National Dog Week: Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler (Zoonotable S2E41)

Welcome back to Zoo-notable. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared a new note, but I’m back for the next month or so before I go on my reading break. This week is National Dog Week, and today’s book is perfect to celebrate our canine best pals. I recently read some of Steven Kotler’s work, who wrote a great book called the Art of Impossible and other books. But I was intrigued by a title in his collection with a cute Chihuahua on the cover. It was titled A Small Furry Prayer with a subtitle Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life. A peak performance guru talking about dog rescue? I read the back cover, and this prolific writer actually runs a dog rescue with his wife in New Mexico called Rancho de Chihuahua. Wow, I remember thinking, I believe this may be a kindred soul—a true animal loving writer who wants to help change the world. A Small Furry Prayer is not your typical memoir. Kotler is a journalist by nature, and has interwoven some absolutely fascinating gems about our natural history with dogs (starting with wolves), pet ownership, and what it truly means to be an animal caregiver. He speaks of altruism, empathy, and even the compassion fatigue we can suffer from losing our beloved animals, often too soon. Find your copy of Small Furry Prayer  at your local bookstore or at your local library Connect with ZooFit and support our work at ZooFit and on Patreon