Jon Katz writes about dogs and human interaction with pets, both in non-fiction books (Katz on Dogs; The New Work Of Dogs) and for web sites like Slate.com. He is probably most well-known for his memoirs of his own experiences with his own dogs, particularly his border collies.
Katz moved from suburban New Jersey to a farm in way upstate New York (near the Vermont border) in order to train his border collies to herd sheep. Along the way he also takes in donkeys, a cow and a steer, a barn cat, a rooster, some chickens…etc. The place becomes known as Bedlam Farm.
His first memoir about life on the farm (The Dogs of Bedlam Farm) was a fish out of water comedy, but more profoundly a meditation on dog training, and just who exactly was being trained. Katz wrote lovingly of his dogs, but also unsentimentally about the flaws and foibles of his own life and personality that he was forced to confront and correct if he was to realize his ideals about the “proper work” for both dogs and humans.
Dog Days: Dispatches From Bedlam Farm finds Katz much more comfortable in his role on the farm, filled with lovely stories about his animals and his everyday life, a life he now finds much more normal than that of suburban New Jersey. This memoir is more a meditation on aging and the need that both animals and humans have for friendship.
Katz, as well as several of his animals, develop health issues that test their physical limits. Katz is forced to hire a person to help with some of the more physical chores that must be done to keep the farm running and care for the animals. He also has hired local people to help restore some of his barns and of course relies on a host of professionals for animal care: vets, farriers, sheep shearers even a donkey psychic! He discusses how this group of local people have come to accept him and his eccentricities and how these friendships have improved his life on the farm.
Two anecdotes about aging stand out in the book. While attending physical therapy for his ailments, Katz brings along his Labrador Pearl, also a veteran of many surgeries and limited mobility. They befriend an elderly women with serious ailments and the woman and dog bond instantly. Katz even visits the woman in her home, learning how she had created a support network that allowed her to live alone in her isolated farmhouse, but how fragile that network really is.
Secondly, he receives a note from an elderly woman living nearby who asked if she and her small group of women friends could visit the farm they had all read about. She assured Katz that they were a “quiet group.” The five friends got together each year and had for about thirty years. The group started out as married couples living close together, but through the years they had all been widowed and had moved away. However, the group of women still got together every year to celebrate their friendship and to have an adventure.
Katz was charmed by their visit and even remarked approvingly that they weren’t all that quiet. As the day wore on he noticed how the women were getting older, and in fact one friend missed the event because of a medical procedure. He wondered how much longer this group could continue, but was also amazed at the strength of their bond, something that he envied because he noted that men don’t seem to have this capacity for sustained friendship and the ability to support one another emotionally.
Anyway, buy the book for the dogs, get everything else as a bonus. Only one complaint–too damn short. Jon Katz’s memoirs are amazing.
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