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Just a Dog

Understanding Animal Cruelty and Ourselves

by Arnold Arluke

Included in the KU Select 2016 Backlist Collection.

Psychiatrists define cruelty to animals as a psychological problem or personality disorder. Legally, animal cruelty is described by a list of behaviors. In Just a Dog, Arnold Arluke argues that our current constructs of animal cruelty are decontextualized-imposed without regard to the experience of the groups committing the act. Yet those who engage in animal cruelty have their own understandings of their actions and of themselves as actors. In this fascinating book, Arluke probes those understandings and reveals the surprising complexities of our relationships with animals. Just a Dog draws from interviews with more than 250 people, including humane agents who enforce cruelty laws, college students who tell stories of childhood abuse of animals, hoarders who neglect the welfare of many animals, shelter workers who cope with the ethics of euthanizing animals, and public relations experts who use incidents of animal cruelty for fundraising purposes. Through these case studies, Arluke shows how the meaning of "cruelty" reflects and helps to create identities and ideologies.

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Table of Contents

  • Cover Page
  • Title page
  • Copyright
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Just a Dog
  • 1. Agents: Feigning Authority
  • 2. Adolescents: Appropriating Adulthood
  • 3. Hoarders: Shoring Up Self
  • 4. Shelter Workers: Finding Authenticity
  • 5. Marketers: Celebrating Community
  • Conclusion: Cruelty Is Good to Think
  • References
  • Index

Metadata

  • isbn
    978-1-59213-473-1
  • publisher
    Temple University Press
  • publisher place
    Philadelphia, PA
  • restrictions
    CC-BY NC ND
  • rights
    Copyright 2006. Available under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
  • rights holder
    Temple University - of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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