The Human Society: a canine novel by William R. Vitanyi.

About The Human Society

Dogs are often far more intelligent than we realize, and Paps has taken this to a new level. Thanks to time spent in front of a television he can read many human words, and understands a lot about human technology. This gives him a special perspective in his dealings with humans.

As a show dog Paps is treated well, but there is a gap between him and his human pack. One day he misreads a sign, which suggests a way to bridge this gap. This begins a perilous quest to become human by gaining entry to The Human Society building.

Told mainly from the perspective of dogs, canine intelligence is featured in a journey from dog shows to puppy mills and beyond. As with life, The Human Society is part drama, part humor, and is a revelation about the human-canine relationship.

Excerpt of The Human Society

CHAPTER ONE

Paps was tempted.

Instinct compelled him to sniff, but intellect advised that his food was always placed in the round container at hunger time, and always satisfied without causing distress. The last time he wolfed down a bit of found human food he was rewarded with wetpoo for a full two cycles. There was nothing wrong with his memory; he walked away from the fallen morsel of pickled tofu.

"Paps." He heard his name and scampered to the room with many chairs. Dianne—his female human—sat on the long, fabric-covered box, and mouth-curved as he approached. Mid-morning sunlight filtered through the window and made distracting patterns along her face and neck, but Paps ignored these and sat at attention near her feet. At ten inches tall and nine pounds, Paps was a prototypical Papillon.

"Good boy!" She rewarded him with a scratch of his left ear. Vaguely resembling a butterfly, the signature ear shape was the inspiration for his breed's name.

Papillon means butterfly in French.

Paps had no idea how Dianne knew just where to touch him, but when her fingers caressed that spot he wanted to lie down, roll over, and offer his stomach for additional attention.

He did not.

His discipline was iron. As a Papillon this was matched only by his intelligence, and his energetic belief that he was much larger than his ten-inch height. Actually, he was a smidge over ten inches, and if he grew much taller he would no longer qualify for dog shows. To represent your breed in these conformation events you had to be within design parameters. Show dogs were not perfect, but they had to be close approximations. That was the game. Conform to the standard for your breed, more so than others did for theirs.

Conformation.

"We're all going to the Dog Club later, Paps." She picked him up and held him near her face, infusing him with a blend of coffee, toothpaste, and yesterday's lunch. Humans contain trace elements of previous meals for up to three days. He closed his eyes and concentrated, but could discern no additional particulate matter.

She was pretty clean.

"You'll get to see your friends." She patted his head and placed him on the floor. He sat there until she rose and left the room a few minutes later, and then he padded back into the kitchen and wet his mouth with water. He almost always had clean, fresh water, but he thought it would be nice to pour the water into his mouth like the humans did. His chin hair often got wet when he drank from his bowl, plus the water was fresher when just out of the pipe.

Sometimes his bowl water was warm, or chunky.
After taking some refreshment he walked a short distance to look out the big window that moves sideways. From what Dianne had said it sounded like they were going out today. His eye twitched as a bird darted past and he tensed, but then the moment passed. 
He quickly relaxed and sat down, enjoying the view of the outside world. Life was good, as far as it went, but as he stared out the window he couldn't help but reflect that something was missing. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around it, but for the past several seasons he had felt it when he watched the humans. Something about their packish behavior made him feel isolated. He wanted to belong, and while they certainly met all his needs, the humans didn't seem to fully accept him as one of their own. It sometimes darkened him.

He lifted his leg and licked himself.

Not that he was morose, or even mildly depressed. Although he knew that certain canine breeds tend to be dark most of the time, he didn't accept emotional breedism as a foregone conclusion. He acknowledged that there was a predisposition towards dark-thinking among certain breeds, but felt that personal idiosyncrasy and individual experience had greater impact. Otherwise, some breeds would be perpetually dark, and others constantly jubilant.

Life didn't work that way.

He finished his housekeeping, and rather than dwelling on darkness he quick-walked around the house, checking that all was in order. He stopped at the front window, which was just a narrow opening on one side of the door. He could see the end of the driveway, and once in a while a car would go past, but the field of vision was limited.

He went now to his favorite spot near the back door, where two large, clear openings afforded a wide view of the back yard. There was also a small window nearby, often left ajar by the humans during certain seasons. When open, like now, the mesh outer covering let in scents from the outside world. From here he could see the woods beyond the yard, and part of the yard next door, where his friend Spangles was sometimes staked.

Poor Spangles. Nice pup, but a bit misguided. He seemed to always find trouble, but he was a good friend. At the moment he must be inside, and nothing else was stirring, so Paps decided to take a nap. It would be time to work-play soon, and he wanted to be well rested.

He liked work-play.

Purchase The Human Society

The Human Society is available in trade paperback or eBook at these and other vendors:

Amazon Kindle or Print
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble Nook or Print
Kobo
Scribd
Smashwords

Your local library may have The Human Society, but if not you can suggest it to them!
Available through most library catalogs.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020911837.
ISBN-13 : 978-0978560058
Paperback : 208 pages
Dimensions : 5.5 x 8.5 inches

From the Author

Bill lives in northwestern Pennsylvania with his family and pets. He is an Edinboro University of Pennsylvania alumnus, with a Bachelor's degree in Russian Language and many years of experience as a computer programmer. He is now retired and writes full time, weather permitting.

He has written several books, numerous articles, and also designs Android apps.

In 2008 he won an IPPY award (humor) for The Official Guide to Office Wellness.

Of writing, Bill says organization is important. One day he hopes to attain this, but until then he will either wing it, or outline with a passion.

Probably both.

On writing The Human Society, Bill was inspired while driving past the Humane Society, and by his Chihuahua's uncanny ability to influence human behavior. It was as if they could hear each others' thoughts.

Wait...who said that?

Connect with Bayla Publishing

Connect with William R. Vitanyi

Follow @vitanyi
Vitanyi

To contact the author send email to: Contact William R. Vitanyi

Books and Apps by
William R. Vitanyi

BOOKS

A very smart show dog strikes out on his own in a quest to become human, but the world outside the ring is a dangerous place. After he misreads a sign, Paps enlists the help of all classes of dogs--both wild and domestic--to find the Human Society, where dogs go to become human, or so he believes.

100 office workers pose on, over, and in their desks and cubicles to demonstrate animal-inspired techniques designed to alleviate office maladies. Winner of an IPPY for humor. Gift one to your favorite office worker!

In this techno-thriller, written before smart phones, a hidden agency is secretly data mining all online communications to create a "societal profile". This snapshot of the national conversation is the result of scooping up virtually everything communicated online by everyone. If you send it, they store it.

State worker Clint Palmer has spent far too much time in the box, and his cubicle weariness has now been honed to razor sharp indifference. One day he learns of a grant that could fund his dream company, but to qualify he must get fired from the State.

APPS

Write notes on your smart device, organized by Items within Categories for quick and easy lookup. Associate an image with each note if desired, and toggle between text and image with one click.

In this app you are immersed in a mystery, and your job is to solve it. Match characteristics from the story to solve the crime. There is a new solution with each new game.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Create a Website at 1and1

IBPA

THE HUMAN SOCIETY

This Dog Can Read