Still reigning: cats and dogs

REVIEWS BY LINDA STANKARD

Pythons, ferrets, spider monkeys, goldfish—Americans are diverse in their choice of pets, but by far the most likely critters to be found pitter-pattering around the family home are cats and dogs. Since surveys show that 36 percent of households with pets have dogs, and 32 percent have cats, it's easy to see that cats and dogs reign supreme in American homes. Feline aficionados and dog devotees alike will enjoy the warmth, wit and wisdom in a new litter of books focusing on our closest non-human companions.

My Therapist's Dog: Lessons in Unconditional Love by Diana Wells is the story of how Wells, devastated by the loss of her son and sister, reluctantly reaches out to a therapist with a black Lab named Luggs. Wells has no insurance at this difficult time in her life, but the therapist accepts her as a client free of charge. To give something in return, Wells begins taking part-time care of Luggs, and gradually the dog becomes a bridge, connecting and comforting the two women as they each come up against more of life's catastrophes. Wells is a historian, and she infuses her inspiring story with literary references and canine facts, exploring the bond that humans and dogs have shared for centuries. She quotes Emily Dickinson, for example, who wittily noted in 1862 that dogs are "better than human beings because they know, but do not tell." Through her relationship with the therapist and her dog, Wells eventually overcomes her skepticism toward counseling and discovers the power of human (and animal) connections.


Geneen Roth's The Craggy Hole in My Heart and the Cat Who Fixed It is a story of self-discovery and a struggle to fully and freely embrace the joys of living even while suffering its pains and sorrows. This time it's a cat, Mister Blanche, a 20-pound male with a feminine name who looks like a "furry pyramid or a goat with curly stomach hair" who selflessly and wondrously fulfills the need. "Why love someone who is just going to turn around and either leave or die?" Roth agonizes in the early pages of the book, but it is through the actual loss of first her father and then Mister Blanche that she learns how losing a person or a pet you love can ultimately help you learn to love without fear, without reservation. Roth writes with candor and humor and does not spare herself the barb of her own self-awareness. Paralyzed by her fear of her cat's death, she commissions an artist to immortalize Blanche by painting three portraits of him, and simultaneously makes a commitment to discover her true nature. "I figure it is good to cover all the bases: if I discover that my true nature is nothing to write home about, at least I will have a lot of nice paintings."


If your brow is high enough and your quest for a deeper understanding of the intricate bond between animal and human life is strong enough, The Philosopher's Dog: Friendships with Animals by Raimond Gaita offers provocative insight. "The person who has rid himself of the need of others, who longs and grieves for no one, is not someone who is positioned to see things most clearly," Gaita suggests, and he extends this need to include the love of animals. A professor of philosophy, Gaita uses what he calls a mix of "storytelling and philosophical reflections on the stories" to analyze mankind's connection to animals. If you are as comfortable with quotes from Socrates and Kierkegaard as you are with tales of Jack the cockatoo and Gypsy the German Shepard, Gaita's book offers both intellectual challenges and anecdotal treasures.


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