Bandit
The Heart-Warming True Story of One Dog's Rescue from Death Row
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
Employing a unique combination of psychology, philosophy, sociology, and dog training theory, Vicki Hearne recounts her experiences with Bandit, a dog deemed so dangerous that the state of Connecticut condemned him to death. Hearne rescued Bandit and was soon entrenched in a legal battle that extended well beyond his case as she fought to prove that no dog is inherently vicious. She quickly discovered the factors that contributed to Bandit's behavior and set about releasing the essentially "good dog" that lay within.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The case of a dog ordered put to death by the state of Connecticut in 1987 occasions poet, philosopher and animal trainer Hearne's ( Adam's Task) wide-ranging and brilliant discussion, equally saturated with references to Plato and dog-training theory, of such issues as justice; the role of language in perception; racism; and gender theories. Hearne describes how she retrained Bandit, a dog deemed dangerous (because it had bitten people under exceptional circumstances), and thus earned the dog's reprieve--if not the right to return it to its owner, an elderly black man inhabiting a poor urban neighborhood. Positing her ideas of animal behavior and education, she then examines the sociological dimensions of the case against Bandit, a bull dog inaccurately labeled a pit bull, demonstrating that those breeds favored by the underclass have long been demonized. The politics of disenfranchisement and the corruption inherent in do-goodism are the subjects of other noteworthy critiques in this outstanding work. Illustrations not seen by PW.
