What do you think?
Rate this book
Old Dog: A Traveler's Tale
Old Dog is an elderly rescue dog with extraordinary insight, and an urgent message for humankind.
As his current caretaker works on various writing projects, Old Dog reminisces about his own his joyful youth, bleak years chained to a porch rail, a heartrending abandonment on a remote highway, life among the homeless, a formal education by a woman struggling with mental illness, his time with a pack of feral dogs, his capture and confinement in a pound, and his eleventh-hour rescue by the writer. While recounting these events, Old Dog reflects on what it means to be a dog—and, along the way, what it means for humans to be entangled in the web of an all-consuming civilization.
Old Dog takes us on a journey into the very heart of the human condition, highlighting the mismatch between modern life and our evolved expectations as a foraging species. Destruction of the natural world, loss of authentic connection with each other, crushing dependence on technology, the outsourcing of morality—these problems are all consequences of a civilized lifestyle that we were never meant to live.
And the answers, according to Old Dog, are staring us right in the face.
As his current caretaker works on various writing projects, Old Dog reminisces about his own his joyful youth, bleak years chained to a porch rail, a heartrending abandonment on a remote highway, life among the homeless, a formal education by a woman struggling with mental illness, his time with a pack of feral dogs, his capture and confinement in a pound, and his eleventh-hour rescue by the writer. While recounting these events, Old Dog reflects on what it means to be a dog—and, along the way, what it means for humans to be entangled in the web of an all-consuming civilization.
Old Dog takes us on a journey into the very heart of the human condition, highlighting the mismatch between modern life and our evolved expectations as a foraging species. Destruction of the natural world, loss of authentic connection with each other, crushing dependence on technology, the outsourcing of morality—these problems are all consequences of a civilized lifestyle that we were never meant to live.
And the answers, according to Old Dog, are staring us right in the face.
232 pages, Paperback
Published February 28, 2022
About the author
Mark Seely
8 books3 followersMark Seely is a writer, social critic, professional educator, and cognitive psychologist. His book, Stones: Meditations on Human Authenticity, from Big Table Publishing, won a National Indie Excellence Award. His essays have appeared in Fifth Estate Magazine, Free Inquiry, Sky Island Journal, and Snowy Egret. He has also published numerous pieces in From the Edge of the Prairie, an annual publication showcasing poets and authors in Northwest Indiana. He was formerly Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology at Saint Joseph's College, Indiana, where he taught statistics, a wide variety of psychology courses, and an interdisciplinary course on human biological and cultural evolution. His hobbies include hiking, tending a four-season organic garden, and playing the mandolin (from Bach to bluegrass). Originally from Spokane, he now resides in Lynnwood, Washington, and serves on the faculty of Edmonds Community College.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.