Readers who appreciate life’s twists and turns will relish the quirky stories in “Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm,” a book by Jon Katz that transcends traditional memoir. It is the sixth installment of dog books from Katz, who is the author of 17 books, co-host of “Dog Talk,” a radio show on Northeast Public Radio, and a newly minted farmer who attributes his personal and professional success to his dogs.
“I thank the dogs,” says Katz. “They did it. They’ve opened a genre I love and feel like I belong in.”
Katz, whose latest book chronicles his dogs’ daily lives on the farm, is not alone.
Enter pet into an online bookstore search, and you could get 4,000 returns. In 2002, 248 books about “pets/dogs” were published, compared with 418 books in 2006, and the numbers should continue to climb, according to industry analysts.
In addition to books, a growing number of radio stations, travel agents and websites are dedicated to the health, wellness and care of pets. But Katz doesn’t read other books about dogs, which he calls sappy, and he is quick to distance himself from the so-called “dog gurus” to whom members of the “dog culture” turn for advice.
“I don’t think anybody knows a dog as well as the person who owns him,” he said. Instead, Katz writes about the effects dogs have on their people, the way in which they enrich, bedevil and love their owners and vice versa.
And when it comes to his three border collies and two Labs – one of which he shares to ensure adequate attention and exercise – Katz knows his material. In this book, however, Katz widens his lens to capture a menagerie of animals that call Bedlam Farm home.
Stories about Katz, a journalist who ditched his city life to renovate a 110-acre farm built in 1862, ring of loneliness despite full and varied days spent surrounded by a furry family. Vignettes, which read like diary entries and include snapshots of the dogs and many farm animals, share common themes: Humans and animals seek haven, a sense of fulfillment and acceptance. And they find it in different ways in upstate New York.
Since moving to the farm, Katz has created a sanctuary of sorts for animals of all shapes and sizes. One of the most unusual examples is Elvis, a 2,400- pound steer that Katz adopted when its original owner decided he could not send such a “sensitive” animal to slaughter. Elvis repays Katz’s kindness by galloping to greet and kiss him each morning at the gate.
Although readers learn about each animal’s arrival at the farm, it is the dogs that initially set this domino effect into motion. After recognizing that border collies need to herd, Katz bought sheep to graze on his land. And here the true tale begins.
A group of stories strung loosely together with a few personal tidbits about Katz, “Dog Days” has a different tone and message than its predecessors. It gives readers a glimpse into life at the farm, which has provided Katz with a sense of belonging and purpose.
“If I’ve learned anything about my identity and myself, it’s this: I’m an outsider,” writes Katz. “I don’t naturally fit in anywhere.” Yet, during a recent interview, Katz clarified, “I can’t say I always felt like I’ve belonged here, like a real farmer would, but I feel like I belong here more than I have anyplace else.”
As caretaker, Katz said he now feels comfortable telling the real farmers who ask about his odd farm, “This is a working farm. Animals are my crop. You have alfalfa; I have donkeys and dogs. I grow stories.”
Heather Grimshaw is a Denver-based freelance writer.
NONFICTION
Dog Days: Dispatches From Bedlam Farm
By Jon Katz
$23.95
