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April 19, 2019
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Michelle Herman

Michelle Herman is associate professor of English at the Ohio State University. Her most recent books are The Middle of Everything: Memoirs of Motherhood and Dog, a short novel.

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THIS WEEK’S ARCHIVE PICK

2nd Look

What Is a Dog?

by Chloe Shaw

We admit that unofficial, national fill-in-the-blank days can sometimes feel contrived. (National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day, anyone?) But National Hug Your Dog Day (April 10) is too good not to celebrate, especially if it means we can revisit one of our favorite essays: Chloe Shaw’s “What Is a Dog?” from our Spring 2018 issue. After losing a beloved hound named Booker—described as a “wolf meets horse meets dinosaur meets tongue”—Shaw confronts the joys and inevitable sorrows of loving a pet. “A dog is a second chance. A dog is death and life. A dog is plush red carpet and fresh warm pee.” A dog is worth celebrating, and not only on April 10.