You Lucky Dog by Julia London

‘She’d done everything right. She’d gotten good grades in school, had gotten a good job, and had worked hard. She’d been a decent daughter, a better sister. She didn’t do drugs or drink much. She’d done everything right. It was not supposed to be this way. She was supposed to have it all by now, not be worrying about how to pay her rent.’ – Julia London, You Lucky Dog

Every once in a while, I need a reading break. When that happens, I look up feel good romances that I know will make me smile or laugh. My latest feel good read was You Lucky Dog by Julia London. I won’t lie – the cover hooked me first, giving me 101 Dalmatians vibes with the twisted together leashes. That plus basset hounds and I was ready to start reading. You Lucky Dog is the first in the the Lucky Dog series.

Carly Kennedy is struggling. Her new business, Carly Kennedy Public Relations, is not going well. She only has two clients, yet they are the neediest clients she has ever had and demand so much of her time. Her parents are divorced and are both now going through separate midlife crises that are way too much. Her mother bought her sister a basset hound WITHOUT asking her, causing said sister to completely melt down. Baxter, the basset, is now Carly’s problem. Baxter is a sad basset hound. In fact, Carly thinks he may be depressed. He can frequently be found with his head wedged in the corner of the room no matter Carly’s best efforts to coax him out. Baxter is growing on her though.

Yet another inconvenience is dropped on Carly’s plate when she comes home from work late one night to discover an imposter basset hound in her house. Her dog walker has switched out her sad basset for this perkier female basset who has no boundaries. This one is on her couch, chewing on things she shouldn’t be touching!

Max Sheffington is also confused. His happy basset hound, Haxel, has been replaced by this depressed male basset hound who, for some reason, will not get out of the corner of the room. Max is even more bewildered when Carly shows up on his front step demanding her dog back. It doesn’t help that Carly is pretty and extremely opinionated, facts that distract Max and simultaneously captivate him. He was expecting his dog walker, something that this gorgeous woman is not. Carly was expecting a stuffy old man given the name of the man she was told had her dog. Instead she finds a handsome man who is corrupting poor Baxter! Her dog is sprawled on the couch and has clearly been eating macaroni and cheese.

What most surprises Carly is that Baxter seems to be at home at Max’s house. He loves Hazel and follows her around. Since Baxter’s mood has improved, Carly decides that she needs to spend more time with Hazel and Max to keep him happy. It doesn’t take long for Carly to realize that there are feelings buzzing between her and Max, even though the two couldn’t be more different. Their lives end up being completely altered by an accidental dog swap.

While I enjoyed the premise, I found myself wanting to shake Carly at points (to be fair, I find myself more likely to want to shake the main characters when I’m reading romance – just TALK to each other already). Some of the solutions to her problems were right in front of her face, but she was just not seeing them. Regardless of my frustrations, this novel was adorable and exactly the brain break I needed. The main characters were both genuinely nice and cared about all the people in their lives. The fact that the author made Max’s brother autistic was a breath of fresh air. His portrayal was done sensitively and seeing him through Max’s eyes from both a scientific and familial point of view was also realistic. All in all, I enjoyed this book and am already searching for the second book, It Started with a Dog.

This title is also available in large print, as a Libby eBook, and Libby eAudiobook.

Lucky Dog series

  1. You Lucky Dog (2020)
  2. It Started with a Dog (2021)

‘That was the problem with social media—there were people in the world who seemingly existed just to tear other people down, but you couldn’t give them any oxygen. You couldn’t let them steal your mojo. And the best way to keep your mojo intact was to stay off social media and allow your publicist to post for you and monitor comments.’ – Julia London, You Lucky Dog

Pit Bull: the Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey

In November of 2017, my girlfriend and I adopted a 4-month-old puppy. The reason she was up for adoption was a common refrain, here in the Quad Cities and throughout America. Her previous owners had to move, and the landlord of their new place didn’t allow “ferocious breeds.” Although neither Davenport nor Scott County have any breed-specific legislation (BSL) on the books – which is surprising given that Iowa in general is rather dog-unfriendly, having 91 towns and cities with BSL, by far the most of any state in America – that doesn’t prevent landlords or rental companies from having their own discriminatory dog policies.

I’m sure some of you balked at me referring to BSL as discrimination. If you did (and even if you didn’t!), I implore you to read Bronwen Dickey’s Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon. This thoroughly researched book had a lot to teach me, and I’ve been an animal lover and advocate my entire life. But Dickey is not a pit bull partisan interested solely in proselytizing. Her work is backed up with data and interviews, and she makes sure to provide plenty of perspectives. Most importantly, she is deeply humanistic, never losing sight of how people affect and are affected by their canine companions.

While BSL can impact several different breeds, such as Rottweilers and Dobermans, pit bulls are by far the primary target (all 91 instances of BSL in Iowa target pit bulls; only 15 mention other breeds). Dickey manages to problematize this with one simple fact: “pit bull” isn’t actually a breed! It’s actually a dog type consisting of (depending on who you ask) four to five breeds: American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and American Bulldog. Furthermore, mixed-breed dogs and dogs of unknown pedigree that happen to share any similarities with these breeds – head size, body shape, short coat, etc. – get labeled as pit bulls by shelters and veterinarians. However, looks can be deceiving, and this is especially true when it comes to dogs. Dickey illustrates, with photographs and scientific research, how mixed breed dogs of known parentage often look nothing like either of their parents.

It comes as no surprise, then, when Dickey shows us that even people who work with dogs for a living have a less than stellar accuracy rate when it comes to identifying breeds. Dickey reports on numerous studies in the book. “After collecting cheek swabs from twenty mixed-breed dogs at four California shelters, [the authors of the study] asked a number of shelter workers to look at each dog and guess its breed(s). The shelter workers’ visual guesses – that is, the breeds they would have written on the dogs’ kennel cards and medical paperwork – did not match the animals DNA results 87.5 percent of the time” (pgs. 57-58, emphasis mine). In a follow-up study, the scientists showed video clips of twenty mixed-breed dogs to 900 subjects who worked in dog-related jobs – such as vets, trainers, groomers, shelter works, and animal control officers – and asked the subjects to identify which breeds were present in the dogs. The results were less than inspiring (pg. 58):

For only seven of the twenty dogs did more than half of the respondents agree on the most prominent breed. Interestingly, the predominant breed they chose did not show up at all in the DNA of three of those seven animals. Subsequent research confirmed this pattern. After looking at photographs of 120 mixed-breed dogs, shelter workers mislabeled 55 as being “pit bull mixes,” while missing 5 that actually were.

The troubling aspect is not that humans, even experts, are fallible – we don’t need a scientific study to tell us that – but rather that legislation that profoundly impacts peoples’ lives is being passed and enforced based solely on unscientific and unreliable methodology.

As such, it’s not just dogs that are discriminated against by BSL. Dickey traces how pit bulls, once beloved American icons who lived in the White House and starred in The Little Rascals, have come to be viewed as “lower class” dogs that are strongly associated with people of color. In light of this fact, it’s easy to see how BSL is just another aspect of systemic, institutional racism. It may be illegal to deny someone housing for being black or Latino, but not for being a pit bull owner – many of whom are, in fact, black or Latino. The predominance of pit bull prejudice is problematic because it becomes self-perpetuating. When enough legislation is passed, it becomes hegemonic, taken as a matter of fact. As Dickey masterfully shows in her book, however, the facts are a lot less clear than the talking heads would have you believe. It’s a deeply political issue, and as such should be approached rationally. Right now, the matter is murky with myth and prejudice; Pit Bull book goes a long way to dispelling the fog of superstition with its clear-headed, materialist, evidence-based approach.

Anecdotally, our puppy – Doobie, the first pit bull either of us had ever taken care of – has grown into such a gentle, loving dog that when we saw another pit bull puppy at the humane society, we couldn’t help but adopt her, too (despite having no plans for a second dog). Doobie’s younger sister, Sigourney, despite being even bigger than Doob, is somehow even less deserving of her “ferocious” appellation. In fact, she’s an awkward, gangly, 60 pound canine that thinks she’s a lapdog. The only thing these girls do aggressively is love, play, and goof off (although they have taken over our futon).

 

Talking with Cats and Dogs by Tim Link

Talking with Dogs and Cats by Tim LinkI don’t know what I expected when I started reading Talking with Dogs and Cats, but it wasn’t what I got. I’ve read quite a few of the animal behavior books we have in the library, and this one is unique.  It was actually pretty gratifying to know that, instinctively, I’ve been doing a lot of things the author, Tim Link, suggests. For example, he encourages us to talk to our pets – not just a lot of orders and instructions, but greet them in the morning and when you come home from work. When they go to the window and bark madly, walk over and try to see what set them off. Acknowledge the squirrel or UPS man, and thank them for bringing it to your attention. Tell them when to stop and reward them for stopping.

Pets need to feel that they have a job, and that job may be watching out that window and letting you know what’s going on in the wide world. Yelling at them to be quiet is likely to be ineffective, and, actually, counterproductive.

When you have multiple pets, it’s hard not to have a favorite, but you still need to spend time and pay focused attention to the others. You’ll be rewarded with a better understanding of the animal and a better relationship. I can attest to this. Since reading the book, I’ve made a point of communing with the dog who is not my favorite – an dachshund whose single-minded dedication to finding any edible object and barking about it, does not usually make one want to spend discretionary time with him. His sister, on the other hand, is incredibly loveable and has many interests other than seeking out and swallowing things before she’s quite clear about what they are.

Anyway, Mini Mutt and I have been having one-on-one conversations and I really feel that we have been connecting. When we run out of things to talk about, we sit companionably together. It’s very nice to have these calm times to balance  other times where we’re both shouting in our own ways.

You may not agree with every bit of advice in this book, but any book that causes you to look at things from another’s point of view is always valuable.

The Dog Who Could Fly by Damien Lewis

dog who could flyThe Dog Who Could Fly is the true account of a German shepherd who was adopted by the Royal Air Force during World War II, joined in flight missions, and survived everything from crash-landings to parachute bailouts – ultimately saving the life of his owner and dearest friend.

In the winter of 1939 in the cold snow of no-man’s-land, two loners met and began an extraordinary journey that would turn them into lifelong friends. One was an orphaned puppy, abandoned by his owners as they fled Nazi forces. The other was a different kind of lost soul – a Czech airman bound for the Royal Air Force and the country that he would come to call home. Airman Robert Bozdech stumbled across the tiny German shepherd – whom he named Ant – after being shot down on a daring mission over enemy lines. Unable to desert his charge, Robert hid Ant inside his jacket as he escaped. In the months that followed the pair would save each other’s lives countless times as they flew together with Bomber Command. And though Ant was eventually grounded due to injury, he refused to abandon his duty, waiting patiently beside the runway for his master’s return from every sortie, and refusing food and sleep until they were reunited. By the end of the war Robert and Ant had become British war heroes, and Ant was justly awarded the Dickin Medal, the “Animal VC.”

With beautiful vintage black-and-white photos of Robert and Ant, The Dog Who Could Fly is a deeply moving story of loyalty in the face of adversity and the unshakable bond between a man and his best friend. (description from publisher)

Off the Leash by Matthew Gilbert

off the leashOff the Leash is about the strange, wonderful, neurotic, and eccentric dog people who gather daily at Amory Park, overlooking Boston. And it’s about Matthew Gilbert’s transformation from dedicated homebody to joyful member of the dog park club: an oddball group of dog people with fur on their jackets and biscuits in their pockets.

Gilbert, the TV critic at the Boston Globe, describes his reluctant journey into the park subculture, as the first-time dog owner of a yellow lab named Toby. Like so many Americans right now, he has been steeped in the virtual, digital world. At the park, though, amid the chaotic energy of dogs and people gathered in packs, he is unprotected by the screen and forced to let go. The dogs go off-leash, and so do the people. There is something eternal and deeply satisfying about both the group experience at the park and the simple pleasure of playing fetch with one’s canine companion in a large, green, open space.

A charmingly written narrative that will appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed watching a puppy scamper through a park, Off the Leash is a paean to dog lovers and their pets everywhere. (description from publisher)

Travels with Casey by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

travels with caseyA moody Labrador and his insecure human take a funny, touching cross-country RV trip into the heart of America’s relationship with dogs.

“I don’t think my dog likes me very much,” New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two states, and 13,000 miles in a rented motor home, Denizet-Lewis and his canine companion attempt to pay tribute to the most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world. On the way, Denizet-Lewis-known for his deeply reported dispatches from far corners of American life – meets an irresistible cast of dogs and dog-obsessed humans. Denizet-Lewis and Casey hang out with wolf-dogs in Appalachia, search with a dedicated rescuer of stray dogs in Missouri, spend a full day at a kooky dog park in Manhattan, get pulled over by a K9 cop in Missouri, and visit “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan in California. And then there are the pet psychics, dog-wielding hitchhikers, and two nosy women who took their neighbor to court for allegedly failing to pick up her dog’s poop.

Travels With Casey is a delightfully idiosyncratic blend of memoir and travelogue coupled with an exploration of a dog-loving America. What does our relationship to our dogs tell us about ourselves and our values? Denizet-Lewis explores those questions-and his own canine-related curiosities and insecurities during his unforgettable road trip through our dog-loving nation. (description from publisher)

Suspect by Robert Crais

suspectScott and Maggie are new partners in the LAPD but they have a lot more than that in common – both are a mess after barely surviving brutal attacks that left their former partners dead, both suffer from severe PTSD and both are close to unfit for duty. The fact that Scott is a human and Maggie is a dog does not change that fact that they are just what the other needs in Suspect by Robert Crais.

Officer Scott James has just returned to work, still physically recovering from gunshot wounds that have forced him to give up his goal of joining the elite SWAT squad. He is haunted by memories of the night of the attack, when masked gunmen launched a surprise attack on a passing car, then turned on Scott and his partner when they tried to stop them. The cries of his dying partner calling for him as he lay helpless as his own life nearly bled out, rerun in his dreams every night. Desperate to find justice for his partner, he refuses a medical discharge and finds a position in the K-9 Unit where, he believes, he won’t have to worry letting down a partner again.

Maggie has survived three tours of Iran and Afghanistan, saving hundreds of grunts with her IED sniffing talent until a suicide bomber kills her handler and snipers nearly kill her when she refuses to stop guarding his body; the Marines are only able to drag her away by throwing a jacket over her and manhandling her into the rescuing helicopter. No longer able to serve in the military and wary and suspicious of everyone, the LAPD may be Maggie’s last chance.

Award-winning author Robert Crais  (best known for his Elvis Cole mysteries) is a master storyteller, showing how these two damaged beings fight back and help and learn from each other using language that is lean yet evocative – you can feel the heat of Los Angeles, the terror of Scott’s panic attacks, Maggie’s joy as she accepts Scott. The information about the training and deployment of police and military dogs is fascinating but never overwhelms the story and the final chapters, where Scott and Maggie work together to bring Scott’s attacker’s to justice, are tense and action-packed.

The Genius of Dogs by Brian Hare

genius of dogsBrian Hare, dog researcher, evolutionary anthropologist, and founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center offers revolutionary new insights into dog intelligence and the interior lives of our smartest pets in The Genius of Dogs.

In the past decade, we have learned more about how dogs think than in the last century. Breakthroughs in cognitive science have proven dogs have a kind of genius for getting along with people that is unique in the animal kingdom. Brian Hare’s stunning discovery is that when dogs domesticated themselves as early as 40,000 years ago they became far more like human infants than their wolf ancestors. Domestication gave dogs a whole new kind of social intelligence. This finding will change the way we think about dogs and dog training – indeed, the revolution has already begun. Hare’s seminal research has led him to work with every kind of dog from the tiniest shelter puppy to the exotic New Guinea singing dog, from his own childhood dog, Oreo, to the most fashionable schnoodle.

The Genius of Dogs is nothing less than the definitive dog book of our time by the researcher who started a revolution. (description from publisher)

Giant George by Dave Nasser

With his big blue eyes and soulful expression, George was the irresistible runt of the litter. But Dave and Christie Nasser’s “baby” ended up being almost five feet tall, seven feet long, and 245 pounds. Eager to play, and boisterous to the point of causing chaos, this big Great Dane was scared of water, scared of dogs a fraction of his size and, most of all, scared of being alone.

Giant George is the charming story of how this precocious puppy won Dave and Christie’s hearts and along the way became a doggie superstar. In 2010, George was named by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Dog in the World-ever. He appeared on Oprah, and even has his own global fan club. But to Dave and Christie, this extraordinary animal is still their beloved pet, the one who has made them laugh, made them cry, and continues to make them incredibly happy. (provided by publisher)

New Format Now Available at the Davenport Library!

Determined to provide only the best for our patrons, we search far and wide for products and services that will make your life easier, smarter, better. In light of these goals, the Davenport Public Library is pleased to announce the addition of a new format now available for check-out! Introducing – DogAways™!

DogAways™ is a fun and unique program that allows you to check out a dog. Go for a walk! Snuggle on the sofa while you watch a DVD! Chase a ball together! DogAways™ dogs will improve your health, increase your finances and help with the laundry. Dogs come in a variety of sizes – small (dachshunds, toy poodles), medium (Jack Russell  terriers, beagles) and large (labradors, Great Danes) – and can be reserved just like a book! Each dog is trained to be smarter than you. Health certificates and medical records are on file and available for viewing.

Each dog comes with its own Care Pack containing dog care tips, leash, brush, tennis ball or frisbee, 3-day supply of food, treats and multiple poop bags. Dogs are trained to bite you if you mistreat them; these dogs are picky about care so you may wish to have your doctor’s or emergency care provider’s phone number handy (but don’t expect any sympathy from us if you do get bitten). DogAways™ check out for three days with one renewal. Overdue fees for the late return of a dog is $30 a day, plus the dog will bite you so don’t be late!

The library is not responsible for any damages or personal injuries.

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Haha! Of course we’re not going to be lending out dogs from the library! April Fool! However, it’s not completely crazy – Yale Law Library lends out Monty, a “certified library therapy” dog to aid in stress reduction during finals week  (Monty can be checked out for 30 minute sessions) Therapy dogs have been used at other universities including Tufts, Oberlin College and UC Santa Barbara and the role of pets as stress-reducing has long been acknowledged. After all, anyone can use a warm, furry, non-judgemental friend!