Animal Happiness [Hardcover]

Vicki Hearne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

A collection of essays profiles an amazing array of remarkable creatures and their extraordinary behaviors, including the Pakistani frog who became entranced by his own reflection, the lion who died of a broken heart, and the Airedale sculptor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In contrast to her tone in earlier books ( Adam's Task and Bandit ), Hearne exhibits a lighter side in this collection of animal tales. She writes about dogs of many breeds and accomplishments, including her own Airedales. There are stories about cats, horses, ornamental carp, a pet scorpion and tortoises. One section profiles advice columnist Josephine Trainer, the Miss Manners of dogdom. In a more serious vein, Hearne discusses naming dogs and mourning their deaths. She takes issue with Ludwig Wittgenstein on lions and language, visits a troupe of performing orangutans in Las Vegas and articulates her complex position in regard to the animal rights movement. The book is a treat for animal lovers. Many of these pieces first appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This new work from the author of Bandit: Dossier of a Dangerous Dog ( LJ 10/15/91) and Adam's Task: Calling Animals by Name ( LJ 8/86) is a treasure trove of anecdotes about animals and animal trainers. Hearne starts with the premise that in a time when misery abounds, people need to consider what happiness is and how to find it. She looks to the animal world and our interactions with it for examples of shared happiness. Her intent is not to instruct the reader in an academic way but to demonstrate that each species experiences happiness in its own way and to help us appreciate those experiences. Animal Happiness is not casual reading, as it is written in a very poetic, literary style. However, the chapters are brief and well worth the extra time necessary to digest their content. Those who are willing to take the time will doubtless see much of themselves reflected in the pages. Highly recommended.
- Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., Wis.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060190167
• ISBN-13: 978-0060190163
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,104,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff in here for those with patience, October 30, 2002

By 

Jon Wilkerson (denver, co) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Animal Happiness (Hardcover)

As an ex-shepherd, I found Ms. Hearne was often right on the mark in describing the strange relationships one must develop with animals to effectively train them. She does a good job of describing the personalities of a wide variety of animals - especially in the first half of the book. Human language can feel terribly inadequate when talking about the minds of animals, but she manages to help you understand a particular dog or horse without getting too anthropomorphic.

Alas, the book has some very long and uninspired philosophical rants. These can be very repetitious. Sometimes Ms. Hearne seems infatuated with her own cleverness in using language than to have a serious concern about saying anything.

So this book has some nuggets in it if your willing to wade through the prolix.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dog is my Co-Pilot, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Animal Happiness (Hardcover)

This is a fabulous book of essays on animal behavior and our humble, fumbling attempts to understand just what "animal happiness" entails. MS. Hearne is both an animal trainer and a philosopher and, in this book, as well as "Bandit" and "Adam's Task: Calling Animals by Name", she distinguishes herself as a quirky original thinker in both domains.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Joy, philosophy, and fake feminism, December 12, 2004

By 

Laurel Jenkins-Crowe "jenkinscrowe" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animal Happiness (Paperback)

Vicki was a trainer and a philospher, so I expect rants from her about the nature of lagnuage, etc. As a writer, I actually enjoy them. In this book, however, she spends a bit too much time riding her favorite hobbyhorses, among them the defense of pit bulls and pit bull-type dogs and a sort of militant faux-feminism. "You have to understand, Annie [her pit bull] is a matriarchal sort of dog." Sorry, but to me this translates as "the kind of dog someone has taught to dislike men." There's also a reference to a dog who was perfectly within its rights for "escorting to the door" a man who bored its owner, "a lady." I guess (?) Vicki meant the man was inappropriately coming on to the "lady," in which case, if she were a woman and a true feminist, she would have been damned well capable of showing him the door herself.

The Josephine Trainer columns, while sometimes amusing and sad, are occasionally so angry and cynical that I can't tell what point Vicki meant to make by them.

When she isn't being cute, Hearne shows us some amazing portraits of wonderful animals and the humans they talk to in this book. There is much joy here. Her knowledge of respect for animals shine through, particularly in pieces like "The Case of the Disobedient Orangutans." There's a little anti-animal-rights bitterness here, but that's appropriate. Much of the piece is devoted to showing that orangs and people, if they are the right sort of people, can really communicate, enjoy each other's company, and be comedians together.

(Disclaimer: I was a veterinary technician for ten years and a horse owner for five. I never trained animals professionally, but I have some experience with them.)