The Animals Among Us

Author: John Bradshaw
Publisher: Allen Lane
ISBN: 9780241184639
Category : Human-animal relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The bestselling author of Dog Sense and Cat Sense explains why living with animals has always been a fundamental aspect of being human. In this highly original and hugely enjoyable work, John Bradshaw examines modern humans' often contradictory relationship with the animal world. Why, despite the apparent irrationality of keeping pets, do half of today's American households, and almost that figure in the UK, have at least one pet (triple the rate of the 1970s)? Then again, why do we care for some animals in our homes, and designate others only as a source of food? Through these and many other questions, one of the world's foremost anthrozoology experts shows that our relationship with animals is nothing less than an intrinsic part of human nature. An affinity for animals drove our evolution and now, without animals around us, we risk losing an essential part of ourselves.

Zooburbia

Author: Tai Moses
Publisher: Parallax Press
ISBN: 1937006689
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
Part memoir, part natural history, part mindfulness guide, this charming love letter to the natural world explores the many ways animals can enrich our lives To be alienated from animals is to live a life that is not quite whole, contends nature writer Tai Moses. Urban and suburban residents share their environment with many types of wildlife: squirrels, birds, spiders, and increasingly lizards, deer, and coyote. Many of us crave more contact with wild creatures, and recognize the small and large ways animals enrich our lives, yet don’t notice the animals already around us. Zooburbia reveals the reverence that can be felt in the presence of animals and shows how that reverence connects us to a deeper, better part of ourselves. A lively blend of memoir, natural history, and mindfulness practices, Zooburbia makes the case for being mindful and compassionate stewards—and students—of the wildlife with whom we coexist. With lessons on industriousness, perseverance, presence, exuberance, gratitude, aging, how to let go, and much more, Tai's vignettes share the happy fact that none of us is alone and separate, and that our teachers are right in front of us. We need only go outdoors with our eyes and ears open to find a rapport with the animal kingdom. Zooburbia is a magnifying lens turned to our everyday environment, reminding us that we, as individuals and as a species, are not alone. Illustrated by Dave Buchen with original black and white wildlife linocuts.

Cat Sense

Author: John Bradshaw
Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
ISBN: 0465031013
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. Unlike dogs, cats evolved as solitary hunters, and, while many have learned to live alongside humans and even feel affection for us, they still don’t quite “get us” the way dogs do, and perhaps they never will. But cats have rich emotional lives that we need to respect and understand if they are to thrive in our company. In Cat Sense, renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the mind of the domestic cat than ever before, using cutting-edge scientific research to dispel the myths and explain the true nature of our feline friends. Tracing the cat’s evolution from lone predator to domesticated companion, Bradshaw shows that although cats and humans have been living together for at least eight thousand years, cats remain independent, predatory, and wary of contact with their own kind, qualities that often clash with our modern lifestyles. Cats still have three out of four paws firmly planted in the wild, and within only a few generations can easily revert back to the independent way of life that was the exclusive preserve of their predecessors some 10,000 years ago. Cats are astonishingly flexible, and given the right environment they can adapt to a life of domesticity with their owners—but to continue do so, they will increasingly need our help. If we’re to live in harmony with our cats, Bradshaw explains, we first need to understand their inherited quirks: understanding their body language, keeping their environments—however small—sufficiently interesting, and becoming more proactive in managing both their natural hunting instincts and their relationships with other cats. A must-read for any cat lover, Cat Sense offers humane, penetrating insights about the domestic cat that challenge our most basic assumptions and promise to dramatically improve our pets’ lives—and ours.

The Animals Among Us

Author: John Bradshaw
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465093159
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Book Description
A leading anthrozoologist and the bestselling author of Dog Sense and Cat Sense explains why we are so drawn to pets. Historically, we relied on our pets to herd livestock, guard homes, and catch pests. But most of us don't need animals to do these things anymore. Pets have never been less necessary. And yet, pet ownership has never been more common than it is today: half of American households contain a cat, a dog, or both. Why are pets still around? In The Animals Among Us, John Bradshaw, one of the world's leading authorities on the relationship between humans and animals, argues that pet ownership is actually an intrinsic part of human nature. He explains how our empathy with animals evolved into a desire for pets, why we still welcome them into our families, and why we mourn them so deeply when they die. Drawing on the latest research in biology and psychology, as well as fields as diverse as robotics and musicology, The Animals Among Us is a surprising and affectionate history of humanity's best friends.

Animals Make Us Human

Author: Temple Grandin
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0151014892
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Book Description
The author of "Animals in Translation" employs her own experience with autism and her background as an animal scientist to show how to give animals the best and happiest life.

Among the Animals

Author: Stephen Kirkpatrick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780981913209
Category : Mississippi
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description

The Soul of All Living Creatures

Author: Vint Virga, D.V.M.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307718875
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
As profiled in the New York Times Magazine… Based on the author’s twenty-five years of experience as a veterinarian and veterinary behaviorist, The Soul of All Living Creatures delves into the inner lives of animals – from whales, wolves, and leopards to mice, dogs, and cats – and explores the relationships we forge with them. As an emergency room clinician four years out of veterinary school, Dr. Vint Virga had a life-changing experience: he witnessed the power of simple human contact and compassion to affect the recovery of a dog struggling to survive after being hit by a car. Observing firsthand the remarkably strong connection between humans and animals inspired him to explore the world from the viewpoint of animals and taught him to respect the kinship that connects us. With The Soul of All Living Creatures, Virga draws from his decades in veterinary practice to reveal how, by striving to perceive the world as animals do, we can enrich our own appreciation of life, enhance our character, nurture our relationships, improve our communication with others, reorder our values, and deepen our grasp of spirituality. Virga discerningly illuminates basic traits shared by both humans and animals and makes animal behavior meaningful, relevant, and easy to understand. Insightful and eloquent, The Soul of All Living Creatures offers an intimate journey into the lives of our fellow creatures and a thought-provoking promise of what we can learn from spending time with them.

Our Symphony with Animals

Author: Aysha Akhtar
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643131672
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 395

Book Description
A leader in the fields of animal ethics and neurology, Dr. Aysha Akhtar examines the rich human-animal connection and how interspecies empathy enriches our well-being. Deftly combining medicine, social history and personal experience, Our Symphony with Animals is the first book by a physician to show that humans and animals have a shared destiny—our well-being is deeply entwined. Dr. Akhtar reveals how empathy for animals is the next step in our species’ moral evolution and a vital component of human health. When we include animals in our circle of empathy, we not only liberate animals, we also liberate ourselves. Drawing on the accounts of a varied cast of characters—a former mobster, a pediatrician, an industrial chicken farmer, a serial killer, and a deer hunter—to reveal what happens when we both break and forge bonds with animals. Interwoven is Dr. Akhtar’s own story, an immigrant who was bullied in school and abused by her uncle. Feeling abandoned by humanity, it was only when she met Sylvester, a dog who had also been abused, that she find the strength to sound the alarm for them both. Humans are neurologically designed to empathize with animals. Violence against animals goes against our nature. In equal measure, the love we give to animals biologically reverberates back to us. Our Symphony with Animals is the definitive account for why our relationships with animals matter.

Mark Twain’s Book of Animals

Author: Mark Twain
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520271521
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
"For those unaware—as I was until I read this book—that Mark Twain was one of America's early animal advocates, Shelley Fisher Fishkin's collection of his writings on animals will come as a revelation. Many of these pieces are as fresh and lively as when they were first written, and it's wonderful to have them gathered in one place." —Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation and The Life You Can Save “A truly exhilarating work. Mark Twain's animal-friendly views would not be out of place today, and indeed, in certain respects, Twain is still ahead of us: claiming, correctly, that there are certain degraded practices that only humans inflict on one another and upon other animals. Fishkin has done a splendid job: I cannot remember reading something so consistently excellent."—Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of When Elephants Weep and The Face on Your Plate "Shelley Fisher Fishkin has given us the lifelong arc of the great man's antic, hilarious, and subtly profound explorations of the animal world, and she's guided us through it with her own trademark wit and acumen. Dogged if she hasn't." —Ron Powers, author of Dangerous Water: A Biography of the Boy Who Became Mark Twain and Mark Twain: A Life

Meditating with Animals

Author: Pamela Robins
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692768556
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
Our animals show us unconditional love in its purest form. They are our most loyal companions, constantly navigating our energy to support our needs. This is something Pamela Robins experienced on a profound level when she was faced with a relentless series of major life challenges, including the death of her mother, her own cancer diagnosis, a divorce, and letting go of her life as she knew it in order to find herself. Her animals were instrumental in getting her through it all. Recognizing how hard they were working to comfort and heal her, Pamela worried their their efforts could be depleting them of their own health and vitality. When she was strong again she wanted to return to them the extraordinary gifts they had given her. And so it was that the Animal MethodTM was born--a practice graciously given to Pamela by her beloved animal companions that is based on the idea of consciously recycling positive, healing energy between humans and animals. It involves mindfully observing and learning from your animal, taking cues from their natural state of being, and applying that wisdom to your own way of being. This method is beautifully described in Meditating with Animals. In it you'll also read inspiring animal stories and learn about the countless health and life benefits that result from having a deeper, more compassionate connection with an animal. And each chapter offers a meditation exercise that is specially designed to help you embrace a different aspect of the Animal Method. Meditating with Animals was written with the hope of helping you see more clearly the teacher, the healer, the magical being who is right there at your feet--and the one also within you. We can learn so much from animals when we take the time to be still with them and observe. The animals in my life have taught me about love, compassion and remembrance. Meditating with Animals is a beautiful exploration of how animals enrich our lives and how we can better return that gift to them. This is a very important book that will touch many lives. --Dr. Tererai Trent, Oprah Winfrey's "All-Time Favorite Guest" This is a powerfully inspirational book that is filled with wisdom and love. As a neuroscientist I have researched the therapeutic relationship between horse and human, as well as witnessed the interaction between therapy dogs and children in my clinic. I have also experienced firsthand the heart-warming energetic exchange and healing love that animals provide in our world. This book artfully shows the power our animals offer to us. They unselfishly give of their power within to awaken our connection with them. Meditating with Animals will gladden your heart and provide insight for tapping into the healing love animals so generously offer to us. It is a MUST READ if you love animals! --Jeffrey L. Fannin, PhD