One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food Book

A witty, insightful, and affectionate examination of how and why we spend billions on our pets, and what this tells us about ourselvesIn 2003, Michael Schaffer and his wife drove to a rural shelter and adopted an emaciated, dreadlocked Saint Bernard who they named Murphy. They vowed that theyâ??d never become the kind of people who send dogs named Baxter and Sonoma out to get facials, or shell out for $12,000 hip replacements. But then they started to get weird looks from the in-laws: You hired a trainer? Your vet prescribed antidepressants? So Schaffer started poking around and before long happened on an astonishing statistic: the pet industry, estimated at $43 billion this year, was just $17 billion barely a decade earlier. One Nation Under Dog is about Americaâ??s pet obsessionâ??the explosion, over the past generation, of an industry full of pet masseuses, professional dog-walkers, organic kibble, leash-law militants, luxury pet spas, veterinary grief counselors, upscale dog shampoos, and the like: a booming economy that is evidence of tremendous and rapid change in the status of Americaâ??s pets. Schaffer provides a surprising and lively portrait of our countryâ??as how we treat our pets reflects evolving ideas about domesticity, consumerism, politics, and familyâ??through this fabulously reported and sympathetic look at both us and our dogs.Read More