The Company of Dogs: Twenty-One Stories by Contemporary Masters

by Michael J. Rosen

A lasting tribute to dogs and a necessary addition to every dog lover's library, this collection features stories by such accomplished contemporary writers as Ann Beattie, Ethan Morden, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Maxine Kumin. The contributors share their love for dogs not only through their marvelous stories, but by donating their profits to agencies providing care for animals.

Genres: Dogs, Animals

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Rosen's Website should provide all this and more. It's http://www.fidosopher.com.
Nonetheless: Michael J. Rosen is an American author and illustrator with over 120 books of fiction, nonfiction, humor, picture books, poetry, and more. With a strong interest in nature and animals, reflecting his animal behavior degree from Ohio State University, Rosen resides within a peaceful crease of Central Ohio with his pack of animal companions that include 2 small koi ponds he helped build on the 100 acres he shares in the foothills of the Ohio Appalachians. An avid dog lover, he was inspired by Chant, his newest Australian stumpy-tail cattle dog, which led to the creation of his newest book of fiction, The Tale of Rescue, which will be released in October 2015. With an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, Rosen also showcases his skills and talents in other projects such as The Maine Coon’s Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers (2015).

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a collection of stories, not so much about dogs themselves, but about the relationships between dogs and people. As I feared, most of the stories concern dogs aging, getting injured, and dying.
There is some beautiful writing, such as the following: "And this is what I learned about the dead: It is not always their absence that haunts us. So I still hear the clink of a chain collar against a porcelain bowl, the skittering of toenails across a wooden floor, the thump and sigh of a weary dog flopping his old bones down next to my chair...."

[Melissa Salyers · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is the worst book of dog stories ever. Who ever picked these stories either hates dogs or knows nothing about people who love dogs. It's all stories about neurotic people and there is kind of a dog somewhere in the background or the people kill the dog and are happy about it. With all the beautiful dog stories out there why did he editor choose this garbage? DO NOT READ this if you love dogs. Awful stories.

[Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really dissapointed with this book. The stories covered a lot of death, dogs dying of old age (fine, that's expected) but then a lot of owners killing (murdering) their dogs. I don't know why I kept reading it, I kept thinking that the stories would get better.

[Rena Sherwood]

DNF

I gave up at the second paragraph of the first page, it was so bad. The book collecting stories and whatever from the 1980s, begins with a pretentius and vomit-inducing quote of an entire page by Maurice Maeterlink. The print is incredibly small, so one page here equals at least ten of an average paperback.

This was after I read the Table of Contents and noted that at least three looked like it would be about dead dogs. This is the reason why, despite my deep love of dogs, I read very few books about them:

Just too fucking painful.

No stars.

EDIT: Many other reviewers have noted that most of the stories are about dogs getting abused or dying, including people who kill dogs. Why on earth would a dog lover want to read about that?

Selections:

* Untitled chunk of garbage by Maurice Maeterlink, from "On the Death of a Little Dog" which in turn is from The Double Garden.
* "A Prodigal Slice of the Heart's Pie: An Introduction" by Our Editor.
* "Seeing Eye" by Michael Martone.
* "The Complete Death of the Clown Dog" by Ethan Mordden. From Everybody Loves You. Also published under the title, "The Talking Dog of the World."
* "Dog Problems" by Antonya Nelson. From The Expendables.
* "Keats" by Elizabeth Talent. From In Constant Flight.
* "Lying Doggo" by Bobbie Anne Mason.
* "Reach for the Sky" by Jim Shephard.
* "The Immortal Dog" by Jack Matthews. From Ghostly Populations.
* "Ramsbury: A Suite of Cartoons" by Charles Barsotti.
* "At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom" by Amy Hempel. From the book of the same name.
* "Shooting Tookey" by Barbara J. Gimmick.
* "A Story of a Girl and Her Dog" by Alix Kates Shulman.
* "Victrola" by Wright Morris.
* "A Folio of Photographs" by William Wegman.
* "The Year of the Dog" by Robert Fox.
* "The Neutral Love Object" by Maxine Kumin. From Why Can't We Live Together Like Civilized Human Beings.
* "Distant Music" by Ann Beattie.
* "Where is Garland Steeples Now?" By Lee K. Abbott. From Strangers In Paradise.
* "Junhy" by Gary Gildner.
* "Chips Is Here" by David Leavitt. From A Place I've Never Been.
* "Out on the Marsh" by David Updike. From the book of the same name.
* "Going to the Dogs" by Robert Gillespie.
* "Flight" by Thomas McGuane. From To Skin a Cat.
* "The Death of the Dog and Other Rescues" by Susan Kenney. From Another Country.
* "An Afterword" by Our Editor.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR A BOOK THAT CELEBRATES OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH DOGS !
Worst piece of writing I have ever laid eyes on. From the endlessly boring and self-aggrandizing introduction, through the disgusting and sometimes horrifying stories that absolutely do NOT celebrate dogs as companions, the only good thing I can say is that I did not have to purchase this book. It should come with a strong x-rated warning on the cover, so that someone would not hand this book to a dog loving child! Hideous 'stories'; I finally chucked it after mistakenly reading 'a girl and her dog'. Really??? This belongs in a dog about dogs?

[Mitzi Brummett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not at all the kind of stories I expected! Don't bother!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a darker collection about the relationship between humans and dogs. A lot of good writing but not always a very upbeat book.

[Stacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not the book one might think based on the title. The introduction is incredibly pompous. The stories themselves are dark and can be hard to read. They are vignettes, often about how awful people can be in relation to animals. This is not the feel-good-about-pets-in-your-life one might understandably assume.

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael J. Rosen does a fine job editing books about critters.