Creature Feature: Looking For The Perfect Dog

Approximately 111/2 million dogs are euthanized annually in the United States because of behavioral problems. While some of these dogs do have very severe mental problems that make them dangerous and thus impossible to live with, many others are victims of ignorance, impatience, and unrealistic expectations.

Photo by Author

"A Search for the Perfect Dog," a book written by Gary Shiebler, takes a look at how our preconceptions of what a "perfect" dog should be can hamper our relationship with the unique creature our dog is.

Recently published by Broadway Books, the book takes a poignant look at the dogs who have touched Mr. Shiebler's life. And there have been many dogs in his interesting and varied life.

Childhood Companion

Mr. Shiebler grew up in East Patchogue, part of a dog-loving family - appropriately enough, his mother went into labor while watching the opening ceremonies of the Westminster Dog Show.

Throughout his childhood, he was blessed with the company of Rusty, a stray who had turned up on the Shieblers' doorstep.

Rusty was the stalwart companion that all children should have. "He was my anchor," recalls Mr. Shiebler.

He slept reassuringly on his young owner's bed at night, protecting him from nightmares, and, during the day, was a lively, loyal friend who on one occasion saved his human from a thorough thrashing being delivered by a neighborhood bully.

Perfect Memories

Rusty oversaw Mr. Shiebler's childhood. Shortly after he left for college, the dog died.

The memories of his perfect childhood dog never left Mr. Shiebler. His hopes (and futile attempts) to recreate that relationship are a leitmotiv of "A Search for the Perfect Dog."

After college, while working at Gurney's Inn in Montauk, Mr. Shiebler was discovered by a modeling agent. He was a successful fashion model and commercial and soap opera actor in New York City for 10 years, and followed that up by becoming a songwriter, supplying songs for Patti La Belle, among others.

When he and his wife, Linda, moved to the West Coast, Mr. Shiebler became a teacher.

Shelter Strays

Through all the career changes, there have been dogs in his life. His love of canines and education dovetailed beautifully in his next job, as a humane educator at the famed Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego.

"I started to keep a log of all the different dogs at the shelter that affected me. They come and go so quickly, and I didn't want to forget them," relates Mr. Shiebler.

These journals of his daily encounters with abandoned, discarded, and stray dogs were the genesis of his book.

Chaz And Sunshine

Mr. Shiebler's descriptions of the shelter dogs and of his own dogs are evocative and loving. He introduces us to two shelter dogs, Chaz and Sunshine, who are strongly bonded to one another: "Imagine Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn - with fur," writes Mr. Shiebler.

There is a Lab called Yellow Dog who is "the King of Slobber, the Sultan of Slurp." Parson Brown, the Jack Russell with attitude, and the courageous, indomitable Champ are just a couple of others.

And there is his own dog, the uncoordinated ("I have ceased to play fetch with him for fear he may injure himself"), outrageously demented Canyon, who has presented the greatest challenge to Mr. Shiebler's ideals and his patience.

The Greatest Lesson

And, therefore, it is Canyon who has taught him the greatest lesson; to give up the search for the "perfect" dog and to love the one he has.

Mr. Shiebler is very serious on the subject of the human-canine relationship and also very funny about it. While deeply concerned with a compassionate, honest, and just approach to animals, he is possessed of a ruefully self-deprecating style and the book is blessedly free of any moral posturing.

Unlike many animal advocates, he writes with great compassion for humans as well as animals.

Dog Stories

Mr. Shiebler has been touring around the country to promote "A Search for the Perfect Dog." "Perfect" dogs with owners in tow attend the book-signings, and the author has heard "perfect" dog stories that easily rival his trial and tribulations with Canyon.

"At one signing I did recently, a woman told a story about her Lab. She was out driving with the dog in the car and she stopped at 7-Eleven for a cup of coffee. While she was paying for the coffee, she saw her dog at the door of the store panting and wagging his tail, all happy to greet her. She thought, 'How did the dog get out of the car?' "

"When she went outside, she found out. Her car was a convertible and she'd had the cloth roof down. The dog chewed through it and climbed out."

Mr. Shiebler will sign books and talk about "A Search for the Perfect Dog" at Book Hampton in East Hampton at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. People and dogs of varying degrees of perfection have been invited to attend.