Our Symphony with Animals

March 11, 2019
In this notable volume, neurologist Akhtar (Animals and Public Health) uses personal childhood trauma to launch a thoughtful discussion of the extent of, and limits to, human empathy toward animals. Empathy, she notes, helps people to lead better lives, since “we now recognize that how we interact with and treat one another... influence our health.” She combines a broader investigation into cases of animal rescue and abuse with personal experience, beginning by recounting being sexually molested at age 5 by a family friend, an ordeal which she credits her grandparents’ dog, Sylvester, with getting her through. She “had never known an animal before,” but bonded instantly with the German shepherd mix, who gave her the courage to eventually stop her tormenter. Later sections deal with animals lost or displaced after natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, in order to suggest how losing pets can be just as devastating as losing humans. Akhtar also explores the living conditions of animals used for food, giving stark and disturbing details of hens jam-packed into cages. She concludes with suggestions on how to make a difference, such as by donating to or volunteering for animal rescue groups. Akhtar’s book draws a sobering but hopeful picture of what has been done and what remains to be done to improve animals’ lives.

April 1, 2019
Why bonding with animals makes us better human beings. Neurologist Akhtar (Animals and Public Health, 2012), deputy director of the Army's Traumatic Brain Injury Program and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service, makes an impassioned and moving argument that empathy with animals deeply affects humans' health. Drawing on interviews with a wide range of individuals, including prisoners, a serial killer, a vegetarian chicken farmer, animal researchers, and victims of PTSD; scientific studies; and her own experience as a sexually abused and bullied young girl who bonded with an abused dog, the author examines the physical, emotional, and psychological responses that occur when humans connect with any animal, not only common house pets. Animals, she writes, "calm us by lowering our blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones. We relax with animals" because they "defuse a lot of the human-generated pressure in our lives." The beneficial response, one psychologist suggests, comes from the release of oxytocin, a hormone that "increases social interaction, generosity, bonding, and attachment. It also improves trust and decreases aggression, fear, and hyperarousal." Many organizations, writes Akhtar, promote human-animal connection, such as K9s for Warriors, a nonprofit group that "pairs dogs with military veterans who have PTSD"; Feeding Pets of the Homeless; Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, which rescues farm animals; and FORWARD, an organization that establishes cat sanctuaries in prisons, where inmates care for and socialize abandoned or abused cats. The cats, Akhtar notes, "provide the only physical contact and affection many of the inmates receive." The author's research uncovers much animal cruelty at the hands of individuals and in the livestock industry, which she describes in sickening detail. "It is the same mind-set that encourages cruelty toward animals and toward other humans," she asserts, whereas empathy encourages kindness: "Animals remind us that the world is larger than us. They can teach us to look beyond the racism, poverty, and cruelty in our lives." A brief appendix offers readers suggestions for positive change. A heartfelt call for compassion for all living species.

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May 1, 2019
As a child, neurologist and public health and animal ethics expert Akhtar was the victim of sexual assault at the hands of a relative. She found unconditional comfort with her grandparent's dog, Sylvester, and witnessed unexpected horror when her brother relentlessly beat him. From these two searing formative experiences, Akhtar developed a lifelong passion for animals, embarking on a quest to understand how the human-animal connection can soar to heights of restorative empathy and sink to the craven depths of cruelty. From the well-documented incidents of intuitive animals aiding people with physical and emotional wounds to the buoyant camaraderie between rescued animals and their saviors, positive stories of interspecies associations abound. The flip side, however, is grim: savage conditions in factory farms and research labs and even serial killers whose first victims were neighborhood pets. A word of warning about this important and illuminating work. For all the feel-good tales of animal empathy at its best, Akhtar also offers harrowing examples of extreme and graphic viciousness that will be tough going for sensitive readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)