Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson - Lost Companions: Reflections on the Death of Pets

This book is dedicated to my son Ilan because in addition to all the ways my life has been immeasurably enriched by the existence of Ilan and my other son, Manu, I owe him a deep debt of gratitude for being with Benjy for two years in Berlin and giving him the love he deserved while he himself got the special love that Benjy is famous for. I would fully expect the same from our younger son, Manu, who has lived with Benjy almost his entire life. I credit his extraordinary gentleness and kindness, in part at least, to having always lived with animals.

I want to thank my old friend Andy Ross (whom I knew in the days when he was the owner of the legendary Codys Books on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley), now my literary agent. He is the only agent I have ever known who will answer an email in seconds! He has another sterling quality: as my good friend Daniel Ellsberg said to me recently after the three of us got together for coffee, and after Andy had left: Jeffrey, you never told me Andy was so entertaining!

I am grateful to my wife, Leila, for reading the book and making her usual penetrating observations. She has been the light of my life for the last twenty-five years. I owe her everything.

I also want to acknowledge my much-loved daughter, Simone, who lived with many dogs and cats as she was growing up (and nearly became a vet as a result). Watching her feel such wonderful and important emotions for animals certainly played a major role in inspiring me to write about animal emotions.

Clare Wadsworth, a family friend, and editor who lives in the South of France with a pack of dogs, read over my manuscript, made many useful suggestions, but most importantly, she gave me the stimulus to continue when I thought I simply could not continue.

Jenny Miller has read and provided commentary on just about every book I have ever written, and this one was no exception. We share a love of dogs and a dislike of psychiatry, and her comments are always wise and on target. I am very grateful for all the help she has given me over the years.

So many people gave me great stories about their pets, that I could not possibly thank them all. Most of them are identified in the book along with their stories, and I am delighted that so many people were willing to share their stories, their grief, and their love for many different animals. I have also learned a great deal from the many wonderful books written about dogs, cats, and other animals. They continue to be written in ever greater numbers, a testimony to the fact that we are just beginning to discover the wonder of others. Just today I finished the magnificent book by Sigrid Nunez, The Friend: A Novel, which won the 2018 National Book Award, about the deep friendship (indeed, love) between a woman and a dog, which is just brimming with ideas that might not have been possible to contemplate just a few years ago. I urge the book on all animal lovers.

Those of us who love dogs, cats, and birds understand that other people feel just as strongly for countless other animals who are not usually thought of as pets. I think of my friends David Brooks and Teya Pribac who feel the same love for their rescued sheep who live with them in idyllic surroundings in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. Teya has just written a brilliant Ph.D. thesis that helped to clarify for me that animals feel grief every bit as much as humans do.

As I was writing this book, I would have lunch once a week with the amazing Brian Sherman (who, with his equally amazing daughter, Ondine, founded the animal-rights organization Voiceless), and always present was Miracle, the dog who would not leave Brians side for a minute, even more so now that Miracle knows that not all is well with Brian, which just makes her more determined to stick close to her best friend. It was an inspiration to observe, and helped me think about the deeper themes of this book.

My most important acknowledgment is for the love I have received during my life from countless dogs and cats, and birds, and even rats, chickens, and bunny rabbits, which has enriched my life beyond my ability to entirely articulate it.

Finally, I must say something about the wonderful staff at St. Martins Press, beginning with the very patient, very talented Daniela Rapp, who I was fortunate enough to have as my editor. She pushed me to expand the contents of this book in ways I had not initially planned, but I can see now that those additions greatly added to the book. Thank you, Daniela, for bringing in a larger vision of what this book could be. She was assisted by David Stanford Burr, Mattew Carrera, Alyssa Gammello, Cassidy Graham, Brant Janeway, Erica Martirano, Donna Noetzel, Ervin Serrano, and Vincent Stanley.