Search www.satyamag.com

Satya has ceased publication. This website is maintained for informational purposes only.

To learn more about the upcoming Special Edition of Satya and Call for Submissions, click here.

back issues

 

June 2001
A Conversation With Soul

Book Review by Catherine Clyne

 

 

The Dog Who Spoke with Gods by Diane Jessup (New York: St. Martin’s Press, June 2001). $22.95 hardcover. 400 pages.

This is one of those rare books that sucks you in and can’t be put down until you burn right through to the very surprising end. In short, it makes for riveting reading—perfect for those hot summer days.

The Dog Who Spoke with Gods is the story of Damien, a pit bulldog, and his experience of human cruelty and his redeeming relationship with a young woman. It’s also a story about a girl’s awakening to a dog’s spirit and noble character and—ultimately—the literally life and death decisions that she makes as a result.

This novel is even more of a rarity because it realistically explores the many layers to how we understand animals: as independent and soulful creatures, thinking and intelligent beings, companions, mirrors of ourselves, threatening beasts, wildlife to be conquered or left to themselves, objects to be used for whatever purpose we like. All of this is reflected in the intensely emotional, complex and reciprocal dynamics that characterize Damien’s relationships with the various humans he encounters.

The unlikely heroine is Elizabeth Fletcher, a young premed student who grew up sharing a household with two men—her father and grandfather—both of whom are accomplished heart surgeons; her father being a faculty member of a major university where he conducts research and development. Having been around laboratories all her life and witnessing the vivisecting projects of her parents, Elizabeth never gave much thought to animals. In their workplace, dogs were nearly as ubiquitous as office furniture, little more than subjects to practice surgical procedures on. When we first meet Elizabeth, she is firmly on the path to becoming the family’s third generation surgeon. But one day, with little thought or reason, Elizabeth volunteers as an animal handler at one of the university’s animal research facilities. There she meets Damien by chance and he touches something in her, and she touches him as well.

After a brief puppyhood alone in the temperate wilderness, Damien ends up in a research laboratory. With sensitively and uncanny realism, author Diane Jessup lets us into Damien’s trials and tribulations, his thoughts and feelings: the terror at what is done to him, his confusion over where he is and why he’s treated in such a way, and—above it all—his sense of self and unbreakable spirit. The psychological experiments that he endures at the hands of Dr. Joseph Seville are enough to crush the spirit; but what keeps him going throughout is the certainty that Elizabeth loves him and the unwavering hope that she will rescue him.

Elizabeth experiences her own trials and tribulations as she grapples with the dissonance between the sterile and (apparently) objective scientific understanding of animals, and the thinking, feeling, loving and unique individuals that animals actually are. Her relationship with Damien tells her one thing, while the mindset of her parents and the academic authorities whom she approaches for guidance requires another. The difference between the two is irreconcilable and, ultimately, one must give way to the other.

This is a heart-wrenching and heart-warming story. It’s about the love that animals—human and non—share with one another, and the special bond that dogs and humans experience. It’s also about the value that we infuse animals with. Damien suddenly becomes extremely valuable to the scientific community when Elizabeth, in a sincere effort to secure him a life without pain, reveals to university authorities that he can communicate verbally—in English. So valuable is this discovery that psychologist Joseph Seville will do anything to get control of Damien and train him to “talk” so that he can become famous by showing Damien’s abilities to his peers. When Elizabeth learns that Damien is actually being tortured to do something that he did in play and love with her, she does everything in her power to stop it. Her actions set in motion a series of plot twists that are truly riveting.

Jessup is the author of two nonfiction books about pit bulls and shares her life with a diverse pit bull family, many of whom are rescuees. She has a deep insight into their character, a source that she draws upon to shape the unforgettable Damien. What comes through is that pit bulls are the most misunderstood dogs and that, when treated with respect and love, they are extremely loving, fiercely loyal and very eager to please and protect their human charges. One of the most endearing features of Damien is his sense of humor, which he conveys to and shares with Elizabeth, whether during play or while working on his unique communicative skills.

This novel was a little repetitious at times: Jessup went overboard in conveying the message that pit bulls have a unique history of assisting people (like cowboys) with strenuous and “masculine” work (like herding—sometimes attacking—cattle). And the simplistic black and white portrayal of the scientists as evil—while understandable—was slightly disappointing. Perhaps the most perplexing element of human cruelty is that most perpetrators are just that—human. They love, hope, grieve, laugh, and get mad along with the rest of us. Few are as depraved, sadistic and evil as we need them to be. It is easier to understand a vivisector if he is bad to the very core. But the real fender-bender is that most are relatively normal people who seem to have some sort of microchip inserted in their brains that block out the horror that they inflict on others. The story could have been even more powerful if such depth of character was explored.

The Dog Who Spoke with Gods is an impressive first novel and will most probably become a favorite among both animal advocates and the wider public. Although there are some painfully graphic moments, it is also a great book for young adults. Elizabeth is a character with whom most people can easily relate, and the overriding message—that turning one’s back to the suffering of animals is not okay—is an important one for everyone, young and old.

I, for one, have not been immune to the assumption that pit bulldogs are unpredictably aggressive and mean-spirited. After reading this story, I wanted the honor of sharing my life with a pit bull, but my elderly cat companions and shoe-box size apartment won’t allow for this right now. In the meantime, Damien has given me a deeper appreciation of dogs, a lesson for which I am grateful.

 


© STEALTH TECHNOLOGIES INC.
All contents are copyrighted. Click here to learn about reprinting text or images that appear on this site.