Dog Hearted: Essays on Our Fierce and Familiar Companions

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It goes beyond the wet snouts and wagging tails and gets to the heart of what makes dogs our true lifelong companions.

Ned's one still weirds me the hell out, I'd bought this as a gift for someone (that I later borrowed to read) and his was the story I flicked to once they book arrived, very quickly making me wonder what the hell I had just purchased. I needed a set of easily digestible, well written, and comforting essays about the best thing in the world… dogs. There were some I really didn't get along with - Ned Beauman's being the worst as he seems to think because he's a tall man with a little dog in a park people would presume he's a paedophile and it was such an odd take that he was so consistent with in his story, it was really off-putting.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. For this collection, the central topic of our pooch pals could not have been more apt for me given that I have recently been initiated into the cult of canine companionship for the very first time! While I get why, it would’ve been nice to have at least one piece that looked at a dog as it is, on its own terms, as a creature that is not just a reflection of its human. and also probably because i love dogs more than i do gardening, the ladies pond (have never been), and food (i like food but would give up anything if it meant having more time with my childhood dog). The essays were surprisingly intimate, as if the authors' dogs provided a window into their domestic lives, whether that be current or remembered, that might not otherwise have been exposed.

Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall). My favourite essay was Jessica Pan's The Master List as I think she endeared herself to me the moment she spoke about wrestling with a slobbering rottweiler as well as showing her terrified husband how she could put her head in his mouth and 'he could kill me but he chooses not to'.It goes beyond the damp noses and wagging tails and gets to the heart of what makes dogs our true lifelong companions. yes, i’ve read all four of them) probably because they were mostly personal, with only one being more scholarly. Whilst a reader picking up a book about dogs might expect the contents of the book to be about dog, the authors and essayists of this book seem too self-absorbed to think of their readership’s expectations. The essays showcase a wide variety of dog personalities, and what we might learn from them about aging and death, relationships, domesticity and wildness, and care. A good book to pick up and read a chapter or two, or for some inspiration for writing about the commonplace, yet transcendent furry companions in our lives.