What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner » (Reprint)

Emily Yoffe is a contributing writer to Slate.com, and a widely published journalist. She has written for Esquire, Health, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Newsweek, O magazine, among many others. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and daughter and their beagle Sasha.

A playful look at all things dog.

Emily Yoffe never thought she'd find herself extracting her bra strap from a dog's rear end; in fact, she never thought she'd have a dog at all. This cat devotee was in for some unexpected surprises when she took in a neurotic rescued beagle named Sasha to satisfy her daughter's desire for a dog.

What the Dog Did chronicles Yoffe's journey from cat person to dog lover. The transformation begins with consternation and culminates with real affection: she becomes a foster mother to a series of homeless beagles; she studies (without success) to be a pet psychic; she visits the Department of Homeland Security to watch sausage- and incendiary device-sniffing canines in action. Everyone who has ever owned a dog, has a story to tell and Emily unwittingly becomes the repository for modern-day dog lore. Filled with adventures of heroic dogs, lovable and lazy dogs, malodorous dogs, phlegmatic and incontinent dogs, What the Dog Did delivers some of the most outlandish and certainly the funniest dog stories on record. But at its heart, What the Dog Did tells the story of how Yoffe's family turned Sasha, the skittish stray, into a wonderful pet-and how Sasha transformed Yoffe into a dog-lover for life.

Winner of the 2005 General Interest Dog Book of the Year from the Dog Writers' Association of America

Publishers Weekly

Journalist Yoffe recalls her entry into urban dog ownership-a life experience this former "cat person" thought she could avoid-in this witty memoir. Yielding to immense pressure from her husband and young daughter, Yoffe finds herself the main caretaker of a rather high-maintenance, rescued beagle, Sasha. Like most books in the pet genre, this one is cute; unlike many, it's not precious. Yoffe relates amusing tales of bodily functions gone awry and house-training incidents (beagles are notorious for having difficulty in this area), as well as vivid recollections of Sasha's behavioral training. She also includes tidbits from people she's met at dog classes and competitions. "[A]lmost everyone I knew with a dog had a story. Maybe companionship and someone to lick your feet isn't what really motivates people to have dogs. Maybe being able to tell dog stories is." Yoffe fleshes out her anecdotes with fun facts about canines, on such things as the evolution from wolf to dog and the fatality of a dog bite. Not surprisingly, Yoffe eventually becomes a true dog lover, and Sasha becomes just the first in a series of beagle orphans to traipse through the author's home. Agent, David McCormick. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.