A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life

Jon Katz

Feb 2008 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Tom Stechschulte

About this audiobook

In this gripping and deeply touching book, bestselling author Jon Katz tells the story of his lifetime dog, Orson: a beautiful border collie-intense, smart, crazy, and unforgettable. From the moment Katz and Orson meet, when the dog springs from his traveling crate at Newark airport and panics the baggage claim area, their relationship is deep, stormy, and loving. At two years old, Katz's new companion is a great herder of school buses, a scholar of refrigerators, but a dud at herding sheep. Everything Katz attempts- obedience training, herding instruction, a new name, acupuncture, herb and alternative therapies-helps a little but not enough, and not for long. "Like all border collies and many dogs," Katz writes, "he needed work. I didn't realize for some time I was the work Orson would find." While Katz is trying to help his dog, Orson is helping him, shepherding him toward a new life on a two-hundred-year-old hillside farm in upstate New York. There, aided by good neighbors and a tolerant wife, hip-deep in sheep, chickens, donkeys, and more dogs, the man and his canine companion explore meadows, woods, and even stars, wade through snow, bask by a roaring wood stove, and struggle to keep faith with each other. There, with deep love, each embraces his unfolding destiny.

About the author

Jonathan Katz initially worked as a reporter and editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, and later as executive producer of the CBS Morning News. Jon Katz is now a media critic, a journalist, and the author of several books covering a vast repertoire of topics. Katz has written several novels as well as non-fiction works which cover topics ranging from geek culture to his relationship with dogs. His titles include The Story of Rose, Dancing Dogs, A Good Dog, Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm and The Second Chance Dog: A Love Story.