And Animals Will Teach You

It is not hard to understand why Lasher, a clinical psychologist and author (The Art and Practice of Compassion and Empathy) decided to undertake this potentially compelling and fascinating subject. As an avid animal lover, she has many poignant images of her past relationships with animals. In one chapter, ""Protection,"" she tells how in two separate instances her dog Hogahn protected her from possibly dangerous men. She uses these stories as examples of how animals can teach humans to trust their own basic instincts, whether it be fear or love. Perhaps this is inevitable with any largely anecdotal book about animals, but sometimes Lasher's stories stretch credibility. In one story, she tells of a dying woman's relationship with her dog, Kirby, and how he helped her to accept her own impending death. Lasher's unexplained familiarity with such an intimate, unspoken interchange makes the story ring false. There are also some problems with the book's structure, as the stories wander erratically between past and present. The underlying theme, however, is an honorable one--that the relationship between animals and humans can teach and, in many cases, heal. (Dec.)