Dwight Garner’s interesting aritcle, Best Sellers that Woof and Meow, in today’s New York Times attempts to understand the recent popularity of animal themed books — especially dog books.
Insightful Aldous Huxley quote might just explain it….“To his dog, every man is Napoleon.”
Darby, my Longhaired Dachshund, is at the vet today. He needed some x-rays due to a possible sinus or tooth infection. I’m sure he’ll be fine, but I always get emotional leaving him there all day.
Then, I read Arthur Phillips beautiful NYT Op-Ed piece, My Dog Days, and well…I had a little cry. It so perfectly captures the magic and sorrow of loving a dog, and then, loving another dog. (Also realized he is one of my favorite authors. His 2002 novel Prague
(Photo by Moira McLaughlin)
6.12.07 Update: Darby is fine. No tumor or infection, just a severe allergy (we think.) He’s on antibiotics and prednisone and seems improved. Thanks Clair, Deb, Linda, and Becca for your thoughtful comments 🙂
Interesting article today from supposed big dog lover, Mark Derr. Seems Yorkies have edged out Golden Retrievers for 2nd place in popularity (Labs are still first) and little dogs are finally getting the respect they deserve. Read Derr’s "A Dog’s History of America"
Some dog science that might come in handy for dog artists: when a dog is happy his tail wags more to the right, when he’s fearful, more to the left. Learn more about this left brain/right brain phenomenon in today’s New York Times article by Sandra Blakeslee. My dog, Darby, is getting his teeth cleaned. When he comes home, we’ll conduct our own experiment. Let me know if it’s true with your pup.
4.26.07 Update: When Darby was at the vet, very upset, his tail curled hard to the left and only wagged a little. When we got home and he ran to the door, his tail wagged hard to the right. We have confirmed the above referenced findings.