The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company. - Review - book review

Animals, Sept, 2000 by Laura Ten Eyck

The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company. By Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. 256 pages. Simon & Schuster. $24 hardcover.

"How was it that in New Hampshire, dogs, cats, birds and people could gather together in a kitchen preparing to eat meals that did not consist of each other?" ruminates Elizabeth Marshall Thomas as she readies her pets' dinner. Her latest book--a sequel to her best-selling Hidden Life of Dogs-answers through observations on the complex dynamics of her multispecies household.

Tales of her brood are likely to move readers to laughter and tears. There is the noble and excruciatingly intelligent Sundog. Next comes Misty, a dysfunctional Belgian sheepdog rescued from a puppyhood spent confined in a crate, followed by Pearl, a staunch Australian shepherd-chow cross with a body like a tank and a personality to match. Ruby, a small German shepherd mix, is a reformed cat and chicken killer, and Sheilah, a scrappy, rehabilitated Australian cattle dog stray missing half her tail, brings up the rear.

Instead of forming a self-contained pack, these dogs integrate as individuals with a diverse tribe of cats, several strong-willed parrots, and a few humans in a flux of closely allied subgroups.

Thomas meshes musings on their deeds with recollections of time spent studying wild wolves on Baffin Island and the relationship between Kalahari Bushmen and hyenas, jackals, and their pariah dogs. Throw in the author's intriguing speculation on extrasensory communication between people and their pets, and you have a heady brew.

The relationships of animals, Thomas notes, "often involve us, people, but are by no means always determined by us. Sometimes we seem to be the controlling factor and sometimes we seem to be the pawns."

Thomas refers to Clever Hans, a German horse purported to show an understanding of mathematics by tapping out values to complex formulas with his hoof. It was later proved the horse had no mathematical ability; he was simply reading the subtle signals, given unwittingly by his human observers, of when the correct number had been reached. Although his name is now linked with the term "hoax" and often mentioned by scientists who allege animals lack consciousness, Thomas describes Hans as a proficient observer of animal (i.e., human) behavior.

In the end, this is a book about the powers of perception--both human and animal. Perhaps Thomas's strongest asset is her willingness to take the time to notice those small yet telling details--a trait often lost in today's distracted society.

Laura Ten Eyck is a freelance writer based in Altamont, New York.