The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Summer 2020 | Page 57
EDITOR'S CHOICE | BOOKS, DVDs AND MORE
Books, Banter and Barks
APDT members invited to join Facebook page discussion on dog behavior and training
Interested in books about dog behavior and in conversations with the authors? Ever wanted to talk with an author about their
research and sources? APDT member Patricia Tirrell has just created a new group on Facebook, “Books, Banter, and Barks,” where
you can read books and have discussions with the authors and other members. The group is located at: https://www.facebook.
com/groups/BooksBanterandBarks/ and select the “join” option. Be sure to answer the three questions asked of each prospective
member. If you have any questions, please contact Pat at [email protected].
Below is a schedule of the books to be discussed for 2020:
Date Author Title
July 1-15 Risë VanFleet and Animal Assisted Play Therapy – A Specialized Look
Tracie J. Faa-Thompson
Aug. 1-15 Niki Tudge Pet Training and Behavior Consulting: A Model for Raising the
Bar to Protect Professionals, Pets and Their People
vision. I also felt an intense connection to the author, Sia Ryan,
who uses her own geriatric pet’s life (and passing) experiences to
prepare the reader for senior, geriatric, and end of life care.
No matter if you are a dog trainer investigating new approaches
for senior pet clients or if you recommend this book to client
who is a guardian of a senior pet, this read promises to teach
any old dog (or dog trainer!) new and beneficial tricks.
— Heather Blakeman, CPDT-KA
Lily and the Octopus
Written by Steven Rowley
Published by Simon & Schuster, published
2016; 336 pages. Currently is being
developed as a feature film by Amazon
Studios. Where to purchase: Amazon
$28.99 hardcover, $11.89 paperback,
$12.99 Kindle; Target.com $11.98
paperback; Walmart.com $13.07 paperback; Barnes and Noble,
$16.99 paperback, $9.99 Nook
I found this book quite by accident. During some involuntary
downtime caused by COVID-19, I had been googling debut
novels about dogs to get some advice and insight into the
process and Steven Rowley’s debut book “Lily and the
Octopus” came up. I missed reading this book back in 2016,
but heard Amazon Studios had picked up the rights to publish
a film version, so I took the opportunity to peruse it. “Lily and
the Octopus” is as much about grief as it is about love. The main
character, Ted, is faced with his beloved Dachshund’s brain
tumor, which he calls the octopus. It takes on a life – and voice
– of its own throughout this heart-breaking debut novel.
Ted brings Lily home as a puppy and develops a relationship
with her that proves to be the one constant in his life. His
visits with his therapist are dysfunctional and he’s recovering
from a breakup of a long-term relationship with an emotionally
unavailable partner. While Ted does have a nurturing longdistance
relationship with his mother and sister, he’s mostly a
loner and a doting dog dad who struggles with self-acceptance.
The highlights of his weekends are spent on date-nights with
Lily, whose voice is characterized by both sage wisdom and by
child-like wonder. We come to know Lily mainly through Ted’s
memories and how Ted reveals her thoughts and intentions to
us. A conversation they have about their options for dealing
with her cancer is both poignant and a revelatory and just one
of many examples of keen character development.
Ted tends to be somewhat fragile, but he finds strength in
the process of grieving, and Rowley takes us through all its
stages - from denial to acceptance - with warmth and depth.
The courage Ted may lack with regard to addressing his
only-human shortcomings, he more than makes up for in
his valiance and bravery when faced with Lily’s prognosis.
Rowley juxtaposes the growth of his love for Lily through
flashbacks with the growth of the octopus and the swell of his
simultaneous grief.
The penultimate scenes push the octopus metaphor a bit too
far, though, and for a spell it feels like we’re reading a different
book, but the imagery and climax of Ted’s grief are thereby
rendered unmistakable and raw. I like books with tidy endings,
and for me this book has that. Definitely a must-read for
anyone who’s loved and lost a dog.
— Rachel Brix, CPDT-KA
The APDT Chronicle of the Dog | Summer 2020 55