Just a dog : understanding animal cruelty and ourselves / Arnold Arluke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Arluke, Arnold.

Series:

Animals, culture, and society.

Animals, culture, and society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animal welfare.

Animal rights.

Human-animal relationships--Psychological aspects.

Human-animal relationships.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 chronically 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.

Contents:

Agents: feigning authority

Adolescents: appropriating adulthood

Hoarders: shoring up self

Shelter workers: finding authenticity

Marketers: Celebrating community

Cruelty is good to think.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-215) and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9786611093716

9781281093714

1281093718

9781592134731

1592134734

OCLC:

568221737

Access Restriction:

Open Access Unrestricted online access