If you’re looking for a brilliant explanation of why humans put other animals into categories, you won’t find it here. Sorry. My opinion is that people find it convenient to treat animals differently based on what we want from them. Do we want animals to keep us company? Work for us? Hold up a romantic …
Pet Travel Book Club
Reviews of books about traveling with pets.
Sailing with a Dog? Pet Travel Tuesday
I love reading an armchair adventure. And A Sea Dog’s Tale: The True Story of a Small Dog on a Big Ocean (affiliate link – see my full review at A Traveler’s Library) is a good armchair adventure. With puppies! But true-life adventure stories always make me think. Could I do the same thing? What …
The Healing Power of Animals – Pet Travel Tuesday
Animals, and dogs in particular, carry a heavy burden. Those of us who love them, ascribe all kinds of virtues to them—understanding, compassion, and unconditional love. Maybe dogs have every wonderful trait we praise them for. But I suspect dogs are too complex to be everything we need them to be. Sometimes they’re patient and …
Do Dog Breeds Matter?
In 1945, Japan had only 16 Akitas. Eaten by starving Japanese families, their pelts lining the coats of Japanese military officers, the beloved, ancient breed became more important dead than alive. Akitas were lucky. Morie Sawataishi, a Mitsubishi engineer from northern Japan, took an interest in the dogs and began breeding, raising, and …
Afghanistan and Dogs
Afghanistan has been in the news my entire life. And despite that, I know very little about it. I know even less about its dogs. So when Pet Travel Tuesday coincided with the month of Ramadan, I decided to review a book about a man who walked across Afghanistan with a dog. What could be …
Julia Child Loved Cats
Julia Child is a public television deity in a holy trinity that includes Mr. Rogers and Big Bird. Imagine how popular she’d be if everyone know how much she loved cats. We Love Julia Julie Child was an unlikely television star. At six feet, two inches tall (188 centimeters), she was a striking, if not …
What a Naked Man on an Island Can Teach Us About Dogs
Life wouldn’t be much fun without fantasies. But what does it take to make a fantasy come true? Ask the naked man on the beach. An Island Dream Tom Neale wanted to live alone on a South Seas island. Well, not entirely alone. He did take two cats with him for company. He wrote about …
Working Dogs – On the Wyoming Range or in the Suburban Yard
People are happier when they have a job. Dogs are happier when they have a job. And a person and a dog working together? Pure bliss. Guarding Sheep in Wyoming Cat Urbigkit is a writer and photographer. She also keeps a flock of sheep in the Green River basin area south of Yellowstone National Park. …
Go Big or Go Home – Jamaican Street Dogs Show the Way
You could adopt one dog, give it a home after an early life on the streets. Or you could adopt twenty and form a dog sled team. At least that’s what Danny Melville did. Oh, and did I mention he did it in Jamaica? Crazy Ideas Danny Melville ran an adventure travel business providing entertainment …
Living with Dogs – Taste the Bitter and the Sweet
Some of the best moments of my life have involved dogs. And so have some of the worst. But who wants to live in a world with just ice cream and no pickles? The Man in Love With His Dog Michael Konik is a writer and performer who knows how to get attention. His website is …