The dark side of having a pet is that their lifespans are relatively short. If you own a dog, chances are that you'll have to deal with losing it.
All but one of the dogs in My Life in Dog Years had died by the time he started writing. The surviving dog, Josh, was almost 20 years old—probably not long for this world. While it seems like part of the book's purpose is to memorialize these dogs, Paulsen chooses to emphasize life.
He celebrates the dogs' lives, and also the life that the dogs gave him. He witnesses the life that dogs give others too, like with Ike and the veteran, Rex and his farm family, and Quincy and Paulsen's wife. Still, inevitably, death is part of the natural order…and its shadow haunts the book.
Questions About Mortality
- How does Paulsen pay tribute to the memories of his dogs?
- Snowball died some 50 years before Paulsen was writing, yet she seems to be the dog he grieves most. Why?
- Why do you think Paulsen starts the book with his near-death experience?
Chew on This
Dogs have saved Paulsen's life—not just literally, but also emotionally.
Though almost all of the dogs that Paulsen writes about have died, there's a way in which they all live on in him.