Hello, Arkansas
by Michael Schaffer

I’m in Bentonville, Arkansas–home of a little store called Wal-Mart–to give a talk in connection with my book. I don’t actually write a whole lot about the world’s biggest realtor in One Nation Under Dog, though I do note that for all the excitement about ever-healthier lines of organic human-grade puppy meals out there, their Ol’ Roy brand of dog food is still the country’s best seller: Pet food, in its diversity, is a mirror of human food, just as pets are a mirror of America.

Anyway, Wal-Mart, like every other retailer, knows that pets are a big business–I’ve been flown here to share my book’s wisdom on the subject of how we live with pets. But as I read up on the town, I found a slew of articles noting that Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the country, and that the concentration of high-paid executives from some 2,000 firms that sell to the world’s largest retailer has created a market for the sort of upscale goods and services more associated with cosmopolitan coastal big cities. The checklist: Sushi. Aromatherapy. Gucci. And, of course: Doggie day-care.

Bubble Bo
by Michael Schaffer

How different is the life of Bo, the White House dog, from the life of your own pet? On one level, not so much. Consider this small item, reported by CNN, in which Michelle Obama elaborated to visiting third-graders about how the new puppy was fitting in.

Michelle Obama described him as “a crazy dog.” Bo “loves to chew on peoples’ feet,” she said. Mrs. Obama told a story about the night before, when Bo was apparently barking loudly in the White House residence.

“Everybody was asleep, and we hear all this barking and jumping around. The President and I came out and we thought somebody was out there. It was just Bo. And he was playing with his ball, and it was like there was another person in the house.” 

Normal, sweet, new-puppy stuff, right? Maybe for any other dog. But for a pooch who lives with the world’s most powerful man–a guy whose every move is dissected by allies, opponents, and a vast universe of kooks. Thus the nearly 200 comments about CNN’s squib of a story included this one, flagged by my pal Mary:

The dog’s behavior could be indicative of an anomaly in the environment.

The White House should be constantly monitored by an independent entity for the presence of both continuous and pulsed-beam electromagnetic radiation (EMF). The presence of microwave radiation is known to be capable of causing adverse health effects; some animals may display ill-tempered behavior in the presence of EMF. 

Pulsed-beam radiation threatens the republic! Roswell obsessives, demand answers.

Upcoming Media Events
by Michael Schaffer

On Monday morning, I’ll be taping an appearance on Bob Edwards‘ XM Satellite Radio show. Air date details TK. I spent a bunch of years of my life waking up to Edwards’ voice, so I’m particularly excited about this. Which I suppose means I should get XM, since I’d rather not wait until I’ve written another book before hearing it again.

Last week, I appeared on another XM show, Oprah and Friends, where I had a great chat with Gayle King.

Hello Canada!
by Michael Schaffer

On Saturday afternoon I’ll be on CFRB’s Ben Mercer Show. Check it out here.

Bloggy Kisses
by Michael Schaffer

A very nice comment on my book this morning from Pat at Critter Alley:

The book is well-researched, yet doesn’t come across as dreary or textbook stiff, largely due to liberal touches of humor throughout. Schaffer concludes that pets truly are a bellwether of our shifting culture, and his book does an excellent job of supporting the theory…

For me, reading “One Nation Under Dog” was better than a car ride with the window down.

Ditto, for me, reading that review. Thanks.

Happy Pet Parents Day
by Michael Schaffer

This Sunday marks America’s second annual commemoration of Pet Parents’ Day, a Hallmark-card holiday marking our newfangled relationship with our pets.

As it happens, I’m especially into Pet Parents’ Day because it represents the basic phenomenon I’m chronicling in my book: How Man’s Best Friend was promoted to America’s Fur Baby. That change underlies all the once-crazy things I write about in the book: The space-age vet technology, the impassioned legal fights about pet-death liability, the pet fashion shows and six-figure professional dog-walkers and feline accpuncture specialists and pet social networkers and pet-food nutrition activists. None of that dedication would focus on the beast who’s consigned to live in the dog house out back. For the member of the family who snoozes at the foot of our own beds? That’s another story.

You can’t have Pet Parents’ Day without considering pets as something akin to four-legged kids.  

My favorite piece of evidence of this comes from a stroll through an old pet cemetery. The oldest graves will say things like “A Loyal Servant.” Pretty soon, there’s a jump to “Man’s Best Friend.” Nowadays, chiseled on headstones or preserved on some of the many many online pet tribute websites, it’s “Mommy and Daddy Miss You,” or “My Little Girl.” The pet’s the same loveable animal as ever, of course. But my how we humans have changed.

They’re Just Not That Into You
by Michael Schaffer

“DOGGIE BOUTIQUE REGRETTABLY UNAFFECTED BY RECESSION”

It’s only a Onionesque satirical headline, but it does capture the views of one section of the population I interacted with while researching One Nation Under Dog. Highlights from the article:

While useful business across the nation are shuttered and their talented workers forced into unemployment, one doggie boutique in Chicago that specializes in organic doggie treats and homemade doggie outfits remains irksomely unscathed by the crumbling economy.

Frustratingly anathema to overall declining retail numbers, the Lincoln Park Woof Woof Dog Boutique, has, in fact, reported a rise in sales lately.

…

Prospering in the face of disappearing neighborhood convenience stores, taverns and hardware stores, the canine-fashion shop also continues to rankle the shit out of dog-less residents throughout the city.

“God damnit!” said corporate attorney Brock Damen, whose law office is around the corner from the boutique. “This slump should have, amongst other things, spelled the end of doggie-costume parties, dogs wearing sunglasses and master-pet matching outfits, but somehow it’s made it worse.”

Read the whole thing here.

Hello Dallas
by Michael Schaffer

I had a nice hour today on KERA-FM’s Think show, talking petmania with host Krys Boyd and a slew of callers. Listen to the whole thing here.

One Nation Under Dog in the Blogosphere
by Michael Schaffer

There’s a nice Q&A-cum-review of my book on the Ohmidog blog. Highlights:

As dog lit goes, this one’s worth scooping up, and not just for its accounting of excessive human behavior when it comes to dogs — from popping Prozac in our puppies, to luxury pet spas, to doggie social networking, to the dog food revolution, to spending our savings to prolong our dogs’ lives.

The book covers all that, and more, in an entertaining manner, but it’s at its best when it ventures into figuring out what’s behind the mania.

Check out the whole thing here.

And on the blog of PetsitUSA–whose rise to a full-blown profession I write about in the book–there are also some nice words. Namely:

One Nation Under Dog is insightful, funny, and eye-opening and although it’s mainly about our love affair with dogs, it’s really about any of us who absolutely adore our pets.

Thanks, guys. You had me at “insightful.”

Pet Airways
by Michael Schaffer

In my book, I profile a pet chauffeur service that ferries dogs and cats to play dates, veterinary appointments, and doggie day cares all over New York City–and the occasional vacation trip, with human family, to spots further afield. At the time, I thought it was the ultimate in the pet service industry. Too bad I was so intent on making my deadline: This summer will feature the launch of Pet Airways, whose  20-plane feet–ranging from propeller planes to Boeing 727s–will carry only animals and “pet attendants,” the stewards who cater to their airborne needs.

According to the airline’s website, introductory fares start at $149 each way–or about two times the cost of a long pet chauffeur ride. Alas, humans can’t travel with their pets–not even, jokes Michael Agger in the Washington Post, if they agree to travel in the cargo hold.