Author's Corner
Author's Corner
by Lauren Lewis
The Underdog:
A Celebration of Mutts
By Julia Szabo
(Workman Publishing)
A mutt, says fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, is couture. But not only does adopting a mixed-breed dog ensure you’ve gotten a one-of-a-kind companion, it can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. This book is a one-stop resource for anyone joining the fashionable ranks of mutt guardianship, covering topics from adoption to health, diet, lifestyle, and even the branches of the mutt family tree.
Author Julia Szabo lives in New York City with her five mutts. She writes the weekly “Pets” column for the New York Post and the monthly “You and Your Pet” column for Country Living magazine. Her newest book, The Underdog: A Celebration of Mutts, is a beloved tribute to our underrated canine friends. She sat down with us and shared her passion for pets.
Tails: Tell us about your own pets and their personalities.
Julia Szabo: I have five rescued mutts; four were adopted from animal shelters and the fifth one I found astray on a New York City street. Their names are Tiki, Sheba, Sam, Pepper, and Britannia Tige [B for short]. Each is an individual, so they all have their own individual quirks, but what they all share in common is that they are the most unconditionally loving, supportive family members I’ve ever had the good fortune to live with. All of them appear in The Underdog, except B, who was concerned she might become overexposed as a result of modeling in my previous books.
Tails: How did you become a pet reporter?
JS: Adopting my first mutt was a big event that happened to coincide with my decision to embark on a freelance-writing career. Without the constraints of an office job, I could be with Daisy all day long, and I took her with me to as many different places as I could. Pretty soon, I found myself interpreting things through the prism of dog guardianship. My beat as a reporter has always been culture and style. After Daisy entered my life, I learned firsthand that pets influence every aspect of culture and style, from design to art to movies. Pets, and dogs in particular, are relevant to today’s most hotly debated ethical issues—cloning is just one example. I’m staunchly against pet cloning, by the way.
Tails: What was your motivation for writing The Underdog?
JS: It kills me that every year, literally millions of adorable mutts are
euthanized at animal shelters across this country simply because there aren’t enough homes for them all. I actually lose a lot of sleep over the sad fact that so many status-conscious people are obsessed with buying expensive purebreds and “designer” dogs. My motivation for writing The Underdog is to persuade readers about the many wonderful benefits of adopting instead of buying pets—and to convince everyone to visit their local animal shelter and adopt a mixed-breed mutt. For a mere fraction of the price of a purebred, a mutt will be the best, smartest, most loyal friend you’ll ever know!
Tails: What was it like the first time you adopted a mutt?
JS: When I went to the ASPCA in New York to adopt my first mutt, a Pit Bull-Dalmatian cross named Daisy, I didn’t know much about sharing life with a dog and how completely it could change it for the better. By taking care of her and doing my best to meet all of her needs, I learned to see things from a dog’s perspective. Dogs just want to share everything with us, to be a part of all that we do. Daisy taught me a great deal, not just about her species, but about myself and my fellow humans. In many ways, I owe her my career. Daisy died a few years ago at the ripe old age of 16; The Underdog is dedicated to her.
Tails: In the book you’ve got quite a few celebrities and their mutts profiled. Who is your favorite celeb-mutt combo?
JS: That’s a tough question! I admire all of the celebrities featured in The Underdog; they all demonstrate incredible devotion to their mixed-breed dogs. One of my favorite stories is the one about Eric Stoltz and his heroic rescue of a stray he spotted on the Los Angeles freeway. It was a difficult, dangerous rescue, but Eric rose to the occasion without hesitation—now that’s a true dog lover.
Tails: What is one thing you think people should know about adopting an underdog?
JS: They should prepare themselves to be surprised, in a good way. You may think you know exactly what you’re looking for in an animal companion, but when your mutt finds you, there’s bound to be some element of surprise: She might look nothing at all like what you expected your dog to look like, or she might cross your path as a stray at a moment when you least expect it. Good dogs come to those who leave themselves open to surprise, and that openness is what distinguishes mutt mavens from purebred purists, who want everything to be predictable, their pets included.
