Companion Animals in Everyday Life

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Michał Piotr Preȩgowski

   Pages 1-9

3. Conceptualizing Our Relationships with Animals

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Companion Animals and Nuisance Species: Adventures in the Exotic, the Wild, the Illegal, and Cross-Cultural Comfort Zones

      • Sara Waller

      Pages 13-25

   3. Anthrozoology in the Netherlands: Connecting Science and Practice

      • Jannes Eshuis, Marie-José Enders-Slegers, Theo Verheggen

      Pages 27-41

   4. Bringing the Beast Back In: The Rehabilitation of Pet Keeping in Soviet Russia

      • Amy Nelson

      Pages 43-58

4. Taking the Plunge: Adopting a Companion Animal, Traditional and Otherwise

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 59-59

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   2. Perceptions of Personality: How What We See Influences Our Perceptions About and Behavior Toward Companion Animals

      • Miranda K. Workman

      Pages 61-72

   3. “A Cat-Sized Hole in My Heart”: Public Perceptions of Companion Animal Adoption in the USA

      • Jennifer Sinski

      Pages 73-89

   4. Rabbits Multiplying Like Rabbits: The Rise in the Worldwide Popularity of Rabbits as Pets

      • Margo DeMello

      Pages 91-107

5. To Eat or to Love?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 109-109

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   2. An Appetite for Dogs: Consuming and Loving Them in Vietnam

      • Anthony L. Podberscek

      Pages 111-127

   3. Human–Canine Relationships in China

      • Scott Hurley

      Pages 129-144

   4. Attitudes to Dogs in Taiwan: A Case Study

      • James A. Serpell, Yuying Hsu

      Pages 145-165

6. Companion Animals as Political Fallout

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 167-167

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   2. Semi-Stray Dogs and Graduated Humanness: The Political Encounters of Dogs and Humans in Mexico

      • Iván Sandoval-Cervantes

      Pages 169-181

   3. Polarized Opinions and Shared Goals: Feral Cat Management in an Academic Community in Kentucky

      • Rosanne Lorden

      Pages 183-200

   4. Strong Bonds: Companion Animals in Post-Tsunami Japan

      • Ross Mouer, Hazuki Kajiwara

      Pages 201-215

7. The Difference Language Makes

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 217-217

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   2. “I Am a Dog”: Orhan Pamuk and the Mongrelization of Fiction

      • Jeanne Dubino

      Pages 219-233

This book is an interdisciplinary collection shedding light on human-animal relationships and interactions around the world. The book offers a predominantly empirical look at social and cultural practices related to companion animals in Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, China and Taiwan, Vietnam, USA, and Turkey among others. It focuses on how dogs, cats, rabbits and members of other species are perceived and treated in various cultures, highlighting commonalities and differences between them. 

• Animal studies
• anthrozoology
• companion animals
• human-animal relationships
• attitudes towards animals
• dogs in society
• social construction of companion animals

“The rising general interest in animal companions and their welfare has been paralleled by the growth of ‘human-animal studies’ in the social sciences and related academic disciplines.  This edited collection is a significant addition to the literature in this substantive area.  The collection offers a broad range of topics—from the resurgence of pet-keeping in Soviet Russia to the popularity of house rabbits—in chapters written by both established authorities and young scholars.  This unique and internationally focused book is a frequently lively collection that will be of great interest both to knowledgeable readers and those who want a varied and readable introduction to human-animal studies.”  (Clinton R. Sanders, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Connecticut, USA, and author of “Understanding Dogs: Living and Working with Canine Companions”)

“Companion Animals in Everyday Life offers a fascinating overview of contemporary research on human-animal relationships. From the exploding worldwide popularity of rabbits as companion animals to conflicts over dog-eating in China and the impact of the Japanese nuclear plant disaster on human-animal bonds, this is an important book which beautifully captures the intellectual ferment of this new and exciting academic field.”(Hal Herzog, author of “Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard To Think Straight About Animals”)

• Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

  Michał Piotr Pręgowski

Michał Piotr Pręgowski is Assistant Professor at the Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. He is a sociologist and a Fulbright alumnus whose research projects include social construction of dogs in the contemporary West, especially their naming and training, as well as social practices of commemorating companion animals. Pręgowski's recent books include Pies też człowiek? Relacje psów i ludzi we współczesnej Polsce (2014), an edited volume on humans and canines in contemporary Poland, as well as Free Market Dogs: The Human-Canine Bond in Post-Communist Poland (2016).

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