Travels with Casey

May 19, 2014
New York Times Magazine writer Denizet-Lewis spent four months driving around America with his Labrador mix Casey to paint a portrait of Americans and their love affair with dogs. The result is an engaging account that covers the gamut, from aggressive dog owners at an NYC dog park, ruminations on how dogs get their names (a surprising number are named after Grateful Dead songs), San Franciscans who practice yoga alongside their dogs, and the curious Black Dog Syndrome, which makes it much harder for black dogs to get adopted from shelters. It’s not all sweet anecdotes and wagging tales: Denizet-Lewis has some hard questions for Ingrid Newkirk, head of PETA, regarding their high number of euthanizations, and his account of time spent in the euthanasia room at a shelter in Texas is rough going, but these and other stories are part of the picture as well, and each of Denizet-Lewis’s subjects are treated with compassion. Comparisons to John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley are obvious, but this is an entirely different and equally rewarding piece of work that expands with each page without losing its narrative thread or the reader’s interest. Agent: Todd Shuster, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary.

June 1, 2014
Man and dog take to the road.Hoping to "celebrate the breadth of human-dog relationships in contemporary life," journalist Denizet-Lewis (Writing and Publishing/Emerson Coll.; American Voyeur: Dispatches from the Far Reaches of Modern Life, 2010, etc.) chronicles a four-month trip with his Labrador mix, Casey. In a small RV, the two traveled from Provincetown, Rhode Island, to Florida, across the South, through the Midwest to California and back. Along the way, Denizet-Lewis met show dogs and strays, police dogs and pampered pets, and he visited with dog rescuers, trainers, groomers, whisperers, masseurs, photographers and healers. He talked with people suffering from cynophobia (fear of dogs) and others who claimed they could communicate with dogs and translate their messages to humans. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the author visited with dog-loving writer Amy Hempel, who advocates for shelter dogs and pit bulls, which are rarely adopted. Shelter workers tell him that black dogs, also, are hard to place. "Many people subconsciously overlook them," one shelter worker told Denizet-Lewis, a phenomenon she calls Black Dog Syndrome. The author's saddest encounter with dogs occurred on a Navajo reservation, where strays abound, and teenagers run over dogs just for sport. From there, Denizet-Lewis left with a new companion, whom he named Rezzy. In North Carolina, he met Rob, an owner of wolfdogs, a combination of wolf and, in this case, Husky. Rob told him that wolves "are shy and misunderstood," "independent" and "smart as hell," although they are not affectionate. Unconditional love, though, is what most dog owners desire. The author discovered that whether dogs are capable of love is a subject of much controversy. Some neuroscientists argue that canines do feel love; others think dogs are interested more in treats than in human companionship.With Americans owning more dogs than any other country in the world, this sprightly, entertaining travelogue should find a delighted readership.

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Starred review from August 1, 2014

While this book's title conjures up John Steinbeck's enduring Travels with Charley, the resemblance is only in passing. New York Times Magazine writer Denizet-Lewis (writing and publishing, Emerson Coll.) was concerned that his lab mix, Casey, just didn't like him very much. So the author conceived of a book idea whereby he would rent a small RV and travel 13,000 miles around the United States with his dog, hoping to improve their relationship. The result is a well-orchestrated and superbly and introspectively written account of his four-month journey from the Boston area to the West Coast and back. The travelog is sprinkled with Denizet-Lewis's encounters with lots of colorful individuals he ran into, as well as with many people he'd arranged to meet, including Dog Whisperer host Cesar Millan; the original founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; staff members at the famous Best Friends Animal Sanctuary; service and therapy dog trainers; and animal communicators. He quotes noted researchers of animal behavior and cognition such as Brian Hare, Patricia McConnell, John Homans, and Alexandra Horowitz. Copious notes follow the text of the book. Warmth, wit, and self-deprecating humor elevate this journey to much more than a travel memoir. VERDICT Essential reading for dog lovers and armchair travelers.--Susan Riley, Mamaroneck P.L., NY

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Worried that his dog, Casey, a mixed Labrador and golden retriever, didn't like him and might be happier with someone else, Denizet-Lewis sought the advice of a psychologist before taking a scheduled cross-country journey. He and Casey traveled for four months through 32 states in a rented motor home to explore the close relationship between humans and dogs. The U.S. has the highest rate of dog ownership in the world, and Denizet-Lewis wanted to find out what the relationship says about American culture and values. They traveled from Manhattan to the desert, visited dog ranches and dog parks, and practiced doga (dog yoga) on the beach. They met dogs engaged in therapy, police work, racing, farm work, and hunting as well as shelter dogs, stray dogs, celebrity dogs, and those engaged in just being a regular, family dog. As to the human part of the equation, Denizet-Lewis talked to dog rescuers, walkers, healers, haters, photographers, and psychics as well as regular-dog owners. The result is a thoroughly engaging and often hilarious investigation of the therapeutic nature of our relationships with dogs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)