USA: WHERE DOGS HAVE MORE RIGHTS THAN YOU DO

A humorist comments on contemporary American life as seen through the eyes of canines.

“When I first arrived in the United States,” writes Okine, “I expected culture shocks…What I didn’t expect was the dogs.” From rural to urban America, East Coast to West Coast, dogs are a ubiquitous aspect of life in the U.S.A.; our furry companions often live lives of luxury as they are carted around in strollers, travel on flights, wear customized accessories and clothing, and have access to a myriad of organic food options. Checking in with a range of pooches from fun-loving surfing dogs in California to stern law-enforcement canines in Wyoming, this book takes a humorous look at America’s obsession with man’s best friend. Taking readers on an alphabetically organized tour of all 50 states (plus Washington, D.C.), the author devotes a chapter to each and revels in the absurdity of American dog culture. In Colorado’s outdoorsy society, for instance, Okine came across dozens of dogs on a hiking trail “bounding from boulder to boulder with the confidence of tiny sherpas.” In a genteel boutique in downtown Savannah, Georgia, the author recalls a spaniel who only drank chilled cucumber water, and in North Carolina, he encountered a beagle who joined a statewide debate on barbeque. At the Kentucky Derby, the author found a myriad of dogs in sunglasses, seersucker suits, rose garlands, and miniature hats, often coordinated to match the outfits of their owners.

While the book’s anecdotes poke fun at America’s devotion to dogs, Okine astutely notes that the power of his stories lies in what they reveal about us as a nation—“about how we live, how we care, and who we let get comfy on the couch.” Each chapter features a vignette about a specific dog in each state and concludes with a section titled “What This Says About America.” In Alabama, for example, the author writes about the proclivity of dogs to ride shotgun in pickup trucks with their heads out the window. This is, to Okine, a “statement of values,” as it evokes the South’s emphasis on kinship and loyalty (“dogs here are as much a part of the family as the Sunday casserole recipe”) as well as an affirmation of personal freedom that eschews seatbelts as the pups “stick their head[s] out the window with no apologies.” The book gently teases Americans, but it is all in good fun, and the author is never mean-spirited (though maintaining this tone leads him to gloss over serious, systemic issues of class and race that divide Americans). Okine, whose previous book took readers on a tour of the food and grocery-store mores of all 50 states, has an admirable grasp on the subtle nuances that define each state’s unique culture. The author alludes to his birth outside of the U.S., but his country of origin is never mentioned in the text—a deeper discussion of the contrasts between American dog culture and those of other countries around the globe (including Okine’s own) might have further underscored (particularly for American readers) the ridiculously elevated status of dogs in the U.S. Still, the engaging narrative more than accomplishes its goal of taking readers on a diverting and amusing canine-themed tour of America, “One state at a time, one bark at a time.”

A funny and engaging look at American dog culture.