Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101483 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Customer Reviews

the real thing
Strangely enough this book has lots of 5-star comments on the american site of amazon, but no comment yet on the Briish site. I found it a wonderful book. The deep friendship between the author and his intelligent dog Merle was not only revealing about dogs in the (more or less) wild, about their behaviour and thoughts It is a beautiful and moving description of Ted Kerote's relationship to a dog he found in the wild and with whom he lived to the last moment of Merle's life. It is fun to read, informative in many senses, and it changes your outlook on the dog-human relationship. I love the respect and the understanding between those two, that Kerote knows perfectly how to convey. You will love it and so will young people and everybody who loves dogs or wants to get to know them. I wish there had been more pictures though. I would want one for myself!

Best dog tale ever
I've read a few "dog" books over the years, probably most of them in fact. Merle's door is the best of them all. Following Ted's relationship with Merle, from their first meeting in the backcountry when Merle was looking for a human and Ted a companion, the book charts the highs and lows of their relationship, and the profound effect that they have on one another. It looks in more detail at some of those areas that all dog owners have to consider at one time or another, and the approach that Ted and Merle took. It is meticulously researched, by turn funny, harrowingly sad, full of insight and worth everyone of the five stars in this review.

A Fantastic Autobiography about a man and his dog
The book, Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog, is a must for anyone who has ever had a close relationship with a dog, or loves the country. The book merges the love of a dog companion with snippets of basic research on animal behavior, specifically canine. This method of weaving diciplines meets both the need for a story as well as the knowledge craved by the learned person. But, it does not stop there.
Ted Kerasote also pulls into the story his personal journey as a self-evolving man who fell in love with Wyoming, USA and stayed to make it home. He makes being part of the wilderness a life style that resonates with anyone who has "took the [path] less traveled by"(1) or wants to. We follow Ted into his life and meet all his loves along the way- Merle, Allison, his beloved friends, and the land, itself. The honesty and intelligence is refreshingly pure.
It makes one want to go to Kelly to find the author and shake his hand.

{1 = Robert Frost(1874-1963).Mountain Interval.1920.The Road Not Taken}


Rebecca from Kentucky
Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking DogMerle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog