|
Looking for a place that would allow his three border collies to do what they do best --- herd sheep --- and allow him to continue their training, Jon Katz heads to West Hebron, a small town an hour northeast of Albany. Here, his new home is an aging farmhouse complete with several decrepit barns, forty-two acres of pasture and woods, a cantankerous ram, fifteen ewes, two donkeys named Carol and Fanny, and a town full of people curious about the "flatlander" in their midst. Presented with the challenge of once again turning it into a working farm, Katz knows he will either rise to the occasion or find himself headed down the New York State Thruway back to New Jersey.
But Katz did not take up residence at Bedlam Farm (that's its official name) solely for Orson, Homer and Rose. He also did it for himself, inspired in part by something his friend and a professional dog trainer, Carolyn, told him after a frustrating training session with Orson. "Here's the truth and you just have to face it: If you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamned human." Taking her words to heart, Katz got to work on it. "What better place to test my notions about dogs and humans," he wondered, "than here, with border collies and a bunch of sheep? Could they become happier dogs and more useful partners? Could I learn to be a better human? The four of us and our little band of animals, tucked away on a hillside through a glorious fall, the bitter upstate winter, and a cold, muddy spring filled with lambing, could probably find out."
In THE DOGS OF BEDLAM FARM, Katz chronicles his first nine months of the adventure and the triumphs and failures he encountered along the way. There is the adjustment to small-town life, which he adapts to with surprising ease. There are daily training sessions with Orson, Homer and Rose. There are sheep and donkeys to be cared for, repairs to make on the farm, and locals to get acquainted with. Strikingly observant and honest, Katz weaves it all into a narrative that is by turns hilarious, heartwarming and poignant.
Whether greeting an autumn sunrise, being battered by a belligerent ram, roaming the hills with his beloved dogs, herding sheep, assisting ewes during lambing season, playing matchmaker between a neighbor and a puppy, tending a sick donkey, mentoring a troubled 12-year-old boy, or reuniting with his estranged sister, Katz learns that being part of a community and running a farm is backbreaking --- and sometimes heartbreaking --- work. It takes perseverance, luck, determination and the help of a few good friends ("those with fur and those without") to make it through the harsh winter.
When spring finally comes, with pale rays of sunshine thawing the winter chill, it's clear that Katz and his canine companions have breathed new life into more than just this rambling and untended homestead. Welcome to Bedlam Farm.
--- Reviewed by Shannon McKenna
• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
