Review

This is probably a thought provoking book. I will never know, because early on, the author says the following: “For those of us who did not grow up with animals, it is hard to see the difference between a cute puppy and a cute robot.” For those of us who did grow up with animals, and those of us whose hearts are not shriveled to the size of a walnut, this is a breathtakingly stupid remark. Social mammals experience and express emotions in ways that we easily recognize. Joy, contentment, fear, pain, boredom, excitement: anyone who has lived with a dog knows when their (or any) dog experiences those emotions. And dogs express and respond to affection in ways familiar to us. So even if this is an excellent book, I just can’t get past this one egregiously ignorant comment.

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