21st Century Dog: A Visionary Compendium

How will dogs fulfill their evolutionary potential in the new century? What place will humans hold in the new Dogdom? How will we adjust to the new Dogmocracy? Michael J. Rosen posed these and other provocative questions to more than 50 accomplished, articulate, opinionated writers and artists. Their surprising, witty responses can be found in 21st Century Dog, the indispensable guide to the post-millennial pooch.

Some contributors foresee the future of canine couture; some see new uses for dogs' psychic powers; some envision new levels of domestication, both for dogs and for humans. Other predictions include a new group of breeds called the Low-Gravity Group; new publications for dogs and their masters, such as the New York Review of Scent, which will perfectly complement the profusion of new olfactory theme parks; the increasing popularity of extreme dog sports; and customized dogs that can be bred to order.

But what price progress? Is the human race ready for reality-based programming such as When Pets Get Their Own TV Shows?

Only Nosestradamus knows.

Published to coincide with the opening of a new exhibition at the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog in St. Louis, Missouri, 21st Century Dog contains art and essays by such well-known dog people as Vicki Hearne, Edward Albee, Danny Shanahan, Carol Muske, Arthur Yorinks, Henry Horenstein, and Edward Koren. Their imaginative contributions encourage us to acknowledge our enormous debt to dogs and the ways in which they improve our lives on Earth, even now.

MICHAEL J. ROSEN is the author of Kids' Best Dog Book (Workman) and the editor of many books, including The Company of Dogs (Doubleday) and Dog People: Writers and Artists on Canine Companionship (Artisan). Since 1982, he has been the director of The Thurber House, and, in 1990, he founded The Company of Animals Fund, which enables people to afford the expenses of keeping companion animals. he lives near Columbus, Ohio.