Small Dog, Big Life

Book excerpt: They watch our every move, study our habits, judge our moods, and time our activities. They plot elaborate subterfuges to manipulate us into doing their bidding and trick us into participating in their nefarious schemes. They charm us into loving them. They are our dogs. Genevieve, a brilliant seven-pound papillon who dares to break the canine code of silence, invites you into the inner sanctum of dogdom in this hilarious exposé about what dogs really think of their people. In her bitingly funny memoir, Genevieve reveals canine secrets never before shared with humans while also passing on her devious tricks-of-the-trade to her legions of furry pupils. In Small Dog, Big Life, Genevieve sinks her teeth into such topics as driving tips for dogs, the tragedy of doorbells in TV commercials, measuring the intelligence of humans, finding a reason for cats, how prehistoric dogs saved the caveman's bacon, converting your house into an agility course, and productive kitchen behavior. Throughout, Genevieve unleashes a scathing analysis of human culture that will have sociologists all over the world looking for new jobs, while inspiring canines everywhere to rise up and assume their rightful places as heads of the household. Insightful, entertaining, and peppered with sophistication, wit, and charm, Small Dog, Big Life is not only for animal lovers of all ages but for anyone who appreciates an ironic sense of humor. And, ultimately, through Genevieve's "words," it is a celebration of the wondrous and loving relationship between dogs and their people.