Bandit: Dossier of a Dangerous Dog

The case of a dog ordered put to death by the state of Connecticut in 1987 occasions poet, philosopher and animal trainer Hearne's ( Adam's Task) wide-ranging and brilliant discussion, equally saturated with references to Plato and dog-training theory, of such issues as justice; the role of language in perception; racism; and gender theories. Hearne describes how she retrained Bandit, a dog deemed dangerous (because it had bitten people under exceptional circumstances), and thus earned the dog's reprieve--if not the right to return it to its owner, an elderly black man inhabiting a poor urban neighborhood. Positing her ideas of animal behavior and education, she then examines the sociological dimensions of the case against Bandit, a bull dog inaccurately labeled a pit bull, demonstrating that those breeds favored by the underclass have long been demonized. The politics of disenfranchisement and the corruption inherent in do-goodism are the subjects of other noteworthy critiques in this outstanding work. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Nov.)