A review by wafer
A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz
1.0
This book comes across as monetizing what amounts to an avoidable death brought about by irresponsibility and selfishness from the very beginning. I question any breeder so willing to give a person with complete border collie inexperience a problem dog like Orson.
Katz's time with Orson is described as chaotic. Katz tries a variety of expensive homeopathic remedies to alleviate Orson's neurotic behavior, and yet refuses to invest in alternatives like a specialized behaviorist.
All of the bite incidents described were completely avoidable and do not (in my opinion) justify the choice to kill Orson. After the first incident Katz made no move to try and prevent any other case from occurring. Orson's behavior is allowed only to escalate until it can't be ignored any longer.
What is it about the clueless dog people having the most popular dog books? Like "Marley and Me", Jon Katz only demonstrates complete incompetence here. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't try to tout himself as a border collie expert within the dog loving community.
And that ending with the shaman? Yeah, no. I'm sorry, but it only comes off as sentimental exploitation for a dog who didn't deserve such an early and preventable death. I don't care how tight or well-done the writing quality may be.
Katz's time with Orson is described as chaotic. Katz tries a variety of expensive homeopathic remedies to alleviate Orson's neurotic behavior, and yet refuses to invest in alternatives like a specialized behaviorist.
All of the bite incidents described were completely avoidable and do not (in my opinion) justify the choice to kill Orson. After the first incident Katz made no move to try and prevent any other case from occurring. Orson's behavior is allowed only to escalate until it can't be ignored any longer.
What is it about the clueless dog people having the most popular dog books? Like "Marley and Me", Jon Katz only demonstrates complete incompetence here. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't try to tout himself as a border collie expert within the dog loving community.
And that ending with the shaman? Yeah, no. I'm sorry, but it only comes off as sentimental exploitation for a dog who didn't deserve such an early and preventable death. I don't care how tight or well-done the writing quality may be.