Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs |  | Author: Caroline Knapp
Publisher: Delta
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Rating:  74 reviews
Sales Rank: 83491
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0385317018
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.70887
EAN: 9780385317016
ASIN: 0385317018
Publication Date: June 8, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Caroline Knapp is head over heels in love--not with a human being, but with her mixed-breed dog, Lucille. From the moment Lucille first locked eyes with Knapp through the bars of an animal shelter cage, the intelligent, pointy-eared mutt began to transform Knapp's life. Reeling from the deaths of both her parents, a breakup with a long-term boyfriend, and her newly won sobriety after a 20-year battle with the bottle (which was skillfully chronicled in a previous memoir, Drinking: A Love Story), Knapp found in Lucille not only companionship, but "consistency, continuity, connection. In a word, love." Although she doesn't regard Lucille as a replacement for alcohol and lost loved ones, Knapp does believe "that in loving her I have had that sense of being filled anew and essentially redirected, an old identity shattered and a new one emerging in its stead." In Pack of Two Knapp, with the help of dog psychiatrists, trainers, breeders, and owners, explores the partnership between human and dog and the mysteries of the canine mind--how dogs love, how they think, and how they see human beings. And despite her findings that the dog will remain essentially "mysterious ... unknowable," Knapp is ultimately at peace with this, still devouring the moments when dog and human can "transcend the language barrier" to "understand what the other wants and feels." This book pays homage to the wonderful and complex relationship between one woman and her dog. --Naomi Gesinger
Product Description
At the age of 36, Caroline Knapp, author of the acclaimed bestseller Drinking:A Love Story, found herself confronted with a monumental task: redefining her world. She had faced the loss of both her parents, given up a twenty-year relationship with alcohol, and, as she writes, "I was wandering around in a haze of uncertainty, blinking up at the biggest questions: Who am I without parents and without alcohol? How to form attachments, and where to find comfort, in the face of such daunting vulnerability?" An answer materialized in the most unlikely form: that of a dog. Eighteen months to the day after she quit drinking, Knapp stumbled upon an eight-week-old puppy at a local animal shelter, took her home, and named her Lucille. Now two years old, Lucille has become a central force in Knapp's life: "In her," she writes, "I have found solace, joy, a bridge to the world."
Caroline Knapp has been celebrated as much for her fresh insight into emotional and psychological issues as she has been for her gifts as a writer. In Pack of Two, she brings the same perception and talent to bear on the rich, complicated terrain of human-animal relationships. In addition to mining her own experience with Lucille, Knapp speaks to a wide variety of dog people--from animal behaviorists and psychologists to other owners whose dogs have deeply affected their lives--about this emotionally complex, sometimes daunting, often profoundly healing alliance. Throughout, she explores the shift in canine roles from working partners to intimate companions and looks, too, at how this new kinship, this wordless bond, becomes a template for what we most desire ourselves.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 74
 Best Book I Ever Read November 4, 2008
smilingscotty.com
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been owned by Scottish Terriers for over 30 years. One in particular, An'GUS, was my Scottie soulmate. I was lucky enough to read Carolyn Knapp's book during his lifetime. Carolyn's book describes what it means to have one particular dog as a soulmate. There is no bond like that kind of bond. Every day with that specific dog is like Christmas morning. If you are owned by a dog who seems more special than all others -- please read this book. It will lift your spirits, and remind you to treasure every moment you have with your soulmate. No matter what 'people' may say or think, it is o.k. to love a dog with all your heart. Few people love dogs that profoundly. Carolyn Knapp did, and I'm sorry that she left us so soon.
 Very well written July 28, 2008
G. Stucco (usa)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was delighted to read this wonderful book about our relationships with dogs. Caroline tries to distance herself from over-attachment to and anthropomorphic views (dogs as "furry people") of our canine companions, all the while remaining firmly entrenched in the camp of those who are perfectly content to live alone, single and devoted to their dogs.She reaches the agnostic and very realistic conclusion that we do not and probably never will know how and what dogs feel and think about us humans, though occasionally it seems possible to build a bridge between our two worlds. I highly recommend the book to dog owners (as well as "For the Love of A Dog" by Patricia McConnell) and commend it for its delightful sense of humor, elegant prose and valuable insights. I was also very saddened to learn a couple of weeks ago about her death due to lung cancer in 2002. Caroline died in the presence of her beloved dog Lucille (I wonder what ever happened to her) and new husband Mark.
Best Memoir February 23, 2008
Born to Read (Eastern USA)
This is the best memoir an animal lover, dogs especially, will ever read. Have no fear; there is no sad ending here, only an in-depth investigation and revelation of the unique and beautiful relationships we have with the dogs and other pets in our lives.
If you want to know more about the why and how behind these incredible and often (as was the case in Knapp's book) live-saving relationships read the book shown below. I enjoyed it, too, and it provides some surprising insights and valuable, usable information from. It discusses the origin and comprehensive nature of our relationships with animals, providing scientifically sound information on the love we share and the roles we play in each other's lives: The Powerful Bond between People and Pets: Our Boundless Connections to Companion Animals (Practical and Applied Psychology)
One of the best dog memoirs ever! June 5, 2007
Jane May, author of HOOKED and DOGGY STYLE (New York City)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Before Marley there was Lucille. This is a funny, informative memoir which will, alas, will empty your tear ducts. Knapp was a terrific writer and what a tragedy it is to have lost her. Especially at such a young age.
go, fetch!!!! immediatly!!! March 5, 2007
GUSTAVO PRADO RGUEZ (Mexico City (D.F), D.F. Mexico)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
maybe like some people here says this is not a book about training, in the kind of manual to accomplish your dog to do some stuff; neither is the kind of book like the Konrad Lorenz, 'When the man find the dog' or like Desmond Morris about the same theme. And one has to be thankful for it. This book is about the core of the relation, the love and the bond, you can have with your dog. Maybe something not easily understood to the non-dog passerby, nevertheless for us the dog lovers is a tender colection of ideas and reflections on the subject. Even so, there is a research behind it, and some hard facts coming with a decent book list at the end. If sometimes lacks of discipline like some other person says here, well, i really like my love affairs without boot camp, laws and restriction, and even when my dog is perfectly trained, I really like to spoil myself letting me love her without boundaries and restraint, she fills every aspect of my life, and she makes me... human. Long live to Caroline Knapp, and now she is not here anymore, lets laugh and cry with she and lucille, and share that perfect aeternal bond with our dogs. ...And yes my dog is lying here in my bed, quite undisciplined but warm and perfect... if anyone complains, I would not change my bed with 'Amelia' for any human of any form whatsoever.... guau guau guau
Showing reviews 1-5 of 74
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