Overview

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. Through these case studies, Arluke shows how the meaning of \u0022cruelty\u0022 reflects and helps to create identities and ideologies.

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9781592134717

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Reviews

Through courageous research Arluke set aside his judgment to explore how abusers see their behavior. He has given us a sociological understanding of animal abuse that recognizes the situational quality of cruelty and its ability to shape identity...In Just a Dog, Arnold Arluke uses cruelty to raise questions about what it means to be human. He also adds to our understanding of the complex and conflicting ways we humans regard other animals. -Contemporary Sociology Arluke (Regarding Animals), an authority on animal cruelty, believes that in order to formulate effective programs and policies to combat such behavior, society must have an in-depth understanding of why people mistreat or neglect animals and of the cultural and social factors that encourage abuse. Wisely, the author keeps passages describing specific examples of cruelty to a minimum, and he refrains from making moral judgments. -Publishers Weekly

This is an important and thoughtful book--though I will remember a few scenes described in it with horror for some time. --BBC WILDLIFE November 2006 Arluke explores here the definition of animal cruelty and the psychology of those who deal with it or perpetrate it. Arluke's descriptions are graphic and heart-wrenching. [T]his scholarly work is recommended. Library Journal Arluke (Regarding Animals), an authority on animal cruelty, believes that in order to formulate effective programs and policies to combat such behavior, society must have an in-depth understanding of why people mistreat or neglect animals and of the cultural and social factors that encourage abuse. Wisely, the author keeps passages describing specific examples of cruelty to a minimum, and he refrains from making moral judgments. Publishers Weekly Arluke has produced...an expertly researched study of animal cruelty and its human connections--those who care for animals as well as those who commit unspeakably cruel acts against them. Arluke is perceptive and mostly insightful in this comprehensive study...This is a significant and crucial achievement. Abolitionist-online Just a Dog by Arnold Arluke is not just another book on animal cruelty--far from it. A well-written analysis...sociological in the best sense of the word... This study contributes to an understanding not just of animal cruelty, but of how animal cruelty, its participants, and their interpretations of, and responses to, cruelty tell us much about ourselves as individuals, as well as our relationships with others, both human and animal. Anthrozoos Through courageous research Arluke set aside his judgment to explore how abusers see their behavior. He has given us a sociological understanding of animal abuse that recognizes the situational quality of cruelty and its ability to shape identity...In Just a Dog, Arnold Arluke uses cruelty to raise questions about what it means to be human. He also adds to our understanding of the complex and conflicting ways we humans regard other animals. Contemporary Sociology July 2007 The book is useful reading for anyone interested in how our society currently deals with cruelty toward domestic animals...A valuable contribution to the literature on the treatment of animals. Metapsychology Online Arluke provides a methodological blueprint for those who wish to move the study of human-animal relationships from the margins of social enquiry to the center. In Just a Dog he has produced a nonsensational rendering of a difficult and complex subject that deserves to be read by all students of these relationships... He approaches cruelty to animals with sensitivity. Current Anthropology

Author Information

Arnold Arluke is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University and Senior Scholar at Tufts University Center for Animals and Public Policy. He has published more than seventy articles and eight books, including Regarding Animals (Temple), and Brute Force: Animal Police and the Challenge of Cruelty.

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