My goats are not contemplative, accepting, or introspective. They are the Greek chorus of my farm, sometimes of my life. They watch me closely and remind me that I am foolish. Jon Katz Read Quote
I think of animals more as spirits that come and go. They enter our lives at a particular time and they leave at a particular time. The whole glorious history of animals with people is about joy and connection. It’s about loving this creature and letting this creature love you. Jon Katz Read Quote
I’m one of those people who has always struggled with emotions and revealing them. When my dog Orson died, I did this very male thing of ‘It’s just a dog and I’ll just move on.’ I was very slow to grasp the emotion. But Orson is the reason I started writing about dogs. Jon Katz Read Quote
It is possible to take something beautiful and lasting out of the heart-wrenching experience of seeing the animal you love move inexorably toward death. Jon Katz Read Quote
Some people say that their pets will tell them when it’s time to go. I don’t believe that. No animal of mine has ever told me he was ready to die. I wish it were that simple. Dogs can communicate, but they cannot talk, nor do they think in our language or on our terms. Jon Katz Read Quote
Dogs are not ‘people’ of another species. They are another species. To train and care for them properly, to show them how to live in our complex world, requires first and foremost that we understand that. Jon Katz Read Quote
Dogs and other animals – goats, donkeys, cows, a grumpy rooster – continue to change my writing life. Jon Katz Read Quote
Kids leave us and go off on their own lives. Family members tell us what they think of us. Animals can’t do that. They really are blank canvases, and we can project anything we want onto them. So the relationship is very pure and simple. Jon Katz Read Quote
When an animal dies, it gives you the chance to love another animal. That’s an insightful and profound way to look at it. Jon Katz Read Quote
Dog rescue remains a gamble, of course. For all the good will, hard work, and noble motivation, nobody can really predict with certainty how a traumatized, dislocated dog will respond in a new environment. Jon Katz Read Quote
