Welcome Home: An Animal Rights Perspective on Living with Dogs & Cats

by Nathan J. Winograd

For the vast majority of people, the bond they share with their dog or cat companion is a familial one, born of love and mutual affection. Indeed, interspecies relationships in the world are not rare and they are relationships that humans generally celebrate as evidence of the interconnectedness and beauty of life on Earth. But according to the loudest voices in the American animal rights movement today, such relationships are incompatible with the rights of animals when one of the parties is a human being. Living with companion dogs and cats is, according to this view, a “necessary evil” at best; at worst, it is a relationship between “master” and “slave” and those animals would be better off if they did not exist at all. With the belief that the “solution” to all dog and cat suffering lies in their eventual extinction, the contemporary animal rights movement not only preaches that the lives of dogs and cats are dispensable, their deliberate elimination of no moral consequence, their disappearance from our planet no tragedy to mourn, it embraces an agenda to which no other rights-based movement in history has ever the deliberate annihilation of those it has pledged to protect.Welcome Home explores the dangers to animals posed by this misanthropic, pro-extinction position, challenging the logical fallacies, factual inaccuracies, and ethical compromises upon which it is based. In its place, Welcome Home offers an alternative animal rights philosophy, an optimistic and hopeful approach which champions the rights of dogs and cats to the many emotional, physical, and evolutionary advantages conferred by their cohabitation with humans, but, most important of all, the right to their very existence.

Genres: Dogs, Cats

119 pages, Paperback

Published June 8, 2017

About the author

Nathan J. Winograd is a graduate of Stanford Law School, a former criminal prosecutor and corporate attorney, has spoken nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, has written animal protection legislation at the state and national level, has created successful No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities, and has consulted with a wide range of animal protection groups including some of the largest and best known in the nation.

His work has been featured widely in such publications as Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, and newspapers from all over the country. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, and other radio and television affiliates around the country. His creation of the country’s first No Kill community was named one of the Top 100 achievements in the nation by Metropolitan Home in its “Best of the Best” issue. And The Bark magazine calls him “the voice of America’s displaced pets and the conscience of the animal sheltering industry.”

His book, Redemption, is the most critically acclaimed book on the topic in the United States and the winner of five national book awards. Winner of USA Book News Award for Best Book (Animals/Pets), a Best Book Muse Medallion winner by the Cat Writers Association of America, an Award of Excellence and Best Book nominee by the Dog Writers Association of America, winner of a Silver Medal from the Independent Publishers Association, and runner-up for the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Publishing, the book shatters the notion that killing animals in U.S. shelters is an act of kindness. He is also the author of Irreconcilable Differences, a collection of essays that follows up where Redemption left off and asks – and answers – the question of whether we can do better as a society when it comes to our stewardship of companion animals.

As a nationally recognized speaker, Nathan has also spoken at national animal welfare conferences from coast to coast. He has spoken internationally as well, as a guest of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and has been invited to speak as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. He has also lectured on animal sheltering ethics to students at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the nation’s number one ranked veterinary school, and has lectured at the U.C.L.A. School of Law on animal law issues.

In various leadership positions, including Director of Operations, for the San Francisco SPCA, Nathan was instrumental in advancing some of the most progressive shelter programs in the nation, and helped push the lifesaving rate to over three times the national average for an urban community and at the time, the best in the nation. As Executive Director for the Tompkins County (NY) SPCA, he managed the full range of animal control and adoption services in a rural community, including construction of a new Pet Adoption Center achieving unprecedented results. Nathan is currently the Executive Director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center.

Reviews

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book argues that dogs and cats are ok to keep as pets (in contrast to what PETA and at least one animal rights lawyer suggest).

I agreed with most of what the authors had to say (though not quite everything). Although I knew some of what PETA does (and it’s not what most people think!!!), they provided specific examples, and it’s not good. I did find that part (part 2, that focused on PETA) most interesting. Have to admit, though, that much of it read a bit like an academic paper (but I guess that tells you that there are lots of bibliographic references for what they have to say!). And they include some photos – sad photos. :-(

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and felt like it addressed a lot of questions well, with eloquent arguments for why keeping dogs and cats as members of human families is beneficial to humans and pets, and the necessity of spaying and neutering. I did have to take a star away for promotion of a vegan diet for cats, as at the end of the day even if it can be done in such a way that it meets the basic nutritional requirements (which seems very difficult and expensive) it would still mean forcing an obligate carnivore to go against their basic nature, (like trying to make a horse eat meat) which to me feels very wrong. However I did like the mention of the potential of lab grown meat and the possibility of a slaughter free meat which is a wonderful idea. I like that the book is written for all people who love cats and dogs (even if they are not vegan).

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really opened my eyes to problems with PETA of a far more serious nature than I was aware. The book is also a great defense of the human-companion animal relationship which nonetheless deals seriously with some ethical issues that arise as a result of being a human pet parent. I was interested to see that the authors of this book have been in dialogue with Jessica Pierce, author of the book “Run Spot Run.” The books are good to read alongside each other as I am having my students read selections from both in the class I am TAing for as part of our unit on companion animal ethics.

[Melissa McClelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting this to be a "PETA sucks" book... But I agree 100% with the Winograd's. Facts shed light on the truth about PETA. My animals live healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives. I would never, in a million years, think they'd be better off dead. With my experience working in an animal shelter and now as a veterinary technician, I hold even higher value to an animals life. Euthanasia is not an easy decision and for those that feel it is easy to euthanize are sick and twisted souls.