I’m Autistic and Scared of Your Dog

Some of My Favorite Summer Places Feel Perilous When People Flout Leash Laws

Small and big dogs playing at a beach while a 'No Dogs Allowed' sign is visible on the left.

It’s a beautiful summer day in Venice, California, and everyone seems to be out enjoying the beach—except for me.

I am profoundly autistic. As a result, I may jump up and down at strange moments or laugh uncontrollably. I cannot speak at all except for a few rote phrases, though I can write with the aid of a letter board or electronic device. And I am profoundly afraid of the dogs off their leashes that seem to be everywhere, especially in summertime.

It does not matter how small or large the dog …

by Jason Jacoby Lee | August 29, 2024

Economist Political Editor Adrian Wooldridge

Going to America Is Like a Shot of Cultural and Intellectual Adrenaline

November 16, 2021

Adrian Wooldridge is the political editor and “Bagehot” columnist at the Economist. In advance of the Zócalo event, “Is There Still Merit in a Merit-Based System?,” which was inspired by …

How My Parents’ Wartime Gamble on Greyhounds Paid Off

The Sentimental Journey of My WWII Childhood Mixed Dog Racing with an Idyllic Life on the Road

By Claudette Sutherland | February 27, 2017

The greyhound racing tracks were like big shiny carnivals, but I could only see them from the outside. Kids weren’t allowed in where people were gambling. Sometimes mother took …

Why Do Americans Put Pets, Not Their Owners, on Trial?

The Bizarre History Behind Our Current Canine Legal System Is Full of Rats, Pigs, and Moles

By David Grimm | July 12, 2016

When a Japanese Akita named Taro bit the lip of a 10-year-old New Jersey girl in 1991, police seized the dog and a judge ordered him destroyed. Taro’s owners appealed …

Are Black Dogs Unadoptable?

Rescue Shelters Perpetuate a False Belief that Dark-Coated Animals Are Unwanted

By Lucinda Woodward | May 3, 2016

It’s easy to mistake Ozzie as ferocious. His teeth are jagged ivory. His fur is dark as night. But his eyes are the true windows into his soul. Warm, brown, …

Dogs Get Dementia, Too

Our Canine Companions Are Living Longer—and Facing the Same Challenges as Humans

by Lee Harris | January 9, 2015

Zeigfield waddled, rather than walked, into my examination room. I had been seeing this obese Dachshund at my veterinary hospital for most of his 17 years, treating many of the …

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