The $60,000 Dog: My Life with Animals
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.90 (741 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0807001910 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 264 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-08-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Slater’s husband is a born skeptic and possesses a sternly scientific view of animals as unconscious, primitive creatures, one who insists “that an animal’s worth is roughly equivalent to its edibility.” As one of her dogs, Lila, goes blind and the medical bills and monthly expenses begin to pour in, he calculates the financial burden of their canine family member and finds that Lila has cost them about $60,000, not to mention the approximately 400 pounds of feces she has deposited in their yard. She describes her intense love for the animals in her life without apology and argues, finally, that the works of Darwin and other evolutionary biologists prove that, when it comes to worth, animals are equal, and in some senses even superior, to human beings.From the Hardcover edition.. A pet raccoon, rescued from a hole in the wall, teaches her how to feel at home away from home. The two Shiba Inu puppies Slater adopts years later, against her husband’s will, grow increasingly important to her as she ages and her family begins to grow. But when Benjamin begins to suffer from chronic pain, Lauren is convinced it is Lila’s resilience and the dog’s quick adaptati
Ellen Jackson said Not buying it. I have mixed feelings about this book. It's beautifully written and quite a compelling read. My main problem is that I don't believe the author. She admits in a previous "memoir" that she's a compulsive liar. I thought I found hints of that in this book as well. In the former, she tells us that she had/has epilepsy and Munchausen syndrome and underwent an operation where the two halves of her brain were separated. Not a hint of any of that in this one which covers much of the same time. Brilliant as always Slater has a dramatic, deep, troubled and honest way of looking and remembering. Sometimes disturbing but always ridiculously readable. I gave this book to my animal adoring wife who is not a big reader and she is tearing thru it. Giving us a lot to discuss.. Much more than the title suggests From the title, I expected a light and fluffy book on dog ownership. Instead, I found a deeply moving story of the author's painful childhood and adolescence. I am surprised that this book is not getting more critical acclaim.
Slater lives and writes in Harvard, Massachusetts. Lauren Slater is the author of six books, including Welcome to My Country, Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir, Opening Skinner’s Box, the short-story collection Blue Beyond Blue, and Love Works Like This,which chronicled the agonizing decisions she made relating to her psychiatric illness and her pregnancy. . She served as the clinical and later executive director of Af
Horses and riding helped her to survive until she was sent to a foster home at 15, when a young raccoon became her next lifeline. Dogs, wasps, and bats also figure in a poetic narrative that gives the reader a melodic look into a deeply considered life. When she received a bicycle for her birthday, young Lauren began to explore the area and discovered the edge of town and then the country. --Nancy Bent . A country lane, with its animal inhabitants, became her refuge from the strangeness at home. A stint as a veterinary technician provided a brief hiatus in what she felt was a year of drudgery when a young swan, victim of an attack by a snapping turtle, was fitted with a prosthetic beak. Years later, Slater still finds the swan to be her muse. From Booklist In a thoughtful examination of a sometimes difficult life, ameliorated and often alleviated by connections with nature and animals, psychologist Slater (Welcome to My Country, 1997; Opening Skinner’s Box, 2005) shares tha