Product Description

Rita Mae Brown’s earliest memory is of the soothing purr of Mickey, her family’s long-haired tiger cat, who curled up and claimed a spot in her crib. From there, a steady parade of cats, dogs, horses, and all manner of two- and four-legged critters have walked, galloped, and flown into and through her world. In Animal Magnetism, the bestselling author shares the lessons she’s learned from these marvelous creatures as well as her deep appreciation for them.

Brown readily admits that she prefers the company of animals to people, a trait handed down from her mother. After all, Brown explains, “There’s no such thing as a dumb dog, but God knows there are continents filled with dumb humans.” In fact, by observing the dogs on her farm, the horses in her stables, and the cats that have helped her flesh out her many novels, Brown has gained better insight into herself and other human beings–one need only look at a chicken coop, she once realized, to see its striking similarity to her mother’s clucking and preening group of friends.

In hilarious and heartwarming stories, Brown introduces us to Franklin, a parrot with a wicked sense of humor; R.C., a courageous Doberman who defined loyalty and sacrifice; Suzie Q, the horse who taught her the meaning of hard work; Baby Jesus, a tough tiger cat from New York City with sharp teeth to match his attitude; and of course the beloved and prolific Sneaky Pie, who needs no introduction to her legions of fans. In her succinct and personable style, Brown also revisits the very human parts of her life–growing up in the segregated South, dealing with the pain and the loss of those dearest to her, and coming into her own as an adult and as a writer.

Every recollection here reveals nature’s delight and wonder–and offers solid evidence of the ability of animals to love. As funny as it is poignant, Animal Magnetism shows how these inspiring creatures, great and small, can bring out the best in us, restore us to our greater selves, and even save our lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11115 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-13
• Released on: 2009-10-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345511799
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of the Sister Jane novels–Outfoxed, Hotspur, Full Cry, The Hunt Ball, The Hounds and the Fury, The Tell-Tale Horse, and Hounded to Death–as well as the Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries and Rubyfruit Jungle, In Her Day, Six of One, and The Sand Castle, among many others. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One



Money Isn’t Everything—Love Is

From the time I could put two thoughts together, I knew that I wanted a foxhound of my very own. My grandfather (PopPop) and great-uncle Bob Harmon had kept American foxhounds for years and I was crazy about them. But my dad, granddad, and great-uncle thought that at six, I was too young to handle American foxhounds. They are tremendously sensitive and possess phenomenal drive. So they decided on a Chesapeake Bay Retriever for my first puppy, my first training experience. Turned out to be a wise choice, for they are easy dogs.

Chaps, along with PopPop’s hounds, taught me how to communicate with dogs. More importantly, he taught me about love. He also had a great sense of humor. He’d steal my baseball glove, he’d bring me what were to him treats (a deer leg), plus if a puddle of water presented itself, he’d dive in. He always wanted me in the puddle, creek, or river with him.

I learned not to doubt Chaps. His senses, keener than mine, proved an early warning system. He’d lift his head, open his nostril, and gather information. Or, like the foxhounds, he’d put his nose to ground.

Not until I was in my late teens did I realize I understood dog communication, thanks to Chaps, and thanks to PopPop and G-uncle (G for Great) Bob. Canines, cats, and horses have many more ways to communicate than we do. Ears swivel, pupils dilate or contract, hackles rise or fall, tails wag or stand straight out, and the range of sounds they absorb and react to is wide. Their acute hearing picks up a tiny gurgle from a mouse as well as the snort of a stag a quarter of a mile away. Fortunately for me, hearing is my strongest sense, nudging into the cat and canine range but still well beneath their powers. When I was five I heard things. Mother thought I was expressing imagination. Finally, she took me to a doctor for tests. She realized then that I wasn’t making things up.

Chaps, born into the long-standing contract between humans and dogs, played his part. I learned to play mine. He’d run ahead, stop, look at me, and say, “It’s safe up to this point.” Most people don’t realize what their dogs are telling them when they run ahead and stop. Now, this isn’t true with a pack of foxhounds, although it can be true with a foxhound kept as a pet. Their job is to put those noses down and pick up scent. But pets, the dogs that live with people, continually warn, protect, look out for their owners. So often the owners don’t get it.

The human part of the contract is this: you share food, nurse them when they’re sick, give them a warm, clean place to sleep, and a quiet passage out of life when they become too feeble or face pain.

As I was learning all of this I was loving every minute of it. I found I could communicate with animals better than with people. Actually, I didn’t communicate with people, at least not grown-ups, for I am of that generation that was sternly instructed, “Don’t speak unless spoken to.” Most of my childhood was spent silently observing, good practice for a writer. Good manners taught me silence and the animals taught me to observe without judgment. If an adult noticed me and began a conversation—usually with “How’s school?” or “How’s Chaps?”— then I could reply. However, I was not to ask questions. That would be rude. I could question the family (within reason) but no one outside of the family.

Chaps could smell emotional states. We give off scent but our olfactory organ is poor, so we can detect stinky sweat, the sweat of fear, or the opposite, cleanliness, or fragrant flowers, but not much more. Consider that a foxhound has about one hundred million scent receptors. You and I bump along with ten million. We can’t imagine the texture, the medley of odors that an ordinary canine can process, understand, act upon. They even have the ability to process how long ago scent was laid. It’s a dazzling gift the gods have given them.

They have another great gift: the ability to love. Chaps loved me, even when I was distant and just walking down a dirt road, oblivious to his overtures. He loved me when I was mean, which wasn’t often. He didn’t require that I be beautiful (good thing), smart, witty, or a fascinating conversationalist. He loved me and I loved him.

I taught Chaps to retrieve using duck wings. PopPop brought me a duck wing that one of his duck hunting buddies gave him, since he knew I wanted one. He tied it to a fishing line and gave me his old fly rod. I’d cast the wing, then reel it in. Soon, for he was a smart fellow, Chaps would run after the wing if I cast it. I had to put a little sinker on it because the wing was so light it just fluttered. With the sinker I could send it out there. When Chaps dropped the wing at my feet or let me take it from his mouth, I’d give him a little treat. Mother cooked up meat treats, then dried them. Now these things are available commercially.

This is not to say I can train gun dogs, but I could probably learn. Chaps showed me the basics. Dad said I could sell him for seventy-five dollars, which was a lot of money. PopPop Harmon praised me. I’m not sure I did all that much, since retrieving was bred into Chaps, but I lapped up the praise. I didn’t want the money. I cried. I begged Dad to let me keep Chaps. He did. Mother said I’d never learn the value of a penny if I didn’t earn some—this coming from a woman whose money burned a hole in her pocket. But she loved Chaps, too, so Mickey, Chaps, and later Tuffy, another tiger cat, and I lived together until Chaps, at the age of five, developed a liver condition.

He was so young. I knew enough to understand it would be cruel to keep him going when he’d only go downhill. Once again we visited the vet by the Mason-Dixon Line, only this time Dad drove us. I accompanied my friend. He kissed me. Surely he knew this was an act of grace. I cried. I couldn’t help it, and God bless him, the vet cried, too. Chaps left earth peacefully and without pain. The force of grief as well as gratitude was beginning to be part of my emotional development.

I know I do not have as big a heart as Chaps or most any dog. Humans don’t. We are cursed with ego, selfishness, and ignorance, overlaid with arrogance. We try. At least some of us do. If I could love to the level of Chaps, I reckon I’d be a saint.

Chaps, while he taught me how to communicate with dogs, taught me most about love. I can’t live without the love of dogs. I don’t know how anyone can.

Customer Reviews

Incredible Book
I read this book in one sitting after going to a book signing for Dr. Brown. The first book I read of hers was "Riding Shotgun" and her use of language was so incredible it led me to read all her books. When you hear her speak, it's like a good chapter of her books. She speaks how she writes and you wish that it would never end.

This book reminds us of what all animal lovers already know. Our animals know more than we do. If we listen to them, we would really be much better off. Having lived with dogs, cats and horses for the last 40 years, I know this to be true, and yet sometimes I forget it. They always remind me. Animals relate to the basic simple needs of life. Eat (hunt), sleep and have fun. We should remember those things and endeavor to do the same.

I think anyone who is looking for some direction in this incredibly endangered world that we live in should read this book and get back to what really matters for humankind. Perhaps we wouldn't have half the problems we now have if we would remember those basic needs.

And by the way, Dr. Brown, I, too, would love to see more Celeste Chalfonte.

Animal magnetism, indeed!
I've read ALL of Rita Mae Brown's novels - other than the cat series - over the years, as well as her few works of non-fiction. I think she's a writer's writer. Some of the most beautiful paragraphs I've read come from her work, particularly "Six of One". She's a wonderful writer in that she often returns to the same characters many times, offering updates on our old favorites. I've really enjoyed most of her "Sister" Jane series and was looking forward to a new novel this fall, but I guess that's not to be. Maybe next year...

"Animal Magnetism" really should only be read by animal-lovers. I always refer to myself as a "'dog-liker', but a 'cat-lover'". Brown really is an "ALL-animal" lover and she writes in her latest book about the many dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, and other animals she's loved over her lifetime. And, who've loved her right back. The book comes with pictures of her and various animals, I was only disappointed that while she often referred to her parents and grandparents, she never included any pictures of them. I would have loved to see the REAL "Juts" and "Aunt Mimi" ("Weezie"); her wild mother and aunt she's written about so many times.

Brown sort of makes herself seem as if she likes animals more than people. Maybe she does, but I remember standing in a long line, outside a Charlottesville book/coffee shop, in the early 1990's. She was inside, at a table, autographing her latest book. The line consisted of young, old, men, women, all ages and while it was a long evening, waiting in line, Brown was incredibly charming with EACH person, taking time to talk to everyone in turn. No one seemed to mind because we all knew we would get our own "face-time" with her!

Oh, and Rita Mae, if you read this, would you please - A. update your website and B. go to work on a novel about Celeste Chalfonte and her family. She's probably your most interesting character - after "Juts" and "Weezie", of course - and I'd love to know more about her family. Surely you can make her parents and her siblings the subjects of their own story. We got a look at her in Six of One, and references to her in other novels, but please devote a book to her. Please? Pretty please?

another animal lover
I like Ms. Brown's no-nonsense writing.
Her stories of funny happenings during the
late 40's and early 50's in Virginia
sound almost idyllic but she keeps it
real.