As a child of 3 or 4, my favorite book in all the world was a book about a dog: Five Beds for Bitsy: A Puppy Grows Up by Ian Munn with illustrations by Elizabeth Webb (Rand McNally, 1950). For a period of time I read this book every day, and I was convinced – perhaps I still am convinced -- that there could never be a better tale than this story of a dog who -- much to his owners' surprise -- kept outgrowing his bed.
Since the mid-1800s, dog lovers have read, collected and cherished dog books: stories about dogs, how-to books about dogs, picture books about dogs, breed and training manuals, and adventure tales featuring hero dogs in hair-raising situations. A number of private presses, like the Derrydale Press founded in 1927, have specialized in fine dog books in limited editions. Some Derrydale imprints from the 1930s are now among the most valuable and sought-after of all dog books.
The reason that I'm thinking about books about dogs this week is that we have just lost our faithful 'book-shop dog,' Bailey.' Bailey, a Golden Retriever plus Something-Else, had had a rough start in life. But when we got him from a breed rescue group he immediately began to flourish, and for more than 12 years was a funny, loyal, gentle companion. Whenever you take on a pet, you sign up for inevitable heartbreak. The lives of our companion animals are relatively short, and at the end we promise to do for them the last, best service we can offer: to relieve them of suffering. But the day that you have to do that is always a sad sad day.
Since the mid-1800s, dog lovers have read, collected and cherished dog books: stories about dogs, how-to books about dogs, picture books about dogs, breed and training manuals, and adventure tales featuring hero dogs in hair-raising situations. A number of private presses, like the Derrydale Press founded in 1927, have specialized in fine dog books in limited editions. Some Derrydale imprints from the 1930s are now among the most valuable and sought-after of all dog books.
The reason that I'm thinking about books about dogs this week is that we have just lost our faithful 'book-shop dog,' Bailey.' Bailey, a Golden Retriever plus Something-Else, had had a rough start in life. But when we got him from a breed rescue group he immediately began to flourish, and for more than 12 years was a funny, loyal, gentle companion. Whenever you take on a pet, you sign up for inevitable heartbreak. The lives of our companion animals are relatively short, and at the end we promise to do for them the last, best service we can offer: to relieve them of suffering. But the day that you have to do that is always a sad sad day.
Some of the very best of the classic dog illustrators seem to capture that bittersweet experience of owning and loving dogs. During the classic period of dog illustration between 1890 and 1935, artists like Cecil Alden, Marguerite Kirmse, Lucy Dawson, Reuben Ward Binks, Leon Danchin, and Frederick Morgan spent their working lives bringing the dog-human relationship to life. (For a good list of celebrated dog artists, see the list at DogCrazy Books: http://dogcrazybooks.com/page50/page50.html)
And of course there are many modern writers who have a lively sense of the bond between canine and human: Jon Katz and his border collies, Larry Levin and his Argentine Dogo, Stanley Coren and his terrier, William Wegman and his Weimaraners. But in the present circumstance I return to that tiny treasure of a book by Sharon Creech, Love that Dog (HarperCollins, 2001), in which the joy and sadness of loving and losing a dog is brought to life. And Mark Doty's Dog Years (Harper, 2007)
never fails to bring tears of recognition.
I remember years ago in a German cemetery standing over a small gravestone, old and weathered, and inscribed with words from the theologian Martin Luther: "Fear not, little dog, for in heaven you will have a tail of gold." So, rest in peace, our Bailey. Your epitaph is the two words you treasured most: "Good dog!"
never fails to bring tears of recognition.
I remember years ago in a German cemetery standing over a small gravestone, old and weathered, and inscribed with words from the theologian Martin Luther: "Fear not, little dog, for in heaven you will have a tail of gold." So, rest in peace, our Bailey. Your epitaph is the two words you treasured most: "Good dog!"
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