Different Animals

Different Animals is a novel about dogs and prisoners. Rehabilitating prisoners by letting them train and take care of dogs is a procedure now being used in various detention facilities in the U.S. Two men of different backgrounds have committed crimes and are in a prison in Arizona. They have many issues of intolerance and anger. One of them breaks out and finds his way to Los Angeles where other adventures await. Meanwhile, the other prisoner gets into a brawl with another inmate. The warden assigns each man a dog which neither one wants. How the dogs got to the prison, their training, and their effect on the men is the basis of the novel. It is a story about hate, love, and the amazing abilities dogs have to care for and change us.

Eric H. Spitz is a retired businessman from Scarsdale, N.Y. He now lives in Rancho Mirage, CA. An avid golfer and tennis player, Eric is also an actor-singer. He and his wife Dawn have performed in music theatres together for many years, taking major roles in various productions on the East and West Coasts. Most recently, he performed the role of Arvide in Guys and Dolls at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. His first book, The Earth Moved, is about how a neighborhood copes with a world-wide disaster. Different Animals is an expression of his love of dogs and his amazement at their ability to enrich our lives and perform seemingly miraculous feats.