By Leslie Utsonomiya
Coquitlam Public Library
It’s commonly said that dogs are man’s best friend, even if cat-lovers would disagree. People tend to either love a good, slobbery kiss from their pet, or they can’t stand to sit on the dog hair-covered sofa. There’s one thing we will all agree on, though—we’d love to know what goes on in those canine brains! Why do they roll on that dead creature they find, or pee on your favourite rug? The authors highlighted in this column have made a good stab at guessing what dogs think, or don’t!
Garth Stein’s Labrador, Enzo, is a philosopher who understands many things other dogs don’t. His special human, Denny Swift, is an aspiring race car driver, and hours of watching races on TV while Denny explains the action have given Enzo insight into the way to win in life. Even when Denny’s wife dies after a long battle with cancer and her parents sue for custody of daughter Zoë, Enzo remains Denny’s strongest supporter and ardent fan. In The Art of Racing in the Rain, you’ll meet the best friend one man could ever have.
Boy, the hero of Peter Mayle’s A Dog’s Life, takes a more cynical view of humans. Having been raised on a French farm in a litter of thirteen puppies, with even less love than food, Boy knows it’s important to keep your eyes on your surroundings. He refers to his humans as “the management”, while taking pot shots at their ridiculous antics. He passes along his tips for escaping even well-deserved punishment and gives a list of advice for the young dog—especially the Christmas Puppy, who is not likely to last long in the family. As he notes, “To Err is Human. To Forgive, Canine.”
Author Merrill Markoe is fascinated with dog psychology, having written several books in which humans learn to understand their dogs telepathically. Jimmy, the mixed breed alpha of human Gil’s pack in Nose Down, Eyes Up, always considered himself to be Gil’s son, until the day he discovered they weren’t even the same species! Jimmy’s need to get to know his biological mother and siblings gets Gil into more trouble than the 47-year-old adolescent has ever managed to cope with before. Faced with a lack of work, no place to live but his van and increasing woman trouble, it isn’t until Gil thinks he’s lost Jimmy forever that he comes to terms with his life and the mess he’s in!
Chuck, the pit-bull-mix in Walking in Circles Before Lying Down, lives with Markoe’s female equivalent of Gil above. Dawn Tarnauer doesn’t seem to be good at anything, from keeping a job to picking a man, and Chuck has nagging feelings that she still loves her first dog, Swentzle, better than she loves him. When Dawn takes up with yet another unsavory boyfriend, Chuck does his utmost to prove to her that Paxton is worthless.
Trixie Koontz was the real life pet of well-known, supernatural author Dean Koontz. She so enthralled the author and his family that she became the subject of a biography, A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog, and a compilation of her blog maxims, Bliss to You: Trixie’s Guide to a Happy Life. Fans of Koontz know that labs tend to be major characters in many of his novels, and Trixie is one very smart lab. As she says on the subject of finding your purpose in life, “Purpose means what you contribute. Looking cool is not contribution.”
Adam March has lost everything he ever fought for in one instance of rage—his job, his family and his powerful status. Now sentenced to bussing tables in a homeless shelter, he’s fearful of becoming the men he serves. When he meets Chance, the mixed breed pit-fighter, the two see in each other a connection too strong to pass up, and one that may redeem them both. Author Susan Wilson created two very memorable characters in One Good Dog.
If William Shakespeare had been a dog, what would he have been like? Leon Rooke produced a very interesting look at this in Shakespeare’s Dog. Winner of the Governor General’s Award in 1984, Mr. Hooker is not your warm and fuzzy lapdog. He’s bawdy and frank, describing his conversations with his master and friend, the Bard of Avon, as he lives in a very dangerous society for dogs and men.
Dogs have been the main characters of many of our most famous books. From White Fang to Buck of Jack London fame, from Old Yeller to Greyfriars Bobby, they form a never-ending source of fascination. Whether we understand them better than they understand us remains to be seen, but the attempt can be a lot of fun! Check for these and many other dog-friendly titles at your local public library!
