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Rex and the City: True Tales of a Rescue Dog Who Rescued a Relationship
In this humorous, moving, keen, fun and startlingly original memoir, critically-acclaimed author Lee Harrington shares her story of love, loss, dysfunctional relationships, and the shelter dog who put things right. In 1997, Lee and her then-boyfriend Ed were on the verge of breaking up. Money was tight, their careers were floundering (Lee was an aspiring novelist: Ed was an aspiring documentary filmmaker) and their personalities, frankly, did not mix. Plus, they lived in a crumbling, cramped tenement apartment on the Lower East Side--for which they paid more than they earned. Then, on a fateful day in August , they decided on impulse to visit a nearby animal shelter, just to "look at" dogs. In a split-second decision that would change their lives, they brought home a troubled spaniel mix named Wallace. They quickly realized that this dog was more than they could handle--he was aggressive, fearful of humans, untrained and seemingly untrainable. For the first few months of their new lives with this aggressive animal, Lee and Ted struggled with the question--the reality--of whether they could realistically rehabilitate this dog (they even considered bringing him back to the shelter). They also struggled with the question of whether they could make it as a couple. Faced with a new responsibly, they bickered constantly, worried incessantly, cried daily (mostly Lee) and disagreed on nearly every aspect of how to handle the dog. Their disagreements ranged from how to train the dog to where he should sleep to what to feed him. But the one thing they could agree on was that they loved their dog. And slowly but surely, that love helped transform both the dog and the relationship. Both Lee and Ed, through the dog, learned how to love in new and fearless ways. And thus, by rescuing a needy spaniel, they ended up rescuing themselves.
Written with keen insight, sparkling humor, piercing honesty and masterful prose, Harrington's memoir leaves the reader with the sense that, while adopting an abused dog can often be a challenge at first, the rewards are limitless. This is an exhilarating book--readers will laugh out loud, smile in recognition, nod in empathy, and/or pause in reflection as Harrington shares both her pains and her joys of her life with a troubled dog. Mostly, readers will be reminded--in a delightful way--that love does indeed conquer all. Especially dog love.
Written with keen insight, sparkling humor, piercing honesty and masterful prose, Harrington's memoir leaves the reader with the sense that, while adopting an abused dog can often be a challenge at first, the rewards are limitless. This is an exhilarating book--readers will laugh out loud, smile in recognition, nod in empathy, and/or pause in reflection as Harrington shares both her pains and her joys of her life with a troubled dog. Mostly, readers will be reminded--in a delightful way--that love does indeed conquer all. Especially dog love.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2006
32 people are currently reading
588 people want to read
About the author
Lee Harrington
4 books21 followersLong considered the first and foremost author of the "dogoir" movement, LEE HARRINGTON has inspired, mentored, and edited some of the most prominent dog writers of our day. She serves as a literary editor, columnist, and book reviewer at Bark Magazine and has been named the "Best Humor Writer" by the Dog Writers' Association of America. Her hugely popular and influential column "Rex and the City" has been appearing in Bark since 2000. She is known for her keen intelligence, sharp wit, unflinching honestly, and touching and profound insights.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
June 10, 2012
This memoir is full of touching stories to make you fall in love with Wallace, the sweet shelter dog that the author and her boyfriend adopt. It is a success story on how caring for another creature can overcome the sadness in the world, and whatever may haunt us- human or dog.
What I did not like was the author's constant attempts at solidarity with certain groups, which come off very elitist. The setting is New York City, a place which is known for having its own state of mind. However, an entire chapter with "You know you are a New Yorker when..." statements interspersed into completely unrelated paragraphs gets old after a few times. I am a proud dog mother, and potentially, as Lee Harrington puts it, a Crazy Dog Lady, but there were times I simply did not follow the logic of a sentence that began with "Every dog owner knows..."
Overall, a good read that made me eager to rush home and scoop up my pooch in my arms, and never let him go. I'm just less than eager to read more by this author.
What I did not like was the author's constant attempts at solidarity with certain groups, which come off very elitist. The setting is New York City, a place which is known for having its own state of mind. However, an entire chapter with "You know you are a New Yorker when..." statements interspersed into completely unrelated paragraphs gets old after a few times. I am a proud dog mother, and potentially, as Lee Harrington puts it, a Crazy Dog Lady, but there were times I simply did not follow the logic of a sentence that began with "Every dog owner knows..."
Overall, a good read that made me eager to rush home and scoop up my pooch in my arms, and never let him go. I'm just less than eager to read more by this author.
November 20, 2019
I bought this book because I subscribe to The Bark magazine, where the author Lee Harrington has been a columnist for several years. She is one of the most soulful, funny, and intelligent dog writers I have ever read (and all I read are books about dogs, trust me.) One review calls this book "Hands-down the best human-with-dog memoir you will ever read!" and I second that opinion. Anyone who loves their dog, or appreciates a well-written sentence, will love this book. It's about Lee's experiences adopting an abused shelter dog. She had never had a dog before and was living with a boyfriend she wasn't getting along with too well, so it seems to me they adopted this dog to save their relationship. They didn't realize the dog had been abused, however, so they really had their hands full with this dog. I won't give away the ending, only to say it's worth reading to the last page! I've never seen a dog so aptly and lovingly described. Plus, this book is hilarious.
September 11, 2016
I haven't finished this book. I keep reading a chapter or two here and there between other books. It's pretty good, but I have a sense of foreboding because the author tells the reader in the introduction that her marriage falls apart and the dog dies. So although I enjoy her stories it all feels a little futile.
March 12, 2012
Despite a love of animals, I've always been a little scornful of the "cat/dog that changed my life" books. Everyone's pet has a story, I thought, that doesn't mean I want to read it. Anyhow, this title was free for a wee while and I figured I would give it a go. It sounded entertaining enough, and the dog is really cute. And I shall say - it had me hooked - I'm not normally much of a non-fiction reader, but I could not put this book down. I really enjoyed reading about Wallace's exploits, about the sense of helplessness from having adopted this poor, broken dog and then the sense of fulfillment when he became the dog that he should have been from the start. Wallace is certainly a charmer! The writer has a self-deprecating sense of humour, and a skill at focusing on just the right things - and despite a bit of repetition (I believe these were originally magazine editorials, hence the constant reminders on the size of the apartment, etc), her writing style was very engaging.
I only have one complaint about his book, in fact, and that is the editting. It's shocking, considering that this is not a self-publised title, but was released in book format via Random House and has been formatted in ebook by professions. They got the formating right, I'll give them that - but throughout the book there are words missing, badly editted sentences and the occasional wrong word used. No spelling mistakes that I could pick, but some of the sentence structures are a bit deformed. This distracted me rather from the charming plot and made me read and re-read several sentences, frowning as I tried to fix it in my head. And with the author reminding us frequently that she's an English Major and takes creative writing classes - you would think that someone would have picked up on these minor but irritating errors before it went to eprint.
Anyhow, grammatic niggles aside, I really enjoyed this book and I think it ended on a good note. Whilst the additional extract from "Rex part 2" made for very interesting reading, I think I would rather their tale ended, for me, on a happy note. Not with the animal dying, which seems to be the finale for most of this genre, but with the dog really living.
I only have one complaint about his book, in fact, and that is the editting. It's shocking, considering that this is not a self-publised title, but was released in book format via Random House and has been formatted in ebook by professions. They got the formating right, I'll give them that - but throughout the book there are words missing, badly editted sentences and the occasional wrong word used. No spelling mistakes that I could pick, but some of the sentence structures are a bit deformed. This distracted me rather from the charming plot and made me read and re-read several sentences, frowning as I tried to fix it in my head. And with the author reminding us frequently that she's an English Major and takes creative writing classes - you would think that someone would have picked up on these minor but irritating errors before it went to eprint.
Anyhow, grammatic niggles aside, I really enjoyed this book and I think it ended on a good note. Whilst the additional extract from "Rex part 2" made for very interesting reading, I think I would rather their tale ended, for me, on a happy note. Not with the animal dying, which seems to be the finale for most of this genre, but with the dog really living.
December 22, 2008
Rex and the City is the story of what happens when you adopt a dog without thinking about it first. If you expect the perfect dog you certainly won't get one.
Rex is a spaniel mix adopted from the shelter. His owners think that he will be the perfect dog for them. They find out that he has been permanently scarred by his previous life. He is not the sweet cuddly dog they wanted. He is the exact opposite: standoffish, grumpy, destructive, hard headed and able to the most inapproriate acts at any time. He is afraid of everything. He refuses to be trained and is not the right size for the very small appartment these people live in.
Their attempts to train him are terrible. They read books; one tells them to take the gentle approach the other tells them to be forceful. They take him to a dog trainer and later find out that Rex is the 1st dog she has ever trained.
They consider taking him back to the shelter several times but just when they make up their minds, Rex will do something to change them
This book is realistic. How many times have people failed in the attempt to socialize their pets and dumped them in the shelter? Then their mistakes become my foster dogs and it takes a large amount to time and patience to fix their mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes can't be fixed.
t
Rex is a spaniel mix adopted from the shelter. His owners think that he will be the perfect dog for them. They find out that he has been permanently scarred by his previous life. He is not the sweet cuddly dog they wanted. He is the exact opposite: standoffish, grumpy, destructive, hard headed and able to the most inapproriate acts at any time. He is afraid of everything. He refuses to be trained and is not the right size for the very small appartment these people live in.
Their attempts to train him are terrible. They read books; one tells them to take the gentle approach the other tells them to be forceful. They take him to a dog trainer and later find out that Rex is the 1st dog she has ever trained.
They consider taking him back to the shelter several times but just when they make up their minds, Rex will do something to change them
This book is realistic. How many times have people failed in the attempt to socialize their pets and dumped them in the shelter? Then their mistakes become my foster dogs and it takes a large amount to time and patience to fix their mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes can't be fixed.
t
February 1, 2012
Loved this book! It is heartwarming and funny. I actually liked it more than "Marley and Me" (not as sad!) It has a great website, http://www.rexandthecity.net/ that has information about the author, her columns and adopting shelter dogs in general. If you like dog memoirs, you should definitely read "Rex and the City"!
December 12, 2020
It is not easy to adopt a dysfunctional dog; create space for him, in the space crunched city apartment and time crunch lifestyle. Lee and her boyfriend managed to understand Rex and his issues. The abandoned dog finally found the parents who made him feel like a dog, and they accepted him as he is. In return, Rex united the two opposite poles, Lee and Ted by being the crazy center of their chaotic city life.
It is the most real memoir, I have ever read. There is no dramatic twist in the climax. The narrative goes like a real story unfolding in my city neighborhood.
It is the most real memoir, I have ever read. There is no dramatic twist in the climax. The narrative goes like a real story unfolding in my city neighborhood.
January 5, 2022
Wanted to enjoy this more but didn’t love
February 11, 2012
http://rexandthecity.net
In this humorous, moving, intelligent and startlingly original memoir, critically-acclaimed author Lee Harrington shares her story of love, loss, dysfunctional relationships, and the shelter dog who put things right. In 1997, Lee and her then-boyfriend Ed were on the verge of breaking up. Money was tight, their careers were floundering (Lee was an aspiring novelist: Ed was an aspiring documentary filmmaker) and their personalities, frankly, did not mix. Plus, they lived in a crumbling, cramped tenement apartment on the Lower East Side—for which they paid more than they earned. Tempers, needless to say, often flared.
Then, on a fateful day in August 1997, they decided on impulse to visit a nearby animal shelter, just to “look at” dogs. In a split-second decision that would change their lives, they brought home a troubled spaniel mix named Wallace. They quickly realized that this dog was more than they could handle—he was aggressive, fearful of humans, untrained and seemingly untrainable. For the first few months of their new lives with this aggressive animal, Lee and Ted struggled with the question—the reality—of whether they could realistically rehabilitate this dog (they even considered bringing him back to the shelter). They also struggled with the question of whether they could make it as a couple. Faced with a new responsibly, they bickered constantly, worried incessantly, cried daily (mostly Lee) and disagreed on nearly every aspect of how to handle the dog. Their disagreements ranged from how to train the dog to where he should sleep to what to feed him. But the one thing they could agree on was that they loved their dog. And slowly but surely, that love helped transform both the dog and the relationship. Both Lee and Ed, through the dog, learned how to love in new and fearless ways. And thus, by rescuing a needy spaniel, they ended up rescuing themselves.
In this humorous, moving, intelligent and startlingly original memoir, critically-acclaimed author Lee Harrington shares her story of love, loss, dysfunctional relationships, and the shelter dog who put things right. In 1997, Lee and her then-boyfriend Ed were on the verge of breaking up. Money was tight, their careers were floundering (Lee was an aspiring novelist: Ed was an aspiring documentary filmmaker) and their personalities, frankly, did not mix. Plus, they lived in a crumbling, cramped tenement apartment on the Lower East Side—for which they paid more than they earned. Tempers, needless to say, often flared.
Then, on a fateful day in August 1997, they decided on impulse to visit a nearby animal shelter, just to “look at” dogs. In a split-second decision that would change their lives, they brought home a troubled spaniel mix named Wallace. They quickly realized that this dog was more than they could handle—he was aggressive, fearful of humans, untrained and seemingly untrainable. For the first few months of their new lives with this aggressive animal, Lee and Ted struggled with the question—the reality—of whether they could realistically rehabilitate this dog (they even considered bringing him back to the shelter). They also struggled with the question of whether they could make it as a couple. Faced with a new responsibly, they bickered constantly, worried incessantly, cried daily (mostly Lee) and disagreed on nearly every aspect of how to handle the dog. Their disagreements ranged from how to train the dog to where he should sleep to what to feed him. But the one thing they could agree on was that they loved their dog. And slowly but surely, that love helped transform both the dog and the relationship. Both Lee and Ed, through the dog, learned how to love in new and fearless ways. And thus, by rescuing a needy spaniel, they ended up rescuing themselves.
September 8, 2012
I enjoyed how Ted and Lee worked together to overcome the obstacles of raising their rescue dog, Wallace A.K.A Rex, in New York City, and how their collaboration positively transformed their lives. The story begins on a whim, when they stop at the shelter and adopt Rex, and ends in the wise realization that all the struggles, failures and occasional triumphs that they've experienced together along the way have strengthened their commitment to one another. Lee Harrington's voice as the worried dog mom possessed a winsome charm that was incredibly appealing. Because of her skills as a story teller and her sharp eye and rich knowledge of all things New York, I found myself reading at the easy pace that I reserve for books that create a vivid world in which the story is set. That world was fun and whimsical and yet set on firm foundations. I must say that all the fashion references which, as someone from the country I neither know or care too much about, really tickled me because they seemed so right in Lee Harrington's voice, and so much fun. REX AND THE CITY really made this reader aware of our ancient canine connections and how they anchor us to the natural world even in a city like New York.
March 20, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED IT-Regardless of typos & redundancies, March 18, 2012
By Donna L. Sadd (Kempner, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Rex and the City: True Tales of a Rescue Dog Who Rescued a Relationship (Kindle Edition)
The author tells us in advance that this is a compilation of a story that she wrote (for Bark Magazine) over time, so evidently one has to expect redundancies (though I'm not in love with typos I soon got over it). As a fellow Crazy Dog Lady, which I proudly admit (now, knowing that I'm not alone), I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Period. Nuf said. You'll learn things you might not have known about raising dogs...I realize I did and my dogs are better for it!
By Donna L. Sadd (Kempner, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Rex and the City: True Tales of a Rescue Dog Who Rescued a Relationship (Kindle Edition)
The author tells us in advance that this is a compilation of a story that she wrote (for Bark Magazine) over time, so evidently one has to expect redundancies (though I'm not in love with typos I soon got over it). As a fellow Crazy Dog Lady, which I proudly admit (now, knowing that I'm not alone), I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Period. Nuf said. You'll learn things you might not have known about raising dogs...I realize I did and my dogs are better for it!
July 15, 2012
I truly loved reading this book. It was a great story of a couple who rescued a dog that had a lot of problems. The book described everything they went through, what steps they took to solve problems, what they learned, and how they grew, not only as a couple, but also in their individual lives. Big things didn't seem big anymore. The author went from dressed in the latest fashions at the beginning of the book to being a crazy dog lady in jeans and dirty shirts at the end. She learned to appreciate life.
Some parts of this book seemed a little drawn out and I found myself getting impatient during some of it, but otherwise it was written well.
Part of the proceeds from this book go to animal rescue. I highly recommend it.
Some parts of this book seemed a little drawn out and I found myself getting impatient during some of it, but otherwise it was written well.
Part of the proceeds from this book go to animal rescue. I highly recommend it.
July 5, 2015
I read this because of the recommendation from The Bark; it's the only thing that got me through the first 75 pages. The only character to like was Rex, and even he was hard to love at that point, through no fault of is own (poor dog! And also, I note here that I have a rescue dog whom I suspect had a not-so-nice past, and my guy acted nothing like this. This isn't the behavior of all rescue dogs!). I guess I'm giving this three stars for Rex's story, but the author and I are such totally different people, with such different priorities (despite some similarities), that it was very hard to truly like her as presented on the page. Still, I'm glad she and Ted stuck with Rex and ended up with a happy dog.
September 14, 2012
This book will make you laugh, cry, and shake your head in amazement at this dog's antics. I really enjoyed reading it.
I would have given this a 4 star rating but for the punctuation, grammar, and editing mistakes, particularly in the last 25% of the book. I understand this book was written and compiled from a series of articles written for a dog magazine so I could forgive some repeated topics and comments to a degree. By the end, it just got down to a matter of sloppy editing, such as words in the wrong places, sentence repeated within a paragraph, and the like.
I've found similar editing errors in other Kindle books, particularly the free books. Anyone else?
I would have given this a 4 star rating but for the punctuation, grammar, and editing mistakes, particularly in the last 25% of the book. I understand this book was written and compiled from a series of articles written for a dog magazine so I could forgive some repeated topics and comments to a degree. By the end, it just got down to a matter of sloppy editing, such as words in the wrong places, sentence repeated within a paragraph, and the like.
I've found similar editing errors in other Kindle books, particularly the free books. Anyone else?
July 25, 2012
Eh, at best. It's a good dog book but nothing compared to 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' though. I particularly found the editing (editor or writer are fault?) to be a hinderance while reading. Oftentimes I would stumble over typographical errors, word repetition or missing words. It's just plain annoying. This was the Kindle edition, so perhaps the editor didn't feel it necessary to correct these issues?
April 13, 2011
An excellent book--fun, fast read. Hilarious humor. If you love dogs, or love cities, you'll love this book. Bark magazine called it "hands-down the best human-with-dog memoir you'll ever read, and I agree. This one has the most energy of all the other dog-oirs I've read in the past months. Someone should turn this into a movie!!!
Read
August 14, 2011This was really amusing - I'm not sure who was more dysfunctional - Rex or his owners. Luckily, they all got better in time for a happy ending. It was also interesting to read the challenges of having a dog in New York when you live in a tiny apartment - my Sadie is really spoiled with her backyard to romp in and chase the birds. I really enjoyed this book - very fun to read!
March 5, 2012
This was a delightful, sometimes heartbreaking, story of a rescue dog and his family. It got a bit tiresome ("you know you're a New Yorker when...") in spots but it was right on when it came to describing pet owners. We all become obsessed with our pets, a fact that one who is not a pet owner would not understand.
May 23, 2012
I adore this book and recommend it frequently. In fact just lent out my first read copy for a friend to read. You will laugh-out-loud and touching without being ultimately heartbreaking as so many dog stories are i.e. Marley and Me. ("you know you're a New Yorker when...") got a bit old. Overall a wonderful book. It's a quick read too perfect for the beach.
January 22, 2013
I read an exerpt of this in a magazine and knew I had to read the whole thing. I was happy to find it was available in an "extended version" if I bought the e-book. As I read along, I started noticing typos! I wonder if this was just in the "extended book" or if the hard copy had been that way. But the author writes with a lol humor, so I enjoyed the book and would read more of her work.
February 8, 2016
This book about the author, Lee, her boyfriend, Ed, and the dog Wallace that they adopted while living in NYC. They were unprepared dog owners, the dog had previously been abused and some parts were laugh out loud funny as they all adjust to each other. Other sections were a bit overboard for me. I love dogs but they went off the deep end!
August 4, 2007
I loved this book. It's so funny, I found myself laughing outloud on my BART commute. And as the proud owner of a crazy, rescued pit bull, I certainly relate to the struggles and hilarity of taking in a dysfunctional dog.
September 9, 2007
I really liked this memoir because it reminded me of our experience adopting our shelter dog. We too expected her to be grateful and loving, and instead she was a terror! The details of getting settled with the new dog are funny and real!
September 14, 2009
When I first started this book, I was thinking these people really don't need to own a dog. Thankfully, by the end of my book, they changed my mind. I think their dogs are very fortunate to have them as owners and I'm especially grateful that they adopted a rescue.
November 10, 2008
first discovered this writer from the excerpts printed in BARK magazine. fun, witty, silly adventures of a woman, her boyfriend and the dog they adopt from a shelter. learning to live with one another in NYC
November 8, 2008
I took my time reading this one. The auther is fun, witty, expressive and descriptive in her narrative of Rex's behaviour. I too can NOT wait for the sequel. In looking at her website I can't tell if Rex or her boyfriend are still with her?? Can anyone else?
July 22, 2009
I adore this book and recommend it frequently. It's laugh-out-loud funny and touching without being ultimately heartbreaking as so many dog stories are. Highly recommended for dog lovers everywhere.
January 12, 2011
Lee Harrington's memoir is a beautifully written and sharply crafted piece of literature. And there's a dog in it. Don't get me wrong: the book is about a dog. But even as a non dog person (don't shoot me!) I found myself fully enthralled by this tragically funny tale.
March 5, 2012
Being a dog owner, cat too, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having gone through some of these antics with our dog, I could understand and feel what they went through. Will look for the next book in this series.
July 2, 2012
I thought the story was fun and touching. I'm always rooting for an abused animal to get a second chance at a great life and this did not disappoint. I read the Kindle version and I was very frustrated by the number of grammatical errors and overall lack of editing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews