Michael Brandow provides a unique analysis of the rise of the “dog fancy” in the United States and the United Kingdom. He attributes much of the motivation to acquire, breed, and show prestigious pure-bred dogs to a human need for status at the cost of serious detriment to the health and welfare of the many breeds developed to meet these needs. Although the many problems associated with the production of such dogs have been increasingly recognized by the veterinary and animal (...) welfare communities, such concerns have had relatively little impact on the popularity of these dogs. It is hoped that greater awareness of the harm to dogs caused by human vanity and greed may help foster a more humane human-canine relationship. (shrink)

Most previous biographies of Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Western hemisphere's first animal protection organization, give little attention to the very mixed reaction his efforts received from the media, legislators, fellow social reformers, the general public, and the large number of enterprises that benefitted from the exploitation and even abuse of animals during America's Gilded Age. A Traitor to His Species provides a detailed analysis of Bergh's life and times and (...) explores both the victories and defeats he had while devoting most of his adult life to what he considered to be a moral crusade, building a foundation of a movement that has expanded beyond his expectations. (shrink)