| Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm | 
 enlarge | Author: Jon Katz
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.93
You Save: $6.07 (43%)
New (22) Used (9) from $7.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 11636
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0812974352
Dewey Decimal Number: 636
EAN: 9780812974355
ASIN: 0812974352
Publication Date: September 23, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
In Dog Days, Jon Katz, the squire of Bedlam Farm, allows us to live our dreams of leaving the city for the country, and shares the unpredictable adventure of farm life. The border collies, the sheep, the chickens, the cat, the ram, and one surprisingly sociable steer named Elvis all contribute to the hum (and occasional roar) of Bedlam. On timeless summer days and in punishing winter storms, Katz continues his meditation on what animals can selflessly teach us–and what we in turn owe to them. With good neighbors, a beautiful landscape, and tales of true love thrown in, Dog Days gives us not only marvelous animal stories but a rich portrait of the harmonious world that is Bedlam Farm.
Praise for Dog Days:
“Anyone who has ever loved an animal, who owns a farm or even dreams of it, will read Dog Days with appreciation and a cathartic lump in his or her throat.”
–The Washington Post
“Katz proves himself a Thoreau for modern times as he ponders the relationships between man and animals, humanity and nature, and the particularly smelly qualities of manure.”
–Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Katz constructs the perfect blend between self-revelation and his subtle brand of humor.”
–The Star-Ledger
“City-dweller-turned-farmer Katz . . . returns with further adventures from his animal-filled upstate New York sheep farm. Charming.”
–People
“The perfect summer book . . . You will not be disappointed.”
–The Philadelphia Inquirer
“A new twist on the American dream.”
–The Christian Science Monitor
“Thoroughly enchanting.”
–The Dallas Morning News
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Not his best October 26, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I skipped A Good Dog after reading reviews and finding that he put down Orson. I was horrified and upset and couldn't get Orson out of my mind for some time. This one was a library copy because I swore not to buy anymore of his books. And there was a reassuring note in the beginning that no dogs died. And why was that necessary? Because readers of previous books were also upset over Orson.
Here he is with a larger farm, more animals and health problems. Contradictions abound. Read more reviews and other readers have noticed them as well. This book does not read as smoothly as 3 previous ones. Maybe that's where "dispatches" comes in. Information generated and passed on quickly. Written somewhere between donkey biscuit time and bringing the sheep down to the barn time. He's changed since he started his hobby farm and admits it. More knowledge of farming and he looks at the life and death of his animals in a more matter-of-fact manner. I was not happy to see Carol dragged off to the rendering plant. I didn't need to know about the two fawns and their mother run over by a tractor. Dispatch has another meaning here as well. He writes of dispatching sick or injured animals with his gun but chickens get their heads cut off. In other chapter the rooster Winston is sick and he grabs his gun to dispatch him but his farm assistant Annie (God love her) rescues and nurses Winston. Thought you didn't waste bullets on chickens Jon?
He sits by Orson's grave and thinks he did the right thing but feels wrong without him. I want to read that book but don't want to read that book knowing the outcome. I mourn Orson. Orson was entrusted to him and from all accounts he failed Orson. Orson did change his life. The book was a hit and from then on his writing has been only on the dogs of Bedlam Farm. This success gave him the money to buy more land, an ATV, renovate 3 barns and the house. No money for Orson. No money for rescue groups or shelters that we know of.
And I really, really didn't care for Clem to be called a Whore. No Jon you don't call a dog a whore who jumps into a UPS truck because she spots the biscuits. Lots of dogs might do that. Little kids might too if a box of cookies was spotted. A whore has a specific meaning and is not used facetiously as he believes he can. It's an insult to Clem as it is when loosely applied women and girls.
Shouldn't have let Rose round up those 2 cows on the highway just as you were taking her home from the hospital. The cows were not your problem. Rose was your number one concern. What did the vet think of this escapade?
Lest anyone think that I didn't like anything, the stories of Elvis and Luna were humorous and warmly written.
I loved Running to the Mountain, Dogs of Bedlam Farm and A Dog Year. The stories had humor and pathos. Jon is a gifted writer. Where his head and his writing skills are at in this book I don't know. No congruence here. Lots of self-aggrandizement. Fortunately he has a great support group but they need to slap him more upside the head because it is getting too big!
Then he rehomes Clem. Geeze. Four dogs were too much and Clem, like Homer wasn't getting her due share of attention. I agree that he did the right thing. Joint custody was ridiculous though. He did basically the same with Homer because he couldn't make a clean break. Now he has a new book about Izzy and Lenore. Did Pearl pass away so it was okay to get another lab or is it back to four again? I'm not reading that one. I'm done Jon Katz. You are in actuality a kind hearted person and an introspective one. Introspect this. I'm not reading or buying any more of your books. This book was the deal breaker.
 Dog Days September 20, 2008
Another excellent book by my favorite writer of animal stories. Jon is doing things most of us only dream about doing. I admire him for following his dreams. I have found myself falling in love with his animals as I read about them. Orson (aka Devon) touched my heart in ways only Jon would undersdtand. I have a border collie, Little Buddy, who is beyond a doubt my "lifetime" dog. They are indeed a special breed as are their owners. I have already ordered Jon's newest book which will be out in a week. Jon, I just wish you could write faster.
Diane Van Cura
 If you love animals, skip Katz and read James Herriot June 19, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
As a first-time dog owner, and the owner of a cattle dog myself, I thought I would love this book. Katz is living my dream of farm life surrounded by a menagerie of animals. Even my dream wasn't enough to keep me going through this book.
There's no real plot, just random observances from Katz on the nature of animals and ruminations on his, according to him, declining health. To say he sees animals as mere products, work partners but little else, is an understatement.
This quote pretty well sums up how he feels about his dogs: "I can't for example, subscribe to the notion that the acquisition of every dog represents a lifetime commitment, a bond that must never be altered or broken... I don't believe that dogs possess much self-awareness or consciousness, despite a growing belief to the contrary. They're probably more intelligent than cows, and far more attached to people than sheep, but, like the other animals on the farm, they live in the moment, largely by instinct. They won't spend much time feeling miserable if a new owner provides affection, recreation, health care -- and dinner...I don't believe in taking extraordinary measures to keep dogs alive beyond their natural spans, not in a world where few humans have basic healthcare."
He grumbles a lot about his health, how his back hurts constantly from the work, etc. even though he has several hired hands who provide his animals with the love he seems unable to give. He chides one for feeding treats to the animals, for assigning human meaning to their bland world as products.
He lauds his collie, Rose, but mostly admires her work ethic. He admits she's a loner and has little to do with him. Meanwhile he sends her out even when she's sick, under the guise that she loves to work.
He spends a great deal of time talking about people who say the farm is so well-run, the animals so cared for. He admits he quickly kills or gives away any animal that doesn't fulfill his notion of running a tight ship. He has what he calls a beloved dog put to sleep for biting. He has an ailing donkey shot and calls a man to haul off the carcass, seeming to thoroughly enjoy the "efficiency" of the task. He gives away a loving dog because he's found a new one.
He calls his dogs sluts and whores because they seek attention from visitors. He frequently says he's unwilling to spend too much money on health care because these are, after all, only farm animals. He says he sincerely doubts there's anything going on inside his dogs' heads. He chalks them up to being motivated by nothing grander than the basic instincts of food and sex.
Beyond all that though, the book plods along like life on the farm. He repeats himself, sometimes on the same page. There's no clear direction of where he's trying to go, he just mixes together events as they occur to him.
This is one of the first books I've ever had to force myself to keep reading, and I regret that. I was looking forward to it. I grew weary of his complaints about how his perfect life was less than perfect -- so far from perfect as to almost be an annoyance. For all his supposed hard work, he comes off as exactly what he is, a spoiled big city author trying to pretend he's just "regular folk" while he stands among real farmers and talks about his "hobby farm." He admits he has no real reason to herd the sheep other than to revel in the "training" of his dogs.
His treatment of his farm as a grand experiment reminds me of a kid with an ant farm, occasionally throwing new kinks into the stability just to see what will happen, dumping animals out like the disposable creatures he believes them to be when they require too much time, affection, or money.
Anyone who loves animals and enjoys reading about them should try the James Herriot series instead. I won't read another book by this author not just because of his philosophy, but because he's a poor writer, and no one enjoys having to slog through a book, even in the last 15 pages.
"The farm is far more humbling than elevating" March 22, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
While Jon Katz is controversial in some circles for non-professional dog management, his Bedlam Farm memoirs are captivating and gritty. They detail the activities of the farm's dogs, donkeys, sheep, cat, steer, chickens--and the man himself, who gets by with lots of support from more country-wise locals.
With his flight from urban professionalism well-documented in A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me and Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure, Katz continues the Bedlam Farm series with this book about his third year of "hobby farming" in upstate New York. He's been at it long enough to improve his lambing skills and to establish an Easter tradition (reading from St. Augustine to the dogs and then bringing the sheep down the meadow above the church).
Katz writes without undue sentiment about farm life. He counts himself as a newcomer whose animals are "somewhere between products and pets." (p 29) The sheep-herding border collie, Rose, and the affectionate Labs Clementine and Pearl (the "Love Twins") are his constant companions; when a second border collie joins the menage, things get complicated. His wife lives and works in the city but to Katz's satisfaction is learning to enjoy her visits to the farm.
I found this book more satisfying than the earlier The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me because Katz is so much more assured in farm matters. An entertaining read.
Linda Bulger, 2008
Exceptional Book! March 15, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is the second book I have read by Katz. His connection with animals and his insight and understanding of their lives makes remarkable reading material. Katz is a gifted writer with the talented ability to clearly express his stories. I am a dog lover (own three and foster rescue dogs) and appreciate reading such detailed stories about dogs and their lives.
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