Jessica Pierce

The daughter of a traitor must band together with a mysterious boy from Earth in order to escape her brutal life on a space station.

Atlas Fallen

Marc Bekoff

Scientists have long counseled against interpreting animal behavior in terms of human emotions, warning that such anthropomorphizing limits our ability to understand animals as they really are. Yet what are we to make of a female gorilla in a German zoo who spent days mourning the death of her baby? Or a wild female elephant who cared for a younger one after she was injured by a rambunctious teenage male? Or a rat who refused to push a lever for food when he saw that doing so caused another rat to be shocked? Aren’t these clear signs that animals have recognizable emotions and moral intelligence? With Wild Justice Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce unequivocally answer yes. Marrying years of behavioral and cognitive research with compelling and moving anecdotes, Bekoff and Pierce reveal that animals exhibit a broad repertoire of moral behaviors, including fairness, empathy, trust, and reciprocity. Underlying these behaviors is a complex and nuanced range of emotions, backed by a high degree of intelligence and surprising behavioral flexibility. Animals, in short, are incredibly adept social beings, relying on rules of conduct to navigate intricate social networks that are essential to their survival. Ultimately, Bekoff and Pierce draw the astonishing conclusion that there is no moral gap between humans and other species: morality is an evolved trait that we unquestionably share with other social mammals. Sure to be controversial, Wild Justice offers not just cutting-edge science, but a provocative call to rethink our relationship with—and our responsibilities toward—our fellow animals.

The Moral Lives of Animals

Wild Justice

"What would happen to dogs if humans simply disappeared? Would dogs be able to survive on their own without the help of humans? Many people assume that dogs are so dependent on people that they could not and would not survive in a world without us. But is this true? And why does it matter to contemplate such a scenario? In this book, the authors argue that dogs would, as a species, survive without us and that imagining a world for dogs without humans allows us to explore a number of fascinating questions about the past, present, and future of dogs. The book opens by presenting the current state of dogs, including the surprising fact that of the c. 500 million dogs in the world only 20% are pets while the rest are street dogs, feral dogs, or strays, suggesting diversity in the ways which dogs exploit human habitats and by extension how they would fare without us. From there, the authors explore what is known about dog origins and their co-evolution with humans. The heart of the book draws on evolutionary biology to imagine what dogs might become, biologically, absent humans. For example, if dogs were no longer subjected to artificial selection pressures what would their evolutionary path look like? Would dogs become like their wolf ancestors? Would dogs maintain the evolved socio-cognitive skills that facilitate communication with humans? How would they interact with other animals? The authors conclude the book by asking whether dogs would be better or worse without humans, as imagining a world in which dogs are "wild" raises questions about pet keeping practices and about the costs of captivity for dogs. Ultimately, as the authors say, in thinking about who dogs might become without us we gain fresh insight into who dogs are on their own terms are and how our relationships with them can best benefit us both"--

Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans

A Dog's World

No matter how cushy their lives, dogs live on our terms. They compromise their freedom and instinctual pleasure, as well as their innate strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, in exchange for the love, comfort, and care they get from us. But it is possible to let dogs be dogs without wreaking havoc on our lives, as biologist Marc Bekoff and bioethicist Jessica Pierce show in this fascinating book. They begin by illuminating the true nature of dogs and helping us "walk in their paws."; They reveal what smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing mean to dogs and then guide readers through everyday ways of enhancing dogs's freedom in safe, mutually happy ways. The rewards, they show, are great for dog and human alike.

A Field Guide to Giving Your Canine Companion the Best Life Possible

Unleashing Your Dog

"Through a mix of personal stories, philosophical reflections and scientifically informed analyses of animal behavior and natural history, a bioethicist takes readers on a mindful exploration of the ethics and experiences of pet ownership, and asks if we are doing the right thing, keeping these independent beings locked up, subject to our control."--NoveList.

the ethics of keeping pets

Run, Spot, run

“A thoughtful book” about how to ensure that the animals we love benefit from the relationship as much as we do (Kirkus Reviews). We feel love for our companions, and happiness that we’re providing them with a safe, healthy life. But sometimes we also feel guilt. When we see our cats gazing wistfully out the window, or watch a goldfish swim lazy circles in a bowl, we can’t help but wonder: Are we doing the right thing, keeping these independent beings locked up, subject to our control? Is keeping pets actually good for the pets themselves? That’s the question that animates Jessica Pierce’s powerful Run, Spot, Run. A bioethicist and a lover of pets herself (including, over the years, dogs, cats, fish, rats, hermit crabs, and more), Pierce explores the ambiguous ethics at the heart of this relationship, and through a mix of personal stories, philosophical reflections, and scientifically informed analyses of animal behavior and natural history, she puts pet-keeping to the test. Is it ethical to keep pets at all? Are some species more suited to the relationship than others? Are there species one should never attempt to own? And are there ways that we can improve our pets’ lives, so that we can be confident that we are giving them as much as they give us? “With gentle humor, clear compelling language, and always in search of the physically and emotionally healthiest lives possible for our animal companions, Run, Spot, Run moved me all the more because it’s written from the inside looking out. Pierce herself lives with three pets and understands the deep urge so many of us feel to connect across species lines.”—Barbara King, author of How Animals Grieve

The Ethics of Keeping Pets

Run, Spot, Run

In a book that draws on both personal stories and research presents an in-depth exploration of the practical, medical and moral issues that trouble pet owners confronted with the decline and death of their companion animals.

Reflections on Our Pets at the End of Their Lives

The Last Walk

"Explore the real-world experiences of five categories of animals, beginning with those who suffer the greatest deprivations of freedoms and choice{u2014}chickens, pigs, and cows in industrial food systems{u2014}as well as animals used in testing and research, including mice, rats, cats, dogs, and chimpanzees. Next, Bekoff and Pierce consider animals for whom losses of freedoms are more ambiguous and controversial, namely, individuals held in zoos and aquaria and those kept as companions. Finally, they reveal the unexpected ways in which the freedoms of animals in the wild are constrained by human activities and argue for a more compassionate approach to conservation. In each case, scientific studies combine with stories of individual animals to bring readers face-to-face with the wonder of our fellow beings, as well as the suffering they endure and the major paradigm shift that is needed to truly ensure their well-being" --Inside jacket.

Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age

The Animals' Agenda

Andrew Jameton

This text aims to bring bioethics and health care squarely into the 21st century. "The book shows how environmental decline relates to human health and to health care practices in the US and other industrialized countries."

The Ethics of Environmentally Responsible Health Care

George Randels

Incorporating introductions, readings, and cases that span the breadth of the discipline, Contemporary Bioethics: A Reader with Cases captures the spirit of bioethics as a rich, exciting, and continually evolving field. It covers all the essential topics - including abortion, reproductive ethics, end-of-life care, research ethics, and allocation of resources - and also extends into cutting-edge areas like environmental sustainability, terrorism, neuroethics, immigration, genetic manipulations, and links between first- and third-world health. The book opens with a substantial introduction that explores key differences between secular and religious modes of argumentation. Each of the following chapters contains an in-depth introduction, a selection of concise readings, discussion questions, and a collection of 7-10 case studies.

A Reader with Cases

Contemporary Bioethics

From two of the world’s leading authorities on dogs, an imaginative journey into a future of dogs without people What would happen to dogs if humans simply disappeared? Would dogs be able to survive on their own without us? A Dog’s World imagines a posthuman future for dogs, revealing how dogs would survive—and possibly even thrive—and explaining how this new and revolutionary perspective can guide how we interact with dogs now. Drawing on biology, ecology, and the latest findings on the lives and behavior of dogs and their wild relatives, Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff—two of today’s most innovative thinkers about dogs—explore who dogs might become without direct human intervention into breeding, arranged playdates at the dog park, regular feedings, and veterinary care. Pierce and Bekoff show how dogs are quick learners who are highly adaptable and opportunistic, and they offer compelling evidence that dogs already do survive on their own—and could do so in a world without us. Challenging the notion that dogs would be helpless without their human counterparts, A Dog’s World enables us to understand these independent and remarkably intelligent animals on their own terms.

Pat Graverson

When Cassie begins having nightmares in which she slowly remembers details about the murder of her mother, someone begins watching her, out to silence any memories that may come back to her. Original.

Someone's Watching

From the moment when we first open our homes—and our hearts—to a new pet, we know that one day we will have to watch this beloved animal age and die. The pain of that eventual separation is the cruel corollary to the love we share with them, and most of us deal with it by simply ignoring its inevitability.
 
With The Last Walk, Jessica Pierce makes a forceful case that our pets, and the love we bear them, deserve better. Drawing on the moving story of the last year of the life of her own treasured dog, Ody, she presents an in-depth exploration of the practical, medical, and moral issues that trouble pet owners confronted with the decline and death of their companion animals. Pierce combines heart-wrenching personal stories, interviews, and scientific research to consider a wide range of questions about animal aging, end-of-life care, and death. She tackles such vexing questions as whether animals are aware of death, whether they're feeling pain, and if and when euthanasia is appropriate. Given what we know and can learn, how should we best honor the lives of our pets, both while they live and after they have left us?         
The product of a lifetime of loving pets, studying philosophy, and collaborating with scientists at the forefront of the study of animal behavior and cognition, The Last Walk asks—and answers—the toughest questions pet owners face. The result is informative, moving, and consoling in equal parts; no pet lover should miss it.

Amir Shanan

Tamara Shearer

Hospice and Palliative Care for Companion Animals: Principles and Practice offers the first comprehensive reference to veterinary hospice and palliative care, with practical guidance and best practices for caring for sick and dying animals. Presents the first thorough resource to providing veterinary hospice and palliative care Offers practical guidance and best practices for caring for sick and dying animals Provides an interdisciplinary team approach, from a variety of different perspectives Gives concrete advice for easing pets more gently through their final stage of life Includes access to a companion website with client education handouts to use in practice

Principles and Practice

Hospice and Palliative Care for Companion Animals

After stumbling upon a mysterious old book about a captive young girl in the attic of her new home, Jenny becomes obsessed with freeing Sara from her captors only to be trapped herself within the pages of the story. Original.

Trapped

A compelling argument that the time has come to use what we know about the fascinating and diverse inner lives of other animals on their behalf Every day we are learning new and surprising facts about just how intelligent and emotional animals are—did you know rats like to play and laugh, and also display empathy, and the ears and noses of cows tell us how they’re feeling? At times, we humans translate that knowledge into compassion for other animals; think of the public outcry against the fates of Cecil the lion or the captive gorilla Harambe. But on the whole, our growing understanding of what animals feel is not resulting in more respectful treatment of them. Renowned animal-behavior expert Marc Bekoff and leading bioethicist Jessica Pierce explore the real-world experiences of five categories of animals, beginning with those who suffer the greatest deprivations of freedoms and choice—chickens, pigs, and cows in industrial food systems—as well as animals used in testing and research, including mice, rats, cats, dogs, and chimpanzees. Next, Bekoff and Pierce consider animals for whom losses of freedoms are more ambiguous and controversial, namely, individuals held in zoos and aquaria and those kept as companions. Finally, they reveal the unexpected ways in which the freedoms of animals in the wild are constrained by human activities and argue for a more compassionate approach to conservation. In each case, scientific studies combine with stories of individual animals to bring readers face-to-face with the wonder of our fellow beings, as well as the suffering they endure and the major paradigm shift that is needed to truly ensure their well-being. The Animals’ Agenda will educate and inspire people to rethink how we affect other animals, and how we can evolve toward more peaceful and less violent ways of interacting with our animal kin in an increasingly human-dominated world.

Jessica Pierce

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