A Small Furry Prayer
Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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-size farm in Chimayo, New Mexico. A Small Furry Prayer chronicles their adventures at Rancho de Chihuahua, the sanctuary they created for their special needs pack.
While
dog rescue is one of the largest underground movements in America, it
is also one of the least understood. An insider look at the "cult and
culture" of dog rescue, A Small Furry Prayer weaves personal
experience, cultural investigation, 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 humans' long
history with dogs through 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kotler (West of Jesus), owner of Rancho de Chihuahua, an organization that treats dogs with special needs, offers a joyous, almost spiritual chronicle of his journey from L.A. based apartment dweller to owner of a dog sanctuary in New Mexico. He introduces readers to Leo, a destined-to-be-euthanized German shepherd who becomes his first rescue; Gidget, a dancing dog with mange and epilepsy; and Ahab, who appears to contemplate suicide while balanced on a three-story ledge. Kotler lays bare the challenges he and his wife face as their brood grows and his attachment to his pack grows: he suffers separation anxiety on an out-of-town trip and is devastated when placing rehabilitated dogs in loving homes. His nurturing is returned ten-fold when a rescue saves his life and, when he is taken ill, a dog vomits in his mouth to as he believes nourish him. Brimming with humor, gratitude, and grace, this is a remarkable story.
