Dogland

February 12, 2024
In this offbeat report, memoirist Tomlinson (The Elephant in the Room) delves into the eccentricities of the dog show world. Focusing on the efforts of handler Laura King and her Samoyed, Striker, to win the 2022 Westminster Dog Show, Tomlinson describes the grooming, training, and traveling that went into making Striker a circuit champion and provides a play by play of his performance at Westminster, where he won the working group but lost best in show after getting distracted and “dancing around.” Tomlinson revels in the peculiarities of dog shows, discussing how handlers pay trade magazines hundreds of dollars’ worth of “for your consideration” ads in advance of events and study up on judges’ preferences to determine which shows they stand the best chances of winning. Tomlinson regards the proceedings with jocular bemusement (he describes the camper-filled lots outside of shows “as something like the eternal caravan of Deadheads, except fueled by boxed wine and Big Macs more than LSD and falafel”), and even digressive tangents exploring, for instance, the surprising frequency of French bulldog abductions (the breed’s anatomy makes it difficult for them to reproduce, and so a puppy can sell for as much as $30,000) enthrall in Tomlinson’s capable telling. Fans of Best in Show will want to add this to their shelf. Agent: Sloan Harris, CAA.

March 1, 2024
Are show dogs happy? Are regular dogs happy? A dog lover examines these and other questions. In this follow-up to The Elephant in the Room, Tomlinson, the host of NPR's SouthBound podcast, delivers an easygoing look at dog show culture, which he calls "Dogland" and its denizens call "the fancy." Along the way, he includes tidbits of dog-related research, various "top fives"--e.g., Cartoon Dogs, Advertising Dogs, Dog Haters--and a section devoted to the saga of his own dear lab mutt, Fred. While some of the fun facts are well known (the breathing problems of French bulldogs), others are fresh, and all are presented in Tomlinson's disarming and humorous style. For example, writing about a politician in Argentina who cloned his late mastiff, he notes, "The weird part is that Milei considers the mastiffs to be his political advisers, via a mystic who serves as a go-between....If you think this in any way disqualifies him from office, welcome back to Earth from wherever you have spent the past few years. In November 2023, Milei was elected president of Argentina." One of the main narrative threads concerns Striker, a beloved Samoyed who took honors at the Westminster Dog Show two years running and was profiled in the New York Times. Tomlinson illuminates the personalities and practices of the characters on the dog show circuit, particularly the relationship of Striker and his handler, Laura King, who travels with as many as 20 dogs in a motor home she calls Betty White. "I came to think of the whole scene as something like the eternal caravan of Deadheads," he writes, "except fueled by boxed wine and Big Macs more than LSD and falafel." Readers will want pictures, but images of Striker and his competition are easily found online. This book wants to lick your face. Let it.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 15, 2024
Are show dogs happy? That's the question that Tomlinson (The Elephant in the Room, 2019) asks over the course of three years as he went to over 100 dog shows, from the smaller affairs to the big one (Westminster). He checks in frequently with Striker, a Samoyed, and his handler, Laura King, who travels the country with her wife in a motor home named Betty White, showing dogs. Striker is a serious contender for Best in Show, which doesn't mean he's the most beautiful dog (though he is beautiful); Best in Show is the dog that best conforms to its breed standards. Tomlinson explores it all, from breeding practices and concerns to a rumination on his own, late, very good mutt Fred. Along the way, Tomlinson provides footnotes with breed information; ""Pee Breaks"" about things like ""Cartoon Dogs, Ranked""; and interviews with luminaries like Tressie McMillan Cottom, who owns a Havanese, Kirby. The result is an amusing, extremely readable look at the ""fancy"" (what insiders call the dog show world) that will appeal to dog lovers.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.