The Texas Dog Lover's Companion Summary and Reviews

The Texas Dog Lover's Companion
by Larry Hodge

The Texas Dog Lover's Companion
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Book Summary Information

Author: Larry Hodge
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09
ISBN: 1573540455
Number of pages: 620
Publisher: Avalon Travel Pub

Book Reviews of The Texas Dog Lover's Companion

Book Review: For those who like dogs and Texas sites.
Summary: 5 Stars

Dogs, Larry D. Hodge has concluded, are like American Express Cards. "Some people won't leave home without them," says the Mason free-lance writer. That's the idea behind Hodge's new book, "The Texas Dog Lover's Companion" (Foghorn Press, $20.95). Hodge has "the inside scoop on where to take your dog" in the Lone Star State. It's the seventh "Dog Lover's Companion" volume from the California publisher. Hodge, who writes about travel and the outdoors for a number of Texas publications, including the San Antonio Express-News, says a guide for dog lovers didn't initially set his tail to wagging. He writes in the book's introduction: "Traveling dogs are a common sight in Texas ... What's the big deal? In Texas we just tell the dog to get in the back of the truck with the kids." Editors at Foghorn Press pressed him. They wanted listings of Rover-friendly restaurants, festivals, hotels and motels. They wanted to know where pet owners can walk a dog without a leash. Hodge approaches the subject matter with humor and humility. To conduct research, Hodge traveled mostly with Sport, a Rhodesian Ridgeback/handsome stranger mix, and sometimes with Samantha, an Australian blue heeler mix. The author, who confesses to sneaking both dogs into a Corpus Christi motel that doesn't allow pets ("We spent the entire time keeping them quiet"), was "surprised at how many motels openly welcome dogs." At more than 600 pages, "The Texas Dog Lover's Companion" is well-researched. You can bet Hodge did his homework, ranking park areas by a system of paws - four paws being the, er, cat's meow. The lowest rating is a fire hydrant, or as Hodge writes, "That means the park is just worth a squat." Two parks in San Antonio got 31/2 paws - Martin Luther King Park and Southside Lions Park. The latter "is as good as it gets for a dog in Texas," Hodge says. Another South Texas favorite is Dwight D. Eisenhower Park. "It has great walking trails and great views of the San Antonio skyline," Hodge says. The biggest surprise in researching the book was "how many closet dog people are out there who keep a dog at their place of business all day ... everything from book stores to dress shops to restaurants to motels. "The minute I said something about doing a guide book for dogs they would turn and get real friendly," Hodge says. In all, the book lists more than 400 places to chow down, hundreds of places to stay the night and nearly 500 parks, beaches, forests and wildlife areas, as well as doggy do's and don'ts, safety tips, rules of dining etiquette and hints on avoiding pooper- scooper faux "paws." Plus, "The Texas Dog Lover's Companion" is illustrated with delightful cartoons by Phil Frank.

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