Howl and Bark: Laughs and a Good Deed

Howl, a new anthology of “humorous dog-erature” features witty insights about life with canines by Dave Barry, Roy Blount Jr., Al Franken, Margaret Cho, Kinky Friedman and a pack of other fine writers.

My particular favorites included the short pieces in which:

• we see antics of man and dog with his dog’s special toy, “more desirable even than the corpse of a squirrel.”
• “the intrepid author experiments with dog food, so you--thank goodness--don’t have to.”
• we learn about various kinds of dog parks “where the dogs are” and how to handle the ubiquitous “bad guy,” found in each--the dog park Polizeimeister.
• heaven help us, we learn what happens in Kinky’s bedroom with two dogs and a cat, when he feeds his pet armadillo in the middle of the night.

During my own reading of Howl, my sniggering, barking laughter and snorting brought Onyx, my own do-right dog of German ancestry, to stand at attention in my office door and bark for a more serious attitude. This made me howl even more.

Face it, we’d rather think about our pets than anything else, really.  Anything except our own need to be understood. When the writers in Howl talk about their initial horror and aversion to scooping, their lack of understanding of the importance of a properly draining anal sac, and their acceptance of whatever their dog eats (you know what I’m saying), we feel that at least one tiny part of our psyche is known by a group of generous and kind, if similarly befuddled dog lovers.

The second reason to read Howl is that 99 out of 100 doctors agree that laughing produces the happy drugs that flood your brain only when you laugh or run the equivalent of a half marathon.  (You know which one I chose.)

The third reason to read Howl is that contributors are donating the royalties from book sales to various dog-related charities to rebuild the infrastructure that serves animals in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina. Seems Bark, her editors, and her readers have developed a close relationship with readers and organizations in N’awalans. Getting your own copy of Howl is shopping you can do, and help dogs that need it. Forget that new glittery purse large enough to stash two Pugs and a Corgi. Instead, for 1/10th the price, click over to your favorite bookstore for Howl or http://www.thebark.com for a book and subscription special featuring Howl and Bark. If you feel compelled to spend the other 9/10 of the purse’s cost, buy some for friends. 

Gotta run. My dog is calling.

If you have examples of dog-related humor that are barking to be circulated, please post them below. You will be glad you did. In addition to the admiration of your peers, I will send you a personal and tasteful e-thank-you note.