The New Work Of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family

Writing about his own dogs in A Dog Year, Jon Katz was immersed in a larger community of dog lovers and came to realize that in an increasingly fragmented and disconnected society, dogs are often treated not as pets but rather as family members and human surrogates. Here Katz profiles a dozen such relationships in a New Jersey town. "Often people acquire and love dogs with little awareness that they might have complex and revealing reasons for choosing the dog or pet they choose, loving it the way they do," he writes. His book is based on hundreds of interviews and conversations with dog owners and lovers, breeders, veterinarians, rescuers, trainers, behaviorists, and psychiatrists.