Author's Corner
by Judy Sutton Taylor
The Dogs Who Found Me: What I’ve Learned from Pets Who Were Left Behind
By Ken Foster
(The Lyons Press)
Author Ken Foster was living a pretty carefree life in New York City before the picture of a Pit Bull-mix puppy on www.Petfinder.com led him to a shelter in Brooklyn, transforming him into a “dog person” who quickly became active in stray rescue. Foster examines how this happened in his new memoir about five dog-filled years bookended by his firsthand experiences with September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. Sentimental without being sappy, he provides an unflinching look at how humans treat their canine companions and mixes it with just enough humor to keep you from crying your eyes out.
Foster lives in New Orleans with his three dogs, Brando, Zephyr, and Sula (and perhaps a canine guest or two who are “between homes”). He is the author of The Kind I’m Likely to Get and the editor of two collections of short stories, Dog Culture: Writers on the Character of Canines and The KGB Bar Reader. Foster recently took time to chat with Tails about his latest work.
Tails: Your life really changed after you got your first dog, Brando.
Ken Foster: For me, spending time with dogs—and Brando in particular—made me understand and see things I had ignored in the world around me. I had been focused on city life in New York—my job, bars, going to good restaurants. Not much else existed. But none of those things matter to a dog—they bring you down to this very basic level, and it really opened up my mind to what was important. Saving a stray dog may make you late for drinks or dinner, but that’s really not a good enough reason not to do it.
Tails: You’ve said that your dogs made living through your experiences with September 11 and Hurricane Katrina easier. How?
KF: After 9/11, I would have felt more isolated and alone without a dog. Brando still needed to be walked first thing in the morning, and sticking to our routine helped things feel more normal. He’d stop us in front of the memorials and candles at a time when I would have been happy to ignore them and he made me account for all these feelings. With Katrina, it was because of my dogs that I evacuated before the storm.
Tails: What kind of reaction are you getting to the book?
KF: So many people tell me they feel that they’re reading their own stories, and I think that people like that it’s not a book that’s gooey and sweet, since rescuing dogs isn’t really gooey and sweet. In writing the book, I discovered how amazing it is to
have an understanding between yourself and an animal. But I also realized that it’s easy to get crazily engaged and forget that they aren’t people. I may consult with my dogs on major decisions, but they are not human beings.
Tails: It must feel strange to be on the road promoting the book and talking about your dogs so much, but not having them with you.
KF: There’s no dog hair, no slobbering, none of the constant pacing back and forth—and I miss all of it.
For more information about the author, visit www.Ken-Foster.com.
