Pets in America

By Katherine C. Grier ,

Book cover of Pets in America: A History

Book description

Entertaining and informative, Pets in America is a portrait of Americans' relationships with the cats, dogs, birds, fishes, rodents, and other animals we call our own. More than 60 percent of U.S. households have pets, and America grows more pet-friendly every day. But as Katherine C. Grier demonstrates, the ways…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Pets in America as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book was one of my primary go-to’s when I was writing my own book, Citizen Canine. It’s an in-depth exploration of the changing status of cats and dogs throughout American history, and it’s fascinating. Chock-full of photos and great anecdotes, it’s a must for anyone who wants to take a deep dive into the American history of pets. 

Grier's history, Pets in America, studies the United States pet-owning culture in which many people treat their living and dead pets' bodies much like the bodies of their closest human relatives. For some humans, their “pets” are their closest relatives, as was true of me when I was a girl. Humans spend enormous amounts of money on their animal companions when they are alive and even after they die. Humans often cremate them or buy graves in pet cemeteries and bury them. They hold funerals and memorials for them. Grier tells the story of how this important relationship came…

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