Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Richard M. Cohen – I Want To Kill the Dog (Blue Rider Press)


I want to be perfectly clear upfront; I do not hate dogs, cats or any other pets. That being said, I came to the conclusion a few years back that pet ownership is a form of mental illness!

It was the story of a women who spent tens of thousands of dollars and involved a kidney transplant for a mutt including the purchase of a pure bred, cross country airplane trips for the surgery and $1500 per month anti-rejection drugs that drove me to the conclusion. A trip to the local SPCA or shelter could have rewarded this women with a wonderful loving animal, but she chose to squander a fortune on “a member of the family.”

 

So when I started reading Richard M. Cohen’s book, I Want To Kill the Dog, I thought I had found a kindred spirit. Cohen laments that his wife, TV personality Meredith Vieira and his family allowing the family mutt, Jasper to rule the roost. It sounds like Jasper was not the first of the four-legged ruler to run the show in his house.

After being subjected to fury terrorism, Cohen clearly is in my court and not bow wowing down at the pedestal of four-legged friend worship. For him a dog is just a dog, not a member of the family.

This short, at times humorous, little book elevates the value of family with a sense of humor over that of man’s so-called best friend.

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