[Note from Sarah: A bit of departure from the normal for a review of a book I recently received for free, so that I could review it (yay, free things! I feel like a celebrity getting a gift bag when I get free things). If you want to send me something to review, drop me an email (travelswithchoppy@gmail.com) and I will let you know if I think I have the time/inclination to do so, and let you know where to send it, as I am on the road and it may be easiest to send it to me somewhere along the route)]
So, here’s the thing about dog books: the dog almost always dies in the end (and I end up crying). Such was the case with Ted Kerasote’s book about his dog, Merle, in Merle's Door. That’s said, Merle’s Door was a wonderful story about a man and his dog (though, really, I tend to think that about nearly all stories about people and their dogs).
Kerasote’s latest book, Pukka's Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs, (spoiler alert, but a good one!) bucks the dead dog trend, by ending without the main dog character dying.
That said, if you’ve read Merle’s Door, Pukka’s Promise is a bit of a departure from that book of Kerasote’s, as Merle’s Door focuses not on a relationship between a person and a dog (though the relationship between Kerasote and his new dog, Pukka, figures prominently in the book), but on the science (or lack thereof) regarding how to make your dog live the longest, healthiest life possible. So, if you’re looking for a story about a man and his dog, I would definitely go for Merle’s Door; however, if you are looking to get a dog and want a general background on potential ways to get a dog with whom you will have as much time as possible, or want to see what science does (or does not) exist with regard to helping the dog you already have live a longer, healthier life, Pukka’s Promise may be a book you would want to read (though, as with any book that deals with topics that may be controversial (read: pretty much anything and everything related to dogs – if you want an example of the craziness that comes with anything related to dogs, just think of Best in Show), I am sure others would disagree entirely with the value of this/any book that doesn’t entirely comport with his or her own views).
Much of Pukka’s Promise is devoted to topics like what Kerasote sees as the ideal diet for your dog based on the surprisingly little research on this topic that exists (hint: unless you are rich/willing to only eat ramen for the rest of your own life while you watch your dog feast, you probably can’t afford his ideal diet for your dog) and the strange (and sometimes horrific) ways that dog breeds have evolved to where they are today, which often affects their life span and/or quality of life. Personally, I found one of the latter portions of the book most fascinating: the information on dog shelters and how those shelters operate, probably because the dog I grew up with (the infamous Sundance, subject of future blog posts, I am sure) and Choppy both came from shelters.
As I hinted at before, though, sometimes the advice in Pukka’s Promise is unrealistic for your average person, such as the advice on your dog’s diet. That said, Kerasote seems to (reluctantly) realize that we aren’t all able to feed our dogs a diet that costs $2500 a year, and even notes that dogs regularly live to extended ages on what he would consider a non-ideal diet. And so, what could devote into an entirely preachy topic does not entirely do so.
That said, I think everyone who loves dogs would come away from Pukka’s Promise having learned something valuable that they can use to help their own dog live a healthier (and hopefully longer) life (or at least use it to validate the choices you have already made for your dog). I can’t imagine anyone does not want his or her dog to live as long of a life as possible, and this book provides a great deal of background in the science that exists with regard to canine longevity – and the ways you can increase your own dog’s longevity.
Travels with Choppy 