David Grimm—author of “Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs”—recalls his formative years, always feeling an affinity with animals, and at one point thinking he wanted to become a veterinarian, a notion he was disabused of after spending time in a vet clinic. 
He discusses earning a PhD in genetics from Yale, deciding he didn’t want to be anchored to a lab, and going on to become deputy news editor of Science. In fact, Grimm explains, feeling dogged (sorry!) by limited opportunities to write about cats and dogs at Science served as part of the impetus for “Citizen Canine.” He addresses a core tenet of his book: the concept of animals transcending the definition of “property” and entering the realm of “personhood”—and some of the figures and entities who both support and oppose this shifting status. Grimm also touches on a variety
of field trips he undertook for the reporting in “Canine,” underscoring the book’s premise—including a nursing home in Westfield, New Jersey, where therapy cats enliven a room full of otherwise disengaged Alzheimer’s patients, and a visit to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where much of the military dog training (and post-deployment treating; some develop symptoms of PTSD) takes place. (http://davidhgrimm.com)
COMEDY CORNER: Rocky LaPorte’s “The Zoo” (portion) (http://rockylaporte.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Neko Case’s “I’m An Animal,” Royce Hodge’s “Little Brown Dog,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London”
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