by Kate Cone
Dogs of Courage, by Lisa Rogak
Dogs of Courage by Lisa Rogak, (Thomas Dunne Books, 2012) compiles an abundance of information and dozens of stories about canines working to help humans do our jobs, take care of our health, find missing loved ones, sniff out the source of a fire and perform many other tasks. Rogak begins by quoting statistics documenting the huge increase in dog ownership around the world, then loosely defines the term "dogs of courage:" "While every canine has the ability to touch a human life ... a Dog of Courage works hard to help people in a wide variety of ways ... there are thousands of dogs being trained to perform tasks to directly benefit the humans around them...." Rigorously documented with endnotes, Dogs of Courage works to prove the author's basic thesis: that all dogs are working dogs, and depending on the type of work they do, they can be thought of as Dogs of Courage. Here are the categories of services that "employ" the dogs Rogak talks about: Police, Fire, Search-and-Rescue, Guide, Service and Assistance Dogs, Therapy, Prison, Medical -Detection, Wildlife-Detection and Conservation, Civilian Dogs and Celebrity dogs. Each chapter gives a history or
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background of the type of service, then fleshes that out with examples and stories about particular dogs that excel at those type of tasks. Color photos of some of the dogs jazz up the book and melt the heart. Ms. Rogak has also provided the reader with a lengthy "Resources" chapter at the end with many websites of organizations of the type that train these working dogs. In addition, books, magazine and newspaper articles and other sources are listed. It's a great source of information that can take a curious reader further in their search for more. There are a few quibbles I have with Ms. Rogak's style: she quotes people often, but if you check the source of the quote, it is usually from another writer's work, a newspaper article or book. This gives the appearance of her work being a primary source, when it is a secondary one, and this detracts from the immediacy. There is nothing morally or technically wrong with this. I would have used the article or book, but tried to contact the person quoted to get my own interview and quote from there. Another point: Despite all her documentation from the outside sources she uses, Rogak neglects to substantiate some of her own ideas/ opinions. The following struck me,
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since they came at the beginning of the book: "Especially in today's society where most people choose a pet primarily for companionship [here she should give a statistic supporting "most people"], some dog lovers think it's cruel for a dog to herd sheep, help a police officer do her job, or work in a war zone. [She does not say who "some dog lovers" are]. "Indeed, even respected animal experts have expressed ambivalence about the issue." [No names here, either. Which "respected animal experts"?] And the kicker: "While a cardcarrying member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals would probably think it was heartless or dangerous for a dog to be out herding cattle or heading into an abandoned building to pursue a suspect...." (p. 24). I have trouble with the use of "would probably think," and "heartless and dangerous." I happen to be a card-carrying member of PETA, and think working dogs are great, I don't object to their doing work at all. Ms. Rogak would proffer a much more convincing book if she documented these assumptions. And a quick perusal of the PETA website, or a phone call to one of PETA's officers, would most
likely have given her a definitive fact, rather than loose-cannon opinions. Rogak also uses the term "Dogs of Courage," complete with capital letters, so frequently, it's as if she is afraid her reader will forget the title of the book. I didn't need such reminding. This is a well-put-together book with plenty of information and resources. It reads like a magazine, which for many people will be just fine. The dogs, of course, are the standouts, demonstrating day after day their loyalty and desire to work to benefit all of us. Kate Cone is a freelance writer who lives in Waterville, Maine. She is the founder of LIT: Readings and Libations, a fiction reading series held regularly in Portland, Maine. Contact her at kecone@colby.edu
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