CONTEMPLATING THE HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP THROUGH DOG ADOPTION ...

154 Pages·2016·0.83 MB·English

by  Nikki Silvestrini

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE: CONTEMPLATING THE HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP
THROUGH DOG ADOPTION NARRATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES

by

NICOLE SILVESTRINI

A THESIS

Presented to the Folklore Program
and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts
December 2016
THESIS APPROVAL PAGE

Student: Nicole Silvestrini

Title: Its a Dog’s Life: Dog Adoption in the United States and the Performance of
Adoption Narratives

This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the Master of Arts degree in the Folklore Program by:

Dr. Lisa Gilman Chairperson
Dr. Ed Wolf Member
Dr. Phil Scher Member

and

Scott L. Pratt Dean of the Graduate School

Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School.

Degree awarded December 2016

ii
© 2016 Nicole Silvestrini

iii
THESIS ABSTRACT

Nicole Silvestrini

Master of Arts

Folklore Program

December 2016

Title: Its a Dog’s Life: Contemplating the Human-Animal Relationship through Dog
Adoption Narratives in the United States

Dog adoption is a popular way for people to find pets in the United States. With
dog adoption comes dog adoption narratives, ideologically about the dog, told by humans
for humans. Dog adoption narratives, a genre of personal experience narrative, enact a
series of formalized conventions that reveal societal binaries, tensions, and anxieties in
the interspecies relationship. Using an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, I highlight
the way these narratives are performed, organized, and interpreted. By comparing the
adoption narratives of two different groups, people who regularly visit dog parks and
people who do dog rehabilitation work, I argue that these narratives yield insight about
the way humans perceive dogs in the United States within the context of how humans
themselves want to be perceived by other humans. Dogs become a form of cultural
capital and dog adoption narratives a reflection of cultural attitudes towards, and
informed interactions with, the human-dog relationship.
iv
CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME OF AUTHOR: Nicole Silvestrini

GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:

University of Oregon, Eugene
Indiana University, Bloomington

DEGREES AWARDED:

Master of Arts, Folklore, 2016, University of Oregon
Bachelor of Arts, Folklore and Ethnomusicology, 2010, Indiana University

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:

Human-Animal Relationship
Storytelling and Personal Experience Narratives

v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Professors Dr. Lisa Gilman, Dr.
Ed Wolf, and Dr. Phil Scher for their guidance and assistance with my thesis. Special
thanks to the Adoption Program and the Animal Humane Society, most notably the AHS
Wednesday crew: Kyle, Laura, Linda, and Seth. Special thanks also to my participants
Amy, Becca, Bryan, Edie, Frankie, Kate, Nancy, Laura, Rasta, Vida, and Wendy for
putting up with my endless questions. I would also like to thank members of the Human-
Animal Research Interest Group at the University of Oregon for their invaluable insights
into my project in its early stages, particularly David Baumeister and Liz Curry. I would be
off studying trickster tales if not for the guidance of Professors Fernando Orejuela and Sue
Tuohy at Indiana University, so thanks for your encouragement to explore relatively
unknown territory in the folklore discipline.
I want to thank my family, Dawn and Skip Silvestrini, Mike Silvestrini and Briana
Beck, for their support, encouragement, and willingness to help me move 1,850 miles from
Minnesota to Oregon. I also need to thank Andrea Herbst whose mad editing skills,
willingness to talk on the phone for hours, and pictures of thesis cats helped make graduate
school bearable. To my colleagues and co-conspirators Amber Berrings, Jules Helweg-
Larsen, and Talia Nudell, you are my underwire bra. I would not be here if you were not
willing to hash things out with me for unreasonable amounts of hours. And of course, thank
you to The Disreputable Dog (Dizzy), the best dog a girl could ask for.

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1
Adoption Narrative and Social Meanings .............................................................. 3
Positionality ........................................................................................................... 4
Methodology .......................................................................................................... 5
Adoption Narratives’ Impact on Humans vs. Impact on Dogs .............................. 10
Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................... 13
Chapter Outlines .................................................................................................... 15
Notes ................................................................................................................ 19
II. THE MUTT STRIKES BACK! RISE OF THE CHIWIENIEPOO: THE
EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN AND DOG RELATIONSHIP IN THE 20TH
AND 21ST CENTURIES .............................................................................................. 20

“Human’s Best Friend”: Dogs in the 20th and 21st Centuries ................................ 21
Examples of Change in the Human-Dog Relationship .......................................... 23
Dog Adoption and a Brief History of Animal Welfare Organizations
in the U.S. .............................................................................................................. 25

Attitudes Towards Animal Welfare Organizations ................................................ 27

A Brief Note on Dog Behavior and Interpretation ................................................. 32

Dog Breeds and their Stigmatization in America .................................................. 36

An Insider’s Perspective ........................................................................................ 41

Terminology ........................................................................................................... 45

Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 49
Notes ................................................................................................................ 50

vii
Chapter Page

III. HE CHOSE ME: DOG PARKS AS PERFORMANCE SPACES AND THE
CONVENTIONS OF THE CANINE ADOPTION NARRATIVE............................. 52

Dog Parks as a Performance Space ........................................................................ 52
Stories Told in the Dog Park .................................................................................. 58
Adoption Narratives as a Genre ............................................................................. 63
Wolfie: Thursday, July 14th 2016 .......................................................................... 72
Casey: Monday, July 26 2016 ................................................................................ 74
Lola: Tuesday, June 14th 2016 ............................................................................... 76
Frankie: Monday, August 30, 2015 ....................................................................... 80
What Dog Adoption Narratives Do ....................................................................... 82
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 83
Notes ................................................................................................................. 85
IV. “SHE’S YOUR KIND OF DOG:” ANIMAL SHELTERS, ANIMAL AGENCY
AND DOG REHABILITATION ADOPTION NARRATIVES ................................. 87

How Adoption Preparation Adoption Narratives are Performed ........................... 87

What is Adoption Preparation? .............................................................................. 89
Dizzy ...................................................................................................................... 96
Chase ...................................................................................................................... 100
Vida ........................................................................................................................ 105
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 112
Notes ................................................................................................................. 113
V. THE TAIL END: ANALYSIS OF DOG ADOPTION NARRATIVES AND
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 114

viii
Chapter Page

Adoption Narratives and the Human-Animal Relationship ................................... 114

Adoption Narratives’ Social Impact for Humans .................................................. 115
The Shelter Dog Construct..................................................................................... 123
Performance: Places of Resistance and Reinforcement ......................................... 124
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 129
Notes ................................................................................................................ 130
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 131
A. EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT WITH AMY AND
BRYAN, AUGUST 30, 2015; VIDA’S STORY............................................. 131

B. EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT WITH KATE,
SEPTEMBER 2, 2015; VIDA’S STORY ........................................................ 138

C. EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT WITH WENDY,
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015; VIDA’S STORY ........................................................ 141

REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 142

ix
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Lola ........................................................................................................................ 77

2. Frankie. .................................................................................................................. 81

3. Ad Prep Dog Profile............................................................................................... 101
4. Chase ...................................................................................................................... 10
x