Anna Heyward in Conversation

In this episode, a conversation with Anna Heyward, animal behavioural scientist and New Yorker writer, and author of a new memoir: Living with Freddie, a book about seeing the world from the point of view of man's best – and oft misunderstood – friend, the dog. When Anna Heyward adopted a rescued Italian greyhound, she was thrilled to bring a dog into her life. But Freddie, she quickly realised, had severe separation anxiety, unable to be left alone for more than thirty seconds without crying uncontrollably, biting his own tail or scratching at his body. While some would have given the dog back, writing him off as a 'bad dog', Anna transformed her life. She took Freddie to work and hid him from her boss. Her social life withered. Her relationship with her fiancé began to flounder. She dedicated her life to entering the mind of her dog. As Anna observed Freddie's behaviour, she began to experience the world as he did: the quality of light, the timbre of sound; a leaf falling from a tree. And she changed – but not in the way you might expect. This is a meditation on what it means to be bad or good, on how much we can – or should – try to alter another being's behaviour, and on what is possible to know about another mind. But at its heart, Living With Freddie is a beautiful portrait of the relationship between a human and a dog. Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780733654800/living-with-freddie--anna-heyward--2026--9780733654800