12/12/11

Book Review: A Dog Year

I won this book in a low-key raffle.  It’s not normally the type of book that I would pick up, but it was an enjoyable story about the author, Jon Katz‘s, year with 4 dogs.

This is an engaging and, in general, light-hearted book.  Jon Katz is a talented writer, making the book pleasant and easy to read.

The story starts with Jon Katz’s two-labrador household, and explains the journey he takes to a two-border-collie household.  It is a very sweet tale on pet ownership.

However, I’d say this book is best suited to more ‘pet people’ than those that spend a lot of time thinking about dogs and dog welfare.  Katz does some very uninformed things with his dogs, and it really frustrated me when reading.  For example, his dog jumps out of the car window when driving.

The book is only short, and is pleasant enough to read. For those that have pet dogs, they would probably enjoy reading this book.  For those who are extensively involved in dogs, I am not sure that the anthropomorphism will contribute much to your current understanding.