A Small Furry Prayer

Starred review from June 28, 2010
Kotler (West of Jesus), owner of Rancho de Chihuahua, an organization that treats dogs with special needs, offers a joyous, almost spiritual chronicle of his journey from L.A.–based apartment dweller to owner of a dog sanctuary in New Mexico. He introduces readers to Leo, a destined-to-be-euthanized German shepherd who becomes his first rescue; Gidget, a dancing dog with mange and epilepsy; and Ahab, who appears to contemplate suicide while balanced on a three-story ledge. Kotler lays bare the challenges he and his wife face as their brood grows and his attachment to his pack grows: he suffers separation anxiety on an out-of-town trip and is devastated when placing rehabilitated dogs in loving homes. His nurturing is returned ten-fold when a rescue saves his life and, when he is taken ill, a dog vomits in his mouth to—as he believes—nourish him. Brimming with humor, gratitude, and grace, this is a remarkable story.

September 1, 2010
Kotler is a journalist who dove into the world of dog rescue to impress his love interest, now his wife. He did not foresee adopting the least appealing, most troublesome dogs from shelters and living intimately with them until they either were rehabilitated and adopted by others or died in his lap. According to this part memoir and part philosophical study of the dog-human relationship, many of them died on the small farm that he and his wife bought in crime-ridden Chimayo, New Mexico, leaving him very depressed. From the heart-wrenching work, however, he began to find purpose and see how many canine experts have misunderstood dog behavior. Reflecting on the writings of mystics, philosophers, and animal scientists as varied as St. Francis, Ren' Descartes, Claude Levi-Strauss, and Elizabeth Hess, Kotler elevates this tale about saving dogs to a story about human stewardship of life. Rough language and frank descriptions of sexuality may offend more sensitive readers. Full of well-told stories, Kotlers book will please many animal advocates.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 15, 2010

A journalist and lifelong dog lover attests to the joy and the emotional fallout behind animal-rescue work.

In the poignant preface, Kotler (West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origins of Belief, 2006, etc.) movingly describes his psychologically exhaustion after the death of seven dogs in as many weeks at his New Mexico canine sanctuary, Rancho de Chihuahua. The altruistic author, who has battled Lyme disease, recounts his many years of selflessly caring for special-needs dogs ("the very old, the very sick, the really retarded") with his wife, Joy, a fiercely devoted dog lover who spearheaded the effort. Kotler backtracks to early 2007 when he and Joy (then his girlfriend)--both writers, both broke--were unceremoniously booted out of their tiny Los Angeles home and immediately drove to Chimayo, N.M. Tucked in a dusty valley north of Santa Fe, Chimayo has a 60 percent poverty rate and is a regular target for federal drug raids. The region is also "the black tar heroin overdose capital" of America, a religious hotbed of miracle healings and supreme outlaw territory for "bikers and bandits and beatniks." Amid isolation, uncertainty and overcrowding, it became home for Kotler, his wife and their amassed pack of rescues. Kotler lovingly describes pups like Gidget, rescued at barely two pounds; Ahab, formerly abused and harboring separation anxiety; Squirt, an obese "dachshund-pug hybrid"; and Salty, a "shell-shocked" three-pound Chihuahua with heartworm. Then there was Leo, a mangy pit bull who became the author's first rescue in New Mexico, was euthanized before he could become adopted. In the strongest scenes, the book drives home the agony of pet loss. Kotler offers a touching account of Chihuahua adventures alongside interesting blurbs on the history of pet ownership, canine ethology, the semantics of the dog-adoption process, homosexuality in nature and the intricate science behind canine domestication.

A heartfelt example of humanitarianism at work.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from August 1, 2010

Dog rescuers remove dogs from shelters and care for them until they are ready for adoption, focusing on those most likely to be overlooked and sometimes ending up with them as "lifers." Kotler (West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief) became involved with dog rescue when he became involved with novelist Joy Nicholson, a committed rescuer; in a matter of weeks, they were compelled to move their dogs ("One dog is a pet, eight is a pack") from California to Chimayo, NM, a rough neighborhood but the only place they could afford that offered enough room. As he recounts their life in Chimayo (the pack at times approaches 50, all entertainingly delineated), Kotler seamlessly blends a history of Chimayo, a well-articulated understanding of how humans and dogs coevolved, and background on animal welfare efforts in this country with his witty, sharp-edged, and rewarding reflections on life. VERDICT Kotler defiantly proclaims his love of Chihuahuas (he's hilarious), then shatters our hearts and ends by laying down a real ethical challenge. Highly recommended not only for dog lovers but for readers of memoir, biology, and anthropology and seekers generally. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/10.]

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