Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | 636.7 DEN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 636.7 DEN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | 636.7 DEN | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A moody Labrador and his insecure human take a funny, touching cross-country RV trip into the heart of America's relationship with dogs.
"I don't think my dog likes me very much," New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two states, and 13,000 miles in a rented motor home, Denizet-Lewis and his canine companion attempt to pay tribute to the most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world.
On the way, Denizet-Lewis--known for his deeply reported dispatches from far corners of American life--meets an irresistible cast of dogs and dog-obsessed humans. Denizet-Lewis and Casey hang out with wolf-dogs in Appalachia, search with a dedicated rescuer of stray dogs in Missouri, spend a full day at a kooky dog park in Manhattan, get pulled over by a K9 cop in Missouri, and visit "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan in California. And then there are the pet psychics, dog-wielding hitchhikers, and two nosy women who took their neighbor to court for allegedly failing to pick up her dog's poop.
Travels With Casey is a delightfully idiosyncratic blend of memoir and travelogue coupled with an exploration of a dog-loving America. What does our relationship to our dogs tell us about ourselves and our values? Denizet-Lewis explores those questions--and his own canine-related curiosities and insecurities--during his unforgettable road trip through our dog-loving nation.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
New York Times Magazine writer Denizet-Lewis spent four months driving around America with his Labrador mix Casey to paint a portrait of Americans and their love affair with dogs. The result is an engaging account that covers the gamut, from aggressive dog owners at an NYC dog park, ruminations on how dogs get their names (a surprising number are named after Grateful Dead songs), San Franciscans who practice yoga alongside their dogs, and the curious Black Dog Syndrome, which makes it much harder for black dogs to get adopted from shelters. It's not all sweet anecdotes and wagging tales: Denizet-Lewis has some hard questions for Ingrid Newkirk, head of PETA, regarding their high number of euthanizations, and his account of time spent in the euthanasia room at a shelter in Texas is rough going, but these and other stories are part of the picture as well, and each of Denizet-Lewis's subjects are treated with compassion. Comparisons to John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley are obvious, but this is an entirely different and equally rewarding piece of work that expands with each page without losing its narrative thread or the reader's interest. Agent: Todd Shuster, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Worried that his dog, Casey, a mixed Labrador and golden retriever, didn't like him and might be happier with someone else, Denizet-Lewis sought the advice of a psychologist before taking a scheduled cross-country journey. He and Casey traveled for four months through 32 states in a rented motor home to explore the close relationship between humans and dogs. The U.S. has the highest rate of dog ownership in the world, and Denizet-Lewis wanted to find out what the relationship says about American culture and values. They traveled from Manhattan to the desert, visited dog ranches and dog parks, and practiced doga (dog yoga) on the beach. They met dogs engaged in therapy, police work, racing, farm work, and hunting as well as shelter dogs, stray dogs, celebrity dogs, and those engaged in just being a regular, family dog. As to the human part of the equation, Denizet-Lewis talked to dog rescuers, walkers, healers, haters, photographers, and psychics as well as regular-dog owners. The result is a thoroughly engaging and often hilarious investigation of the therapeutic nature of our relationships with dogs.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
In 1960, John Steinbeck set out in a truck and camper with his poodle, Charley, on a (possibly embellished) road trip in search of America. Half a century later, the journalist Denizet-Lewis, a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, sets out in a lumbering motor home he calls "the Chalet" with his Labrador mix, Casey, on a four-month journey around the country. On the surface, Denizet-Lewis wants to learn more about dog culture in America by meeting scores of dogs and "dog-obsessed humans" and piecing together what our growing dependence on our pets says about us as a society. Really, though, he's hoping to strengthen his relationship with Casey, who the author fears might not love him as much as he hopes. As an entertaining, somewhat whimsical glimpse into life with dogs in the 21st century, the story covers a tremendous amount of ground, literally and figuratively. Denizet-Lewis travels through 32 states on an itinerary that takes him from the Westminster Kennel Club's famous dog show in New York City to the controversial television personality Cesar Millan's Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles and beyond, with stops along the way to meet dog photographers, dog rescuers and even dog psychics, not to mention shelter workers, cowboys and dog-loving writers like Amy Hempel. Denizet-Lewis is warm, often hilarious company, and he does an impressive job of wrangling enough research to put his encounters into meaningful context. At times, however, the breadth of the author's project weakens his overall narrative. There are so many characters in so many places that a number of them blend together. At other points, Denizet-Lewis accepts claims based on shaky science too credulously. His visit to a Maryland animal shelter to explore "Black Dog Syndrome" (the belief that dogs with darker coats are passed over for adoption), for example, ends without any mention of the several recent studies that challenge the theory. But those minor flaws shouldn't deter dog-lovers from hitching a ride across America with Casey and his owner. There's much to celebrate along the way.
Kirkus Review
Man and dog take to the road.Hoping to "celebrate the breadth of human-dog relationships in contemporary life," journalist Denizet-Lewis (Writing and Publishing/Emerson Coll.; American Voyeur: Dispatches from the Far Reaches of Modern Life, 2010, etc.) chronicles a four-month trip with his Labrador mix, Casey. In a small RV, the two traveled from Provincetown, Rhode Island, to Florida, across the South, through the Midwest to California and back. Along the way, Denizet-Lewis met show dogs and strays, police dogs and pampered pets, and he visited with dog rescuers, trainers, groomers, whisperers, masseurs, photographers and healers. He talked with people suffering from cynophobia (fear of dogs) and others who claimed they could communicate with dogs and translate their messages to humans. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the author visited with dog-loving writer Amy Hempel, who advocates for shelter dogs and pit bulls, which are rarely adopted. Shelter workers tell him that black dogs, also, are hard to place. "Many people subconsciously overlook them," one shelter worker told Denizet-Lewis, a phenomenon she calls Black Dog Syndrome. The author's saddest encounter with dogs occurred on a Navajo reservation, where strays abound, and teenagers run over dogs just for sport. From there, Denizet-Lewis left with a new companion, whom he named Rezzy. In North Carolina, he met Rob, an owner of wolfdogs, a combination of wolf and, in this case, Husky. Rob told him that wolves "are shy and misunderstood," "independent" and "smart as hell," although they are not affectionate. Unconditional love, though, is what most dog owners desire. The author discovered that whether dogs are capable of love is a subject of much controversy. Some neuroscientists argue that canines do feel love; others think dogs are interested more in treats than in human companionship.With Americans owning more dogs than any other country in the world, this sprightly, entertaining travelogue should find a delighted readership. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Starred Review. For four months, Denziet-Lewis and Casey, his Labrador mix, travel through 32 states and cover 13,000 miles, exploring the "most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world" and "meet[ing] an irresistible cast of dogs and dog-obsessed humans." En route, the author encounters dogs who are the object of custody battles; a high school teacher-turned-canine massage therapist, and homeless people and their pups. Denziet-Lewis is a natural storyteller. Sometimes, the stories are funny and quirky, but often they are heart-wrenching, referencing abuse, abandonment, and kill shelters. (LJ 8/14) (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Author's Note | p. ix |
| Prologue | p. 1 |
| Part 1 | |
| 1 In which Casey hates the RV | p. 15 |
| 2 In which dog-loving humans (okay, New Yorkers) behave badly | p. 51 |
| 3 In which Casey and I encounter cats, cows, PETA, and the "dog-poop lady" | p. 81 |
| 4 In which I drive down Hillbilly Circle, up Wit's End Way, and past Hell for Certain Road | p. 113 |
| 5 In which Florida isn't nearly as awful as I expected it to be | p. 136 |
| Part 2 | |
| 6 In which I cry over dogs in West Texas, hire a bed bug exterminator in New Mexico, and meet gay cowboys in Colorado | p. 167 |
| 7 In which Casey gets a little sister | p. 199 |
| 8 In which I hang out with Cesar Millan, homeless teenagers, and my former middle school English teacher turner dog masseur | p. 226 |
| 9 In which we hightail it home, with some heartbreak along the way | p. 259 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 307 |
| Notes | p. 311 |
| Index | p. 325 |
