Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
As summer winds down, we’re feeling the drag of “dog days.” Wikipedia says the Greeks and Romans coined that term after Sirius, the “Dog Star” and the brightest star in the heavens besides the sun, at least during ancient times. Dog days were thought to be filled with evil “when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid . . . .” I can imagine that dogs, at least those with long hair, did grow mad in the heat with no air conditioning.
Because we have recently lost our longtime, devoted, intelligent, and brave German shepherd, I did some investigating about the relationship between humans and dogs. Let me confess up front that this animal was my husband’s choice, and it was only fairly recently that I came to love and rely on our dog Andy. Now I’m realizing how incredibly integrated dogs are with humans. Dogs appear in TV and magazine ads that are totally unrelated to the animal, as well as in all sorts of books for children and adults.
I’m seeing several manuscripts about dogs at this point and thought I’d check what’s out there. Amazon lists 13,365 entries about dogs alone! Some of the more interesting–Knitting with Dog Hair: Better a Sweater from a Dog You Know and Love Than from a Sheep You’ll Never Meet by Kendall Crolius, and Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook: Over 100 “Tailwagging” Recipes by J.O. Talley and Eric Talley. In short, the field, both fiction and nonfiction, is pretty well covered; yet the desire for a good dog story remains constant. In fact, it may be growing as more strong authors enter the field, e.g., Marley and Me and Good Dog, Stay (Anna Quindlen’s ’07 book).
I’d like to hear what your favorite published dog story is and why. I’ll write more on “man’s best friend” tomorrow.
I read Because of Winn-Dixie with my daughter when it came out. What a wonderful story! My daughter and I cried together. (And isn’t that what good mother/daughter bonding experiences are all about?) Winn-Dixie, the dog, seemed to wrap his love around every character, bringing everyone together.
Got no favorite dog stories because I find enough reasons to cry my eyes out without them, but I love German Shepherds and miss our last one immensely still many years later . . .
I’ve read dog stories since I was a child. My favorite dog story is Nop’s Trials by Donald McCaig, because it’s told in part from the dog’s POV, and I’m fascinated by border collies, their smarts, their heart, their work ethic, and the bond they have with the humans they work with. I remember being in the stands at a sheepdog trial and watching a man and his collie walking through the crowd. They weren’t working. The man was simply making his way from point A to point B, but the collie never took its gaze off the man’s face, just on the off chance he might tell it to do something. I wouldn’t want that kind of intensity in a pet, but for a working partnership I find this bond extraordinary and touching.
And I have a border collie in my WIP. 🙂
Lorna, I also loved Because of Winn Dixie. Think I’ll read it again. It was the big break-out book for Kate DiCamillo and the dog is very much a main character.
Etta
Dog hair knitting! That’s hilarious.
My favorite author of doggie stories is Teri Wilson. Her stuff has me in tears of laughter. http://www.freewebs.com/teriwilson/ I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite book.
My favorite dog story is actually “No More Dead Dogs”. If you have never read it, I enjoyed it immensely and do recommend it.
I was sitting on a blue beanbag in my second grade classroom when I finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows. My teacher sat down and rocked me as I cried. Does it get any better than Old Dan and Little Ann?
James Herriot’s “All Things” books are my favorite animal stories of all time.
Call of the Wild.
I love the scene where they have to wrestle Buck from jumping off the cliff.
Wow! What a wonderful list of great dog stories. Wish I had time to compile a list of dog names from these memorable stories, and I’m sure there are more. Etta
I LOVED dog stories when I was younger. Anything with a dog in it was one of my favorites.
The ones I remember best are:
Foxy by Helen Griffith
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
A Dog Called Kitty by Bill Wallace
Old Yeller by Fred Gibson
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Now I want to read these books again!
We were required to read All Creatures Great and Small in high school. Since my father is a veterinarian and I worked for him during summers and then my first year out of high school, I KNEW those people and their animals… They just had different names and a Texas accent instead of a British one.
Mom said they could hear me down the hall well into the dark of night – laughing my head off or sobbing uncontrollably.
Agreed – some of the best ever written!!
Ms. Etta,
Our condolences on Andy crossing the Rainbow Bridge.
They sure leave a paw print on your heart don’t they?
I’ve still got many of the “Big Red” series by Jim Kjelgaard. And I know a dog’s not the main character but “No More Dead Dogs” is delightfully funny.
The first title that sprung to mind though was “Walter the Farting Dog” because my dad had to call me the day he saw my book sitting on the bookstore shelf beside it. Um, thanks.
White Fang by Jack London and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.
Canine love does not get any deeper than in these gems.
When I was six years old my father died and I cried. Months later while in second grade I read Lassie Come Home and after Lassie died at the end of the story I sobbed all day. I was actually grieving for my father because by then I understood he wasn’t coming back. That book will always hold a special place in my heart.
Cat, thanks for using the word “canine”. I had forgotten that we have “dog teeth”, which I had to look up to identify which ones they are–situated between the lateral incisor and the first premolar. (There’s a little trivia for the day!)
Etta
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