A Small Furry Hope: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life

A Small Furry Hope: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life

by StevenKotler (Author)

Synopsis

Steven Kotler was forty years old, single, and facing an existential crisis when he met Lila, a woman devoted to animal rescue. Love me, love my dogs, was her rule, and Steven took it to heart. Spurred to move by a housing crisis in Los Angeles, Steven, Lila - and their eight dogs, then ten, then twenty, and then they lost count - bought a postage-stamp-sized farm in Chimayo, New Mexico. A Small Furry Hope chronicles their adventures at Rancho de Chihuahua, the sanctuary they created for their pack with special needs: the very old, the very sick, and, as Kotler says, the really retarded. An insider look at the culture of dog rescue, A Small Furry Prayer weaves personal experience, and scientific inquiry into a fast-paced, fun-filled narrative that explores what it means to devote one's life to the furry and the four-legged. Along the way, Kotler combs through every aspect of canine-human relations, from long human history with dogs to brand new research into the neuroscience of canine companionship, in the end discovering why living in a world made of dog may be the best way to uncover the truth about what it really means to be human.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 07 Nov 2011

ISBN 10: 1408810956
ISBN 13: 9781408810958
Book Overview: An extraordinary look at the world of dog rescue, and what dogs can teach us about how to live and love

Media Reviews
'Kotler's tale-part obsession, part inquiry, part adventure-serves up a well-rounded meal of soul-searching and psychology' * Psychology Today *
'Kotler offers a touching account of Chihuahua adventures alongside interesting blurbs on the history of pet ownership, canine ethology, the semantics of the dog-adoption process, homosexuality in nature and the intricate science behind canine domestication. A heartfelt example of humanitarianism at work' * Kirkus Reviews *
`A delightful, rich read sure to take you to unexpected places and beyond' * Bark *
Author Bio
Steven Kotler is the author of the novel The Angle Quickest for Flight, a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, and West of Jesus, a 2006 PEN West finalist. His work has appeared in the GQ, Wired, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic and elsewhere, and he writes The Playing Field, a blog about the science of sport for PsychologyToday.com. Kotler runs the Rancho de Chihuahua dog sanctuary with his wife in rural New Mexico.