Chrissie's review of Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog
Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
Chrissie's review
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Read in July, 2008
<b>MARVELOUS!</> I give this book 5 stars without a second thought! You cry, you chuckle, you laugh out loud, you read again sections of other dog books mentioned in the text that one has^previously read, you search Wikipedia concerning subjects that the text brings to your attention and about which you realize you really have to know more. This book has everything for anyone that truly loves their dog.
OK I have to say one thing and I would really like to discuss this with others...... I don't like how the book ends, in that I really don't agree with how the author deals with the final stage of a dog's life. Quite simply I think he dog suffered too much at the end of his life. The the author should have euthanized the dog. On the other hand, I was not there. I did not see Merle. Ted thinks Merle remained happy. OK, if he was really sure then I agree with his actions. BUT this was a thinking dog. He was intelligent and he had emotions. One must also consider the dog's em...more
OK I have to say one thing and I would really like to discuss this with others...... I don't like how the book ends, in that I really don't agree with how the author deals with the final stage of a dog's life. Quite simply I think he dog suffered too much at the end of his life. The the author should have euthanized the dog. On the other hand, I was not there. I did not see Merle. Ted thinks Merle remained happy. OK, if he was really sure then I agree with his actions. BUT this was a thinking dog. He was intelligent and he had emotions. One must also consider the dog's em...more
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Hi Chris: I really enjoyed this book on many levels. However, I was saddened by the last weeks of Merle's life. I understand Ted's desire for Merle to go in his own time, but I don't think that dogs have the same understanding of suffering that humans do. Dogs suffer, and don't know why. They have no knowledge of some sort of grand scheme of things. I read recently that dogs don't normally show pain, it is some sort of protection instinct. Therefore, when they are obviously in pain/distress...it is time for their best friend, their human companion, to do the compassionate act of saying goodbye. When I had my grand old dog put to sleep last year, I felt that it was the greatest gift I could her, for a life well-lived, and greatly loved.
