The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family
by Jon Katz
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jon KatzEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-08
ISBN: 0375760555
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family
Book Review: Though-provoking treatise on human dependence on dogs
Summary: 5 Stars
In the "New Work of Dogs,"author Jon Katz expands his scope from focusing on his relationship with his dogs---a topic he has detailed in previous books---to examining the canine-human relationship on a broader scale.
Informed by arduous research (a two foot stack of papers, books, journals), he sets out and succeeds in making a case that dogs, by-and-large, are doing different work from their traditional herding, hunting, and guarding. We have pushed our canines into new territory as emotional companions, therapy dogs, even extensions of our egos to help us cope with an increasingly complex world.
The notion that we are growing increasingly isolated as a culture is not new, but seeing how humans are using dogs to cope with a society that no longer maintains the cultural bearings of "the greatest generation" is new (at least to me).
Mr. Katz visits with many dogs and their owners of various social economic strata who inhabit the enclaves of Montclair, New Jersey. More often than not, he found that dogs are being used as emotional surrogate, a classic situation noted in attachment theory but hitherto mostly applied to other people. Many of these dogs are pampered, untrained, and confused. Others are abused to some extent, whether through deliberate actions or through negligence.
The stories are alarming and informing. I see many of the mistakes I made with previous dogs laid out before me and wonder if my two Australian shepherds are as well-adjusted as they seem.
Many reviewers have commented, and correctly, that anyone planning to own a dog needs to read this book. Sadly, I think Mr. Katz will largely reach those people who already possess a great deal of knowledge about dogs---those who train their dogs, who buy or adopt breeds suitable for their living conditions or schedules, and who treat their dogs with consistent, loving authority.
Mr. Katz does not make harsh judgments on any of the circumstances he depicts but instead concludes by noting how many dogs are dumped in shelters where they languish or die. The numbers are staggering.
And he takes matters a step further with the thought-provoking idea that if we have dog rescue groups, how can we not also have their counterparts to reach out to those of our own species in dire need.
Summary of The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family
In an increasingly fragmented and disconnected society, dogs are often treated not as pets, but as family members and human surrogates. The New Work of Dogs profiles a dozen such relationships in a New Jersey town, like the story of Harry, a Welsh corgi who provides sustaining emotional strength for a woman battling terminal breast cancer; Cherokee, companion of a man who has few friends and doesn?t know how to talk to his family; the Divorced Dogs Club, whose funny, acerbic, and sometimes angry women turn to their dogs to help them rebuild their lives; and Betty Jean, the frantic founder of a tiny rescue group that has saved five hundred dogs from abuse or abandonment in recent years.Drawn from hundreds of interviews and conversations with dog lovers and canine professionals, The New Work of Dogs combines compelling personal narratives with a penetrating look at human/animal attachment, and it presents a vivid portrait of a community?and, by extension, an entire nation?that is turning to its pets for emotional support and stability in a changing and uncertain world.
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