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| Dog Is My Co-Pilot: Great Writers on the World's Oldest Friendship | 
 enlarge | Author: Bark Editors
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $0.88
You Save: $13.12 (94%)
New (35) Used (42) Collectible (3) from $0.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 302083
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 4.8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1400050537
Dewey Decimal Number: 636
EAN: 9781400050536
ASIN: 1400050537
Publication Date: October 26, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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Product Description
Dogs have been our muses, our mentors, and our playful and noble co-pilots. They’ve had a profound influence on us as healers and spiritual guides, and also as co-workers, helping to guide, hunt, herd, search, and rescue. Our bond with dogs is deep and unbreakable, and there’s no better source a reader can turn to for a richer understanding of that complex and wonderful relationship than The Bark.
The Bark began as a newsletter in Berkeley, California, that advocated for an off-leash area where dogs could cavort and play. Within a few years it had become a full-fledged, award-winning glossy magazine that published work by some of the best writers in America today. And as it grew, the magazine embraced a much larger canvas: to cover the emerging phenomenon of “dog culture” that has been developing over the past decade, as dogs have moved out of the backyard and into our homes, communities, and, indeed, the very center of our lives. As editor Claudia Kawczynska writes, “The implications of integrating another species into society’s daily fabric go well beyond how we nurture our dogs. It calls for a revamping of the standard etiquette—respecting the concerns and interests of society at large. This new relationship, along with an appreciation for our rich and unbounded future, comprises what we call dog culture. This is what The Bark set out to chronicle.”
Dog Is My Co-Pilot is an anthology of essays, short stories, and expert commentaries that explores every aspect of our life with dogs. Fifty percent of the material here has never been published before. The book is divided into four sections: Beginnings explores that first meeting, “the initial murmurings when a dog-human relationship is formed.” Pack investigates the theme of “togetherness” and pays tribute to the dynamic of multiple personalities in the canine-human relationship. Lessons examines what dogs teach us, from love to enlightenment. The final section, Passages, reflects on the themes of true friendship, transformation, and loss.
Included are pieces by Lynda Barry, Rick Bass, Maeve Brennan, Margaret Cho, Carolyn Chute, Alice Elliott Dark, Lama Surya Das, Pam Houston, Erica Jong, Tom Junod, Caroline Knapp, Donald McCaig, Nasdijj, Ann Patchett, Michael Paterniti, Charles Siebert, Alexandra Styron, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, and Alice Walker. In selections that are humorous, poignant, truthful, sometimes surprising, and frequently uplifting, Dog Is My Co-Pilot embraces the full experience of the world’s oldest friendship. For people who love great writing and, yes, great dogs, it’s a book to be both shared and treasured.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Wonderful, thoughtful read February 8, 2008
If you love dogs, this is a must read. If you don't love dogs, you might by the end of this book. There are so many heartfelt stories. My favorite is the one about Bloodlines. Volunteering with the local animal shelter really makes you appreciate people who believe in the same things that you do.
 Dog lovers can relate to the stories in this book July 19, 2007
Most of the stories in this book "hit home" with me and I found myself saying "I've had that experience with my dog(s) - I could have written that". Some stories were a little long, just a few I found not as interesting. A good read for dog lovers.
A must read! June 26, 2007
If you are a dog lover this should be required reading it is such a great book! It is a little treasure of great writing from some of the best writers ever....I wanted this book to last forever I enjoyed it so much!
A Dog in Every Chapter January 28, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
There's a lot in this book for dog owners--namely, 42 stories on some aspect of dog. Some of the information is factual, but most has to do with relationships--dog to person and dog to dog, the former being much more prevalent. Most any dog owner would gain something of value from this book.
I like the stories from Caroline Knapp, Alice Elliott Dark, and Bonnie Jo Campbell the best. Knapp's and Dark's stories are serious and compelling. Campbell's story about her dog Roscoe, who she comes to believe is a reincarnation of her former and erstwhile fiance Oscar, is hilarious. The ties between the two are numerous. Even the dog's shortened ear (frostbite) is linked to Oscar's untimely and embarrassing demise.
My pick of three female authors should not be considered unusual in that most of the stories in this book are by females ("A dog is woman's best friend"). Most, also, are about medium- to large-sized dogs. Labs and herding dogs (blue heeler or cattle dog, Border collie, kelpie, and German shepherd) get the most ink.
If you're like me, meaning you often don't do what trainers recommend, you should find some comfort in instances where an owner didn't do what trainers recommend, and things turned out okay. Amusingly, one owner and her dog celebrated their graduation from training by going home and climbing onto the sofa, something the dog had been forbidden to do during the twelve-week training course. The story's message is two-fold: Loving your dog the way you wish is sometimes more important than rules. And since dogs are infinitely variable, what works with one may be useless or even counterproductive with the next.
Many of the owners in this book seem to have dogs who sleep with them religiously. My dogs never have. The closest I've come has been a miniature schnauzer, but even she had her limits and often baled sometime during the night. My current dog's routine, which matches that of the dog before her, is to stay with me until I stop reading and turn off the light. Then she's off to her familiar haunt--a fabric-covered chair near the front door (a nice arrangement, however, for the nights we forget to lock the front door). What these other owners have that I don't I can only wonder. Less body odor or perhaps--we're talking dog here--more?
(I'm giving the book five stars even though I found the formatting (justified, double-spaced text in two columns) at the start of each chapter irritating.)
Easy pick up August 2, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a book that is easy to carry with you and the stories are just the right length to read while waiting (for anything). I could relate to many of the stories.
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