Soul of a Dog: Reflections on the Spirits of the Animals of Bedlam Farm [Paperback]

Do animals have souls? Some of our greatest thinkers—Aristotle, Plato, Thomas Aquinas—and countless animal lovers have been obsessed with this question for thousands of years. Now New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz looks for an answer. With his signature wisdom, humor, and clarity, Katz relates the stories of the animals he lives with on Bedlam Farm and finds remarkable kinships at every turn. Whether it is beloved sheepdog Rose’s brilliant and methodical herding ability, Mother the cat’s keen mousing instincts, or Izzy’s canine compassion toward hospice patients, Katz is mesmerized to see in them individual personas and sparks of self-awareness. Soul of a Dog will resonate with anyone who loves dogs, cats, or other animals—and who wonders about the spirits that animate them and the deepening hold they have on our lives.
“A lyrical yet unsentimental memoir about the bond between people and animals.”
—Chicago Tribune
Jon Katz has written eighteen books–six novels and twelve works of nonfiction–includingIzzy & Lenore, Dog Days, A Good Dog, A Dog Year, The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, The New Work of Dogs,andKatz on Dogs. A two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award, he writes columns about dogs and rural life for the online magazineSlate,and has written forThe New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, GQ,and theAKC Gazette. Katz is also a photographer, a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and co-host of the radio showDog Talkon Northeast Public Radio. He lives on Bedlam Farm in upstate New York with his dogs, sheep, steers and cow, donkeys, barn cat, irritable rooster Winston, and three hens.Chapter One


 Dogs and Souls

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons. —James Thurber

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