Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs | 
 enlarge | Author: Caroline Knapp
Publisher: Delta
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 14257
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0385317018
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.70887
EAN: 9780385317016
ASIN: 0385317018
Publication Date: June 8, 1999
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Caroline Knapp is head over heels in love--not with a human being, but with her mixed-breed dog, Lucille. From the moment Lucille first locked eyes with Knapp through the bars of an animal shelter cage, the intelligent, pointy-eared mutt began to transform Knapp's life. Reeling from the deaths of both her parents, a breakup with a long-term boyfriend, and her newly won sobriety after a 20-year battle with the bottle (which was skillfully chronicled in a previous memoir, Drinking: A Love Story), Knapp found in Lucille not only companionship, but "consistency, continuity, connection. In a word, love." Although she doesn't regard Lucille as a replacement for alcohol and lost loved ones, Knapp does believe "that in loving her I have had that sense of being filled anew and essentially redirected, an old identity shattered and a new one emerging in its stead." In Pack of Two Knapp, with the help of dog psychiatrists, trainers, breeders, and owners, explores the partnership between human and dog and the mysteries of the canine mind--how dogs love, how they think, and how they see human beings. And despite her findings that the dog will remain essentially "mysterious ... unknowable," Knapp is ultimately at peace with this, still devouring the moments when dog and human can "transcend the language barrier" to "understand what the other wants and feels." This book pays homage to the wonderful and complex relationship between one woman and her dog. --Naomi Gesinger
Product Description
At the age of 36, Caroline Knapp, author of the acclaimed bestseller Drinking:A Love Story, found herself confronted with a monumental task: redefining her world.She had faced the loss of both her parents, given up a twenty-year relationship with alcohol, and, as she writes, "I was wandering around in a haze of uncertainty, blinking up at the biggest questions: Who am I without parents and without alcohol? How to form attachments, and where to find comfort, in the face of such daunting vulnerability?"An answer materialized in the most unlikely form: that of a dog.Eighteen months to the day after she quit drinking, Knapp stumbled upon an eight-week-old puppy at a local animal shelter, took her home, and named her Lucille.Now two years old, Lucille has become a central force in Knapp's life: "In her," she writes,"I have found solace, joy, a bridge to the world."
Caroline Knapp has been celebrated as much for her fresh insight into emotional and psychological issues as she has been for her gifts as a writer.In Pack of Two, she brings the same perception and talent to bear on the rich, complicated terrain of human-animal relationships.In addition to mining her own experience with Lucille, Knapp speaks to a wide variety of dog people--from animal behaviorists and psychologists to other owners whose dogs have deeply affected their lives--about this emotionally complex, sometimes daunting, often profoundly healing alliance.Throughout, she explores the shift in canine roles from working partners to intimate companions and looks, too, at how this new kinship, this wordless bond, becomes a template for what we most desire ourselves.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 67 more reviews...
 Best Memoir February 23, 2008
This is the best memoir an animal lover, dogs especially, will ever read. Have no fear; there is no sad ending here, only an in-depth investigation and revelation of the unique and beautiful relationships we have with the dogs and other pets in our lives.
If you want to know more about the why and how behind these incredible and often (as was the case in Knapp's book) live-saving relationships read the book shown below. I enjoyed it, too, and it provides some surprising insights and valuable, usable information from. It discusses the origin and comprehensive nature of our relationships with animals, providing scientifically sound information on the love we share and the roles we play in each other's lives: The Powerful Bond between People and Pets: Our Boundless Connections to Companion Animals (Practical and Applied Psychology)
One of the best dog memoirs ever! June 5, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Before Marley there was Lucille. This is a funny, informative memoir which will, alas, will empty your tear ducts. Knapp was a terrific writer and what a tragedy it is to have lost her. Especially at such a young age.
go, fetch!!!! immediatly!!! March 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
maybe like some people here says this is not a book about training, in the kind of manual to accomplish your dog to do some stuff; neither is the kind of book like the Konrad Lorenz, 'When the man find the dog' or like Desmond Morris about the same theme. And one has to be thankful for it. This book is about the core of the relation, the love and the bond, you can have with your dog. Maybe something not easily understood to the non-dog passerby, nevertheless for us the dog lovers is a tender colection of ideas and reflections on the subject. Even so, there is a research behind it, and some hard facts coming with a decent book list at the end. If sometimes lacks of discipline like some other person says here, well, i really like my love affairs without boot camp, laws and restriction, and even when my dog is perfectly trained, I really like to spoil myself letting me love her without boundaries and restraint, she fills every aspect of my life, and she makes me... human. Long live to Caroline Knapp, and now she is not here anymore, lets laugh and cry with she and lucille, and share that perfect aeternal bond with our dogs. ...And yes my dog is lying here in my bed, quite undisciplined but warm and perfect... if anyone complains, I would not change my bed with 'Amelia' for any human of any form whatsoever.... guau guau guau
ONE OF THE BES DOG BOOKS I'VE READ May 1, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is my first book review and, WOW! did I pick a great one to start off with.
You'll have to pardon me if I'm over-enthusiastic with my praise, but I'm telling it as it is.
From page one, I totally related to this lady (Caroline Knapp), from the time she was 'just thinking' about getting a dog, to going to the Dog pound to 'just look', to 'should I adopt or not?' to 'well, maybe' to finally getting the pooch.
I think I even got the same Mutt breed that she adopted.
The Pound informed me that my Sara was a GSD/Mix. Ms Knapp adopted a Shepherd/Mix. She says this is Dog Pound code for
"We really don't know."
I became so engrossed with the human/dog connection we have with our soul mates, that I looked Caroline Knapp up on GOOGLE.
Sad, it is to say, I found out that she died of cancer at the age of 42.
Her loyal companion, Lucille, was there at her bedside, faithful to the end.
 How we relate to dogs and other friends April 11, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is for anyone who wants to consider reasons why they love what they love.
The author's independent view gives the type of different perspective many of us read books for. If she was only super smart, & told us primarily things we already knew, that would probably not be worth reading. Ms. Knapp is so much more.
I admire Ms. Knapp's intellect, uncommon perspective, & incredible focus on a particular subject matter. Anyone who reads this book is going to understand more about why certain people go to such amazing lengths, and spend so much time, money, and energy on their dogs. Her writing style is great. Her lack of repitition in her vocabulary, sentence structure, and thought presentation is remarkable. This book is not just about dogs. It is an interesting read for people who want to understand the thought processes of people who: 1) love dogs, or 2) are neurotic, or 3) have human relationship commitment issues, or 4) struggle with their human family.
Ms. Knapp's focus & examination of the ideas and perceptions that can lead to the creation of strong bonds with dogs is fascinating. She gives the reader a greater appreciation, like a wine expert might teach someone more to appreciate about wine.
Ms. Knapp loved dogs for their tolerance, faithfulness, lack of artificial baggage, and accepting accomodation. She found qualities in her dog that she did not perceive in the humans she encountered.
She asserts that relationships with dogs are occasionally a substitute for other things; but more often, they are beautiful on their own merits and do not find value by being a substitute for something else.
Dogs can't use words. They are beautiful because they must learn to listen and communicate to the people around them largely based on non-verbal cues.
Very sadly, Ms. Knapp died at too young of an age. If she were alive, I'd write her a letter of gratitude and ask her many questions.
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