eyes at her antics with her kitties. One chapter starts: “I am engaged in a battle of will against the cat. The upsetting part is that I’m losing.” Another chapter is named, “The Great Cat Butt Wiping Adventure”. (Need I say more?) Other chapters include, “Kitty Jihad” and “Bath Time”.
Harris’ writing style is so conversational that you’ll feel like she’s a comfortable old friend who can regale you with her stories. If you don’t find yourself laughing through this whole book, you need to have your funny bone examined! - K. Winters
Lessons in Stalking... Adjusting to Life with Cats
The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective
by Kat Albrecht with Jana Murphy
Bloomsbury Publishing, 243 pp. 2004. $13.95
If you combine CSI and Animal Planet, you’ll have an idea of Kat Albrecht’s life and work. This is the fascinating story of how a K-9 handler with several California police departments gradually found the path to her true calling - pet detective extraordinaire and founder of Missing Pet Partnership.
Follow the adventures of Sadie, a Wiemaraner, and bloodhounds A.J. and Chase as they track missing persons and pets. If you love animals and are fascinated by sleuthing, this is the book for you. Albrecht was the first to apply the methods she’d learned in police work to the task of finding lost pets. She utilizes behavior profiling and probability theory, among others techniques, as she helps people find lost cats, dogs, turtles, snakes, ferrets and horses. But there are obstacles, too. Try convincing a lab to do DNA tests on a cat whisker or keep people from thinking of you as a comic Ace Ventura type.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book was how tracking dogs do their work. I learned a lot about following scent trails and how long a scent remains viable for a good tracking dog. Her book is also a good resource for what you should do if your pet is lost. She discusses steps you should take to find a lost dog or lost cat. It amazed me to know how close to home most cats stay when they are lost. They might be listening to you call them from under a porch or bush in your own back yard.
Albrecht’s compassion for the people who have lost their beloved companion animal and her sleuthing expertise give hope to her clients and to anyone who reads this book. If you’ve lost a pet, her message to you would be, “Never give up the search.”
I recommend this as an informative, fast-paced read. - N. Marano
The Lost Pet Chronicles : Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective
Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth- and Animal-Friendly Living
by Ingrid Newkirk
St. Martin's Griffin, 472 pp. 2005. $13.95
Did you know that common commercial cleaning products can be quite dangerous to the environment and pets, and that safe substances like baking soda and vinegar can be used to clean and deodorize kitchens and bathrooms? Or that buying fair trade, shade-grown coffee can help local coffee growers sustain themselves economically as well as saving tropical forests in Latin America? Or that cutting down on animal fats in meat and dairy, or better still, becoming a vegan, can cut down on a woman’s chances of breast cancer and bothersome menopausal symptoms?
These are just some of the hundreds of facts presented in this well-organized book, which is divided into sections for speedy researching: Home and Garden, Fashion and Beauty, Food and Entertaining, Recreation and Vacations, Animals in the Home, Children and Family, Business and Education, Health, Volunteering and Getting Active, and Religious Celebrations. There are lots of vegan recipes, a listing of hidden animal ingredients in foods, links to websites if you want further information on a subject, contact information for animal and ecologically friendly companies, a user-friendly index, and much more. And it’s all presented in easily digestible bites, with the average chapter only about five pages long.
Making Kind Choices is an encyclopedia of helpful hints for animal advocates and environmentalists who aspire to tailor their lives to their beliefs, but sometimes don’t know exactly what the compassionate options are out there and where to find them. It comes highly recommended, with a Foreword by Sir Paul McCartney and jacket comments by the Dalai Lama, among others. Making Kind Choices contains a trove of useful information about how to be an animal cruelty-free and ecologically aware consumer. Despite its serious subject matter, it’s not a difficult read. PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk illustrates her topics with insightful vignettes from her own life as well as the lives of others.
This is my kind of book: practical advice presented in a palatable way. It also successfully defends the premise that you can make kind choices and feel good about them without depriving yourself of any enjoyment in your life. You’ll be referring to it over and over again. Even if you only follow some of her tips, you'll be helping the planet and its creatures immeasurably. - A. Baxter
Making Kind Choices : Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth- and Animal-Friendly Living
Misty the Freeway Foxhound: The Dog Who Became a Legend
by M. K. Ramsey
Authorhouse, 2006, 32pp.
This is a touching, true story of Misty, who exemplifies the essence of the devoted dog.
Misty, a foxhound, lived happily with an elderly man in West Virginia. She followed the man’s car to the highway on ramp when he left and waited for him near the highway until he came home. When the man died, Misty continued her vigil by the side of the road. She patiently waited under a pine tree in all types of weather. People tried to catch her without success so they left food and water for her under the tree.
This is a lovely short story that will touch the heart of any animal lover. Written especially for young readers, it demonstrates the bond of love and devotion a companion animal feels for their person, which can continue even beyond death. -N. Marano
Misty the Freeway Foxhound: The Dog Who Became a Legend
Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats : Your A-Z Guide to Over 200 Conditions, Herbs, Vitamins, and Supplements
by Shawn Messonnier, DVM
Three Rivers Press, 480 pp. 2001. $24.95
I loved this book. Even though it's written as an encyclopedia, I read it from cover to cover. It deals with a technical subject but it's written in an un-technical if dry manner. It helps de-mythologize all of those sometimes ominous-sounding supplements out there that are touted as cures or treatments for various ailments. It's also an informative reference book for humans, because many of the supplements he talks about are available for human use also. Dr. Messonier presents conventional as well as "alternative" treatments and their pros and cons to give the reader a balanced view of available treatment protocols.
This book is an excellent resource. I highly recommend it. - A. Baxter
Natural Pet Care: How to Improve Your Animal's Quality of Life
by Gary Null
Seven Stories Press, 320 pp. 2001. $24.95
I'm the guardian of nine animals, and I've read a lot of pet care books--both alternative and traditional--so I wasn't sure nutritionist Gary Null's book would add anything to my store of knowledge. But he has a way of presenting ideas in a fresh, no-nonsense manner, and there are even new things here that I haven't read anywhere else. For example, he presents juicing as a treatment for various ailments, and useful information on caring for alternative pets like snakes, birds, ferrets, rodents, and horses. He's savvy enough to suggest that if you want to give your animal supplements, check with your veterinarian first to determine his specific health needs and the appropriate dosages.
Unlike some animal nutritionists, Null does not advocate a raw foods diet, stating that there are too many toxins and bacteria in raw meat that may cause disease and a degeneration of an animal's health. He doesn't believe that the modern domestic dog and cat are capable of handling raw foods, as were their wild ancestors. Raw versus cooked is a controversial issue that hasn't been resolved, and it's up to the pet guardian to determine if her animals will fare better with one or the other. However, Null is in favor of feeding dogs and cats high quality "people food", preferably organic, or at least a mix of a high-grade commercial pet food with cooked meats, grains, raw veggies, etc., as well as digestive enzymes (absent from commercial pet food and cooked food) for good digestion and assimilation. He includes simple recipes and an easy-to-follow plan to convert your dog or cat to a healthy diet.
Nutrition isn't the only area Null covers. He includes a touching section with stories from people about their pets, and he talks about euthanasia and spay/neuter, the pros and cons of vaccines, and much more. The last section of the book lists resources the reader can investigate for further information or supplies. All in all, a great addition to my animal care library. - A. Baxter
Natural Pet Care: How to Improve Your Animal's Quality of Life
The Natural Vet's Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs
By Shawn Messonnier, DVM
New World Library, 294 pp. 2006. $15.95
I have not yet had to deal with any of my dogs contracting cancer, but if and when I do, this book will be useful to have around. Its title is a bit misleading, as it discusses a myriad of both conventional and complementary therapies. It’s chock full of information on both allopathic and alternative methods of dealing with cancer in dogs and written in a manner easily understood by the layman. There are also excellent chapters on diet, vaccinosis, warning signs of cancer, pain control, and euthanasia. On that level, I recommend it highly.
But as an animal rights advocate, I have a problem with the book’s frequent references to animal experimentation as a means of obtaining medical information on both dogs and humans. In fact, the introduction by Russell L. Blaylock, MD enthusiastically discusses an experiment in which animals were implanted with highly metastatic tumors and then treated with radiation, with the majority of those not treated with beta carotene dying. Unfortunately, discarded shelter dogs and even stolen dogs are often used in these types of experiments. I would encourage veterinarians and doctors to push for more use of non-animal experimentation as a means of obtaining medical information.
Having said that, Dr. Messonnier knows whereof he speaks, he speaks it lucidly, and you should have this book in your house as a reference book. - A. Baxter
The Natural Vet's Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs
Nobody’s Pets
By Debra White
Four Footed Friends,126 pp. 2001. $8.95
www.4footedfriends.com
Thieves break into a Denver animal shelter late at night to steal animals. They plan to sell the stolen animals to an unscrupulous research lab in Wyoming. Rosie, an aging, roly-poly, mixed-breed dog, and Guffy, a pampered cat, become the intrepid leaders for the group of eight purloined pets.
Adventures abound when the animals manage to break free of their captors. Through countless, breathtaking perils, the group struggles to get back to the Denver shelter and their friends. Guffy’s instincts provide food and keep the group safe. Rosie, through all her complaints, displays a nurturing soul. She protects the helpless and keeps the morale of the group bolstered during the worst of times.
The book is told through the eyes of the animals with compassion and a keen sense of how animals communicate with each other. Biscuit, a caring dog who has been dumped on the street, and Thor, a Great Dane with too much enthusiasm for his own good, remain at the shelter. Everyone at the shelter, human and animal, are worried about what has happened to their friends and wonder whether they will ever see them again.
Nobody’s Pets, combines elements of mystery, fear, joy, happiness and sadness, into a delightful story that should dispel the idea that animals are stupid or don’t communicate. These animals work together to save each other. The book also raises important questions about why animals are in shelters, how difficult it is for shelter workers who need to make life and death decisions, and the cruelty some animals are forced to endure.
I would recommend this book for any reader from middle school level to adult. It will reinforce what you know about animal resourcefulness, ingenuity and intelligence and give you a good story, too. The author is donating a portion of the proceeds from the book to an animal shelter. - N. Marano
People I Sleep With
by Jill Fineberg
Ten Speed Press, 144pp. 2004. $19.95
Most animal lovers know the joy of having companion animals share their bed and other intimate areas of their lives. What can beat those purrs of delight from your favorite feline when she’s curled up on top of your head or the gentle snores of a very relaxed canine when he has his head on your pillow?
Jill Fineberg, a photographer, healer and grief counselor in Santa Fe, has captured those joys in 200 extraordinary black-and-white photographs that feature 50 animal-and-human families. She goes beyond dogs and cats, though. Her photographs include incredible pictures of people with their snakes, horses, pigs, llamas, rabbits, wolves, monkeys and many other unusual animal companions.
This lovely book is living testament to the incredible bond that exists between animals and their humans. Sometimes poignant, sometimes whimsical, these photos will bring a smile, a laugh or perhaps a tear to the reader. Each human-animal family has a two-page spread. One page features a series of small snapshots of the animals. The facing page shows the person in the vulnerable state of napping with his or her companion animals. You won’t forget the tattooed man and his poodles, the lady with a gecko on her face, or the child sleeping with a pet scorpion. Unusual, maybe, but touching.
Looking at the pictures makes the reader want to know more about the people and animals depicted on these pages. Fineberg has handled that by putting a section at the end revealing more details of each animal-human family. She has also added information on the how to care for animals and the benefits - for the human and the animal - of the human-animal bond. She even gives a list of organizations people can contact to find out about various animal issues.
This is a wonderful coffee-table book or a terrific gift book to share with all your animal-loving friends. Highly recommended. - N. Marano
Pieces of My Heart: Writings Inspired by Animals and Nature
by Jim Willis
Infinity Publishing, 312 pp. 2002 $21.95
Jim Willis, an animal rescuer, writer and artist based on the East Coast, is a compassionate, sensitive man, and this beautifully written book reflects what his life is all about.
I can't help but admire anyone who goes against the tide and lives his beliefs despite the odds. It's very easy for an animal advocate to become embittered, angry and alienated from general society because of the lack of compassion for other species among far too many humans. Jim has managed to retain his faith and his sense of humor through what must have been some very challenging times. He never gives up. He's not confrontational, but he's effective, in his quiet, gentler way. His essay "How Could You?" proved it. We need many more people like him on the planet.
This is a book written by a true animal lover--someone who walks the walk. Read it. You'll be the better for it. - A. Baxter
Pieces of My Heart: Writings Inspired by Animals and Nature
Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West
by Michael J. Robinson
University Press of Colorado, 473 pp. 2005 $24.95
Native Americans weren’t the only ones who were practically exterminated through the national credo of “Manifest Destiny”. Our country, particularly the west, used to be richly populated with all manner of wildlife, both predator and prey: bison, wolves, coyotes, prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets, wolverines, badgers, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, bald eagles, golden eagles, magpies, etc., etc.
This book, written by the carnivore conservation coordinator for the Center for Biological Diversity, documents in an unemotional manner the mass killing, over hundreds of years and through many changes of state and federal government, of all those animals, once abundant, many of them now endangered or threatened.
It happened through bounty hunting, through trapping, but most horribly through poisoning. It was a methodical, planned political campaign to rid the country and especially the west of its magnificent fauna and some of its flora, mostly so that ranchers could protect their livestock and citizens would feel safe. And it was accomplished largely with the blessing of scientists, who should have known better but didn’t, until it was too late. The story is presented in a non-sensationalist manner, rich in historical detail and photos, which makes it all the more chilling and sad.
Some of the most famous conservationists are dissected in this book, like Aldo Leopold, who became a god of the environmental movement but actually spent most of his career eradicating animals. Robinson also talks about John Audubon, an ornithologist who killed countless birds just so he could draw them. Other eye openers are the big role FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps played in the poisoning campaign, and Nixon's motivations in signing the Endangered Species Act.
But mostly, he talks about the magnificent wolves that once roamed our country in large numbers, using them as a symbol of all we have lost. The author has been involved in recent wolf reintroduction programs and writes in detail about them, mentioning various New Mexico animal rights advocates/environmentalists like Lisa Jennings of Animal Protection of New Mexico and the courageous Pat Wolff.
The book closes on a cautiously hopeful note. And I agree that there is hope, but it’s clear from this book that we can never recover the magnificence of what nature once was.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you want to understand how the government’s present attitudes and policies towards wildlife evolved. - A. Baxter
Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves And the Transformation of the West
Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts to Consider
by Ann N. Martin
New Sage Press, 200 pp. 2001 $13.95
Canadian writer and muckraker Ann N. Martin (“Food Pets Die For”) does her usual excellent job of careful, patient, thorough investigation and reportage in her second book. I learned even more about the evils of commercial pet foods, as well as her take on vaccinations, raw food diets, various medical conditions and commonly given drugs, and increased cancer in pets, along with recipes to treat various conditions.
However, I do have a bone to pick. Ms. Martin paints all commercial pet foods with the same brush, stating unequivocally that they should be avoided at all costs. Curiously, she quotes Wendell Belfield, DVM, an alternative veterinarian, throughout the book, who is a nutrition consultant for one of the most wholesome kibble brands on the market today: Natura. While I agree with her that well-balanced, home-cooked food is the better choice for dogs and cats, the reader should be made aware that there are a number of so-called "designer" brands of kibble and canned food available now at most pet and animal supply stores that contain "human" grade meat and vegetal ingredients and no poisons and chemicals. They cannot be purchased in a supermarket or a veterinary clinic and they are costlier, but my personal view is that they are a great alternative for guardians who simply don't have the time to offer their animals two or three home-cooked meals every day.
I also think the jury is still out on whether or not raw food diets and raw bones are dangerous, although Ms. Martin is convinced they are.
Despite those quibbles, I think this book should be on the shelf of every responsible animal guardian. - A. Baxter
Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts
Remember the Alamo: A Sentry Dog Handler’s View of Vietnam from the Perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base
by Carl S. Adams
Lost Coast Press, 261 pp. 2003. $24.95
Military dogs saved an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 human lives in Vietnam. “Remember the Alamo” talks about the role of the Air Force K9 Corps in that ill-conceived war as related by a former soldier. The book is at its best when Mr. Adams gives personal vignettes of his experiences with his dog Andy, a connoisseur of canned peaches, as well as those of other members of the Corps. But be forewarned. He’s a “my country right or wrong” kinda guy, and unfortunately, when he indulges in political diatribe, suggesting that antiwar protestors and draft dodgers were anti-American, it’s very off-putting. But to his credit, he keeps that to a minimum. He also focuses more on human-to-human interactions and what a soldier’s life is like in war, which is more interesting for history buffs than animal lovers.
The saddest part of this story is that all the canine soldiers, except for a few who were considered exceptionally heroic, were routinely euthanized at the end of the war if they hadn’t already been killed in the line of duty, or they were turned over to the new Vietnamese government, because they were regarded as “excess equipment.” Mr. Adams offers no protest of this unconscionably brutal policy, even though he was clearly very fond of Andy. It’s quite ironic that while on active duty, military dogs, mostly German Shepherd Dogs who were donated by their former owners to the war effort, were treated as well as any human soldier. The author describes an instance of Andy developing a tooth infection and being flown to the nearest vet in an empty plane for immediate root canal surgery.
But as Mr. Adams admits, war is hell, and in the end there is no room in war for sentiment. The military dogs of Vietnam and other wars deserved much better than euthanasia for their valiant service to humans, but that’s exactly what they got. Happily, times have changed. While it's too late to save dogs who died serving the USA in the past, the good news is that in 2000, President Clinton signed a law that allowed suitable retired military dogs to be adopted: Retired Military Dogs Protected. - A. Baxter
Remember the Alamo: A Sentry Dog Handler's View of Vietnam from the Perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base
Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster
by Allen & Linda Anderson
New World Library, 346 pp. 2006. $16.95
”Rescued” is a very well researched book about the Katrina rescue efforts that also includes general information about disaster rescue work. It’s a great resource to have on your library shelf if you’re interested in learning how to participate in rescue efforts in the future or just want to know how to protect your own pets after disasters. The authors interviewed a wide range of people from volunteers to executives in the animal welfare movement to animal-loving celebrities and concluded that because of Katrina and its aftermath, the animal rescue movement has come to the forefront of public consciousness. Finally the government has gotten the message that people’s pets are often a vital part of their family and being forced to leave them behind in disasters just won’t fly anymore.
I do have an issue, however, with a comment regarding the alleged cruelty of shelters who euthanized some Katrina dogs: “Some shelters, in what was an unbelievably cruel move after all that the volunteers and animals had been through in the recent efforts, eutha
