PAWS AND REFLECT
edited by Neil Plakcy and Sharon Sakson
Alyson Books
Hal Campbell, one of our wonderful contributors,
wrote this review of Paws and Reflect for We The People, a GLBT newspaper
in California's North Bay. Unfortunately, the paper closed before this review
could run. With Hal's permission, we've posted it here.
Review by Hal Campbell
Thanksgiving is a time when people reflect upon their blessings. Straight
people--with nearly four hundred years of traditions established since
The Mayflower's arrival--inevitably have placed their children at the
top of their blessings list--almost always just ahead of their spouses.
Up until this past decade, however, gay people for the most part had no
children to consider as blessings. We, instead, adopted pets to fill that
void in our lives that children fill for straights. Of course the most
common pets are cats and dogs. Statistics show that there are more cats
in households than dogs, but to gay men the dog is king. If you doubt
me, visit Castro Street or Guerneville's Main Street on a weekend and
see how many men there are walking a cat. Pussies galore? No. Pussies
no more. |
Hal's beagle, Babe |
The gay man / dog relationship is the subject of a new
anthology called Paws and Reflect. Co-editors Neil Plakcy (author of Mahu,
a gay mystery novel, reviewed in the April 2006 issue of We the People)
and Sharon Sakson (a producer for NBC News) have assembled a collection of interviews
and true stories by various writers across the country who share (or have shared)
their lives with dogs--some pedigreed, some mutts --and consider themselves better
people for the experience.
The stories are arranged in five categories: "Dogs of our Childhood," "Dogs Who
Make Connections, "What we Learn from Our Dogs," "Making the World a Better Place
for Dogs, and "Exasperating Dogs." My story about "Babe, My Three-Legged Hero"
appears in the third section, quite appropriately since I learned a great deal
from her.
The dogs range from playwright Edward Albee's enormous Irish wolfhounds to Jack
Morton's faux Shih Tzu (in truth, a Tibetan Spaniel). But if you're a dog lover,
you will find something in every story to relate to regardless of the breed that
has come into your life.
Many of the contributors are single, so naturally with no one else to share their
dogs' affection, they freely admit that the dogs are / were spoiled rotten. (Now
I no longer feel like I have to apologize for allowing my beagles to sleep in
the center of the bed while I cling for space on the edge.) Other contributors
are coupled, so they had to jointly deal with the issues of what kind of dog to
get, where the dog would sleep, who was the alpha dog, and--inevitably--when was
it time to free their furry friend of pain and send him "home." (Keep your Kleenex
handy.)
One story dealt with an issue that I couldn't imagine having since my beagles
have all been love lumps. What do you do when you have a dog who loves you, but
is truly a danger to others? Jay Quinn (author of The Good Neighbor,
a novel reviewed in the September 2006 issue of WTP) had to deal with this dilemma
and his ultimate decision is gut-wrenching.
There is as much humor in the book as there is pathos. You will not soon forget
Rosie the bulldog, who has actually gotten her "daddy," Justin Rudd, to take her
for rides in "a red Flyer wagon that has her name on the license plate." (If my
beagles ever hear about this, I will be doomed for chauffeurdom for the rest of
my days.) My favorite funny tale is that of Cab the dachshund. He didn't take
kindly to the situation when his "daddy," John (last name not provided) became
half of a couple. After Stephen Kwielchek moved in, Cab showed his displeasure
by peeing on Stephen's pillow regularly. Stephen's eventual solution to the problem
is hysterical. (Unfortunately Stephen died from AIDS prior to the book's publication,
so he will never know the pleasure his story brought readers.)
If I have a quibble with the book, it is that there are no pictures. Describing
a dog's expression is just not the same as seeing it. Hopefully if there is a
volume 2, pictures will be included.
This book brings up another issue that soon developed when the editors began working
on it. Originally a well-known gay diver who raises Great Danes was listed on
the book's web site as one of the contributors. When I got the book for reviewing
purposes, I noticed the diver's name wasn't there. I asked Plakcy about this.
He said the diver had decided not to participate, despite his high profile in
dog breeding. Plakcy also said that "many, many men said no right off the bat.
or said yes, then thought more about it and said no. Actors, politicians, dog
breeders--they were all reluctant to be attached to a 'gay' book." Can you imagine
not wanting to be part of an artistic endeavor involving unconditional love between
man and beast? How sad. It a man can't tell the world he loves his dog, how can
we expect him to tell the world he loves another man? Damn, that closet's getting
crowded!