This is one beautiful book. If Merle the dog could read and interpret books the way humans could, he would see that his friend Ted Kerasote wrote him a loving, book-length love letter. For thirteen years, ever since Ted met the stray Merle as a young dog, Ted and Merle shared their lives in rural Wyoming. And what a wonderful life it was: they lived in a very small town, so small and remote that nobody had fences and dogs wandered around freely. Ted encouraged Merle to be his own "person" and have freedoms as much as possible: with a dog door, Merle controlled when he went inside/outside; with no fences, Merle could explore the surrounding area any time he felt like it; Ted even let Merle choose the time of day for dinner (5:30pm). There was a lot of trust and respect between dog and owner, and even more love. It was heartbreaking to read about vibrant Merle's descent into old age and failing health. After reading about so many adventures, I felt that Ted and Merle were as inseparable as any two characters in literature ever were. Their love of life and having adventures together just came through so strongly, that it seems just wrong that one must now continue on, on his own. A wonderful read that is both entertaining and informative and well-researched. ( )

Lovely warm description of relationship between a man and his dog. Takes place in a fairly wild rural community. Lots of discussion about dog psychology. Beautifully written. ( )

2009 ( )

It took me awhile to get into it, since I'm not a big fan of books about animals, but by the end I was hooked and bawling like a little baby. In its crib. 3.5 out of 5 dogs that are more insightful and loving than most people. ( )

This is a wonderful celebration of the life of a pretty special dog and has to be the best dog book I’ve ever read.......

Ted Kerasote is an outdoors sort of guy. He writes about outdoor places and pursuits - wilderness adventures and such like. This is the story of his relationship with Merle, a dog who he meets on a canoe trip with some friends. The young dog has clearly been surviving on his own and joins them on their trip. Ted ends up sharing his life with Merle and it is really a love story of man and dog. In truth, I fell in love with both of them.

Once Ted got the measure of Merle in terms of just how bright he was and how much he could trust him, Merle was allowed to become a free thinking dog. In the main, he could come and go as he pleased through his own dog door; chose to spend time with Ted in whatever activity, be it hunting or hiking or go and lead his own life, off doing dog things with his own dog and human friends. There was a fair amount of dog psychology and animal behaviour-type references, but as a lot of this was to books or authors that I already really rate, I relished that. It was a book that made me think on all sorts of levels. I delighted in it and know that it is a book that I will probably read more than once. ( )

Dogs, love and grief - This is a long book. I know that sounds like a simpleton opening, but somewhere slightly past the middle of this tome, I started finding some of the corroborating scientific information about the relationships between men and other mammals just a bit "teedjus," ya know? I mean I bought the book because I love a good dog book, so I wasn't terribly interesting in learning about horses and chimps along the way. That said though, Kerasote has written an extremly thoughtful book about men and dogs, and why they love each other - or don't. There are several places in the book where Kerasote protests a bit too much, methinks, that he does NOT anthropomorphize Merle, or the other dogs in this book, then rationalizes like hell, using esoteric bits of scientific trivia to "prove" he doesn't. But hell, he does. He knows it, and so do we. And we don't care. Because this is just a great love story that any dog-lover cannot help but enjoy. I have a neighbor who has, over the years, owned three retired greyhounds. When he lost the second one, who died very suddenly of a twisted gut, I felt badly for Jim. But he acknowledged quietly the age-old problem that comes with loving a dog. He told me sadly, "Dogs. No matter how much you love 'em, it always ends in grief." And that is certainly how MERLE'S DOOR ends. Oh, I know that Kerasote tried to dress it up a bit with that last (anthropomorphic) line from Merle's spirit: "I dance! I DANCE!" But my God, that last chapter was just gut-wrenching, and it brought back all the tearful times of losing dogs of my own over the years. Yes, I cried. And because of that beautiful last chapter, Ted, I forgive you for all that pseudo-scholarly "teedjusness" in the middle of the book. That final chapter clinched the 5-star rating. Thanks for sharing your story. I know, of course, there'll never be another Merle, but I hope you've found - or will soon find - another golden pal. ( )

This is the best dog book I have ever read. It has stayed with me for a long time after finishing it, I think of Merle frequently! Kerasote manages to humanize Merle so that you think you "know" him as a good friend! Great book, not to be missed by dog lovers. ( )

Wonderful story about Merle and his human friend/companion. Told through Ted's eyes, the story is drawn with great respect for Merle's independence and intelligence; by the end of the book you will have felt as if you have walked through Merle's life and with a greater appreciation for life's journey with your own companions, ( )

What a marvelous biography of an awsome dog! I am in awe of Kerasote's open-minded approach to his developing relationship with Merle and his ability to allow this magnificent animal to determine his own lifestyle. The result was a life and relationship so much richer by far then the "normal" human-dog pairing. Be sure you grab a box of tissues before you start the last chapter. It is heartbreaking! (Amazingly, as I read it in bed, hardly able to control my sobs, Muggs - one of my two feral black cats - jumped up on my bed and curled up against my legs. The only other time he had done that was the night after I buried my 18 year companion little tiger cat Molly! How DID he know?) The book has references and an index in the back. Also, for lots of photos of Merle, go to Kerasote's website: http://www.kerasote.com/ ( )

This is a book about a guy in love with his dog. There's nothing wrong with being in love with your dog. Merle, Ted's dog, was indeed a very special dog. Ted gives insight to his view of dog behavior-- which may have worked for Merle because he was super smart, but there are many dogs out there who aren't too intelligent and wouldn't have been able to live the free life of Merle. I really enjoyed this book. Be prepared for a sad ending. ( )

An absolute gem. The only reason I haven't given it a 5-star rating is because I would have loved to see some photos in the book. There is a section on the author's website dedicated to this subject "Merle's life in photos", with a delightful slideshow set to Merle's favourite music. A beautiful way to remember a never-to-be forgotten dog, a very special story about an amazing dog, and her human companion. ( )

Not at all soppish about the usual human-canid tragedy. Candid, thoughtful, the human being is nearly as charming as the dog. Makes a great case for allowing dogs as much freedom as we are able in any residence environment. ( )

OK, I loved the book and don't have much to add to the other reviews here on LT. I do feel jealous that I am not independently employed in a way that would allow me to live in a semi-wilderness neighborhood where a dog running free with no collar is accepted. I would like to let my dogs have more space to be just dogs but I live in a suburban area with way too many cars and people who hate dogs. So they are leashed, neutered, kept in a fenced area, and sushed when they bark. But they also get regular food, lots of love, and good times. I appreciated this book because it reeked of love of this one wonderful dog, and it provided me some information about dog research I had not previously seen. I recommend it to all dog lovers, but warn it has a normal ending for a good dog book - and the reader will probably cry buckets. ( )

Interesting volume from a man who clearly loved his dog bigtime. There are some wonderful moments of shining love in this book. I thought maybe the author was a bit preachy about only eating wild meat he'd killed himself - it was as if somehow the rest of us are supposed to access this food source. Also I wasn't really pleased reading about his opinion about avoiding neutering surgery since dogs are beautiful in their natural state. Well, yes, perhaps so, but I'd certainly have trouble dealing with she-doggie sanitary supplies. Not to mention that your average person is so irresponsible with their pets that we have created a holocaust of pet euthanizations at our nation's animal shelters. It would be nice if we were all independently employed, eating off the land and could supervise free-ranging lifestyles for our dogs. Perhaps Wild Man Ted is a bit out of touch with the exigencies of suburban living.

During a river trip, Kerasote found Merle, a dog who had been surviving alone in the wild for some time. Upon adopting him, the author decided to give the dog free range to come and go as he liked. Merle's Door describes the depth of their ensuing relationship, evidence of the Merle's thought process and decision-making, and expounds on canine history and behavior. These sometimes lengthy quotes from other sources interrupt the story at times but they were interesting.

Although the conclusions drawn from observing Merle's behavior as an independent dog were insightful, even fascinating, I don't think it's easy to follow these "lessons". Living in busy cities or suburbs, most pet owners would never find letting their dogs roam freely a safe option. Even in the area where Merle wandered, other dogs were often involved in dog fights, caught by the dog catcher, hit by cars or shot at for harassing livestock. Because he learned to survive on his own at an early age, Merle was able to avoid these hazards (or just lucky). He happened to be a very intelligent dog, above average for his kind. His story is nothing less than extraordinary.

from the Dog Ear Diary ( )

I picked up this book at the library, commenting as I did so that, in all likelihood, this book was going to make me cry. Having just had my own dog of 13 years put down a few weeks ago I knew I would be susceptible. I found the descriptions of Merle's language (various noises and facial expressions) to be dead-on and very much enjoyed the "dog psychology" aspects of the book. I did disagree with some of the authors arguments and decisions - for instance - not having Merle wear a collar full-fime and I was frankly appalled at the choices he made at the end of the book! (I will not go into detail for those who don't wish to inadvertantly read a "spoiler") ( )

Story of a wonderful relationship of a man and the dog that found him. The author interjected "doggy" information throughout the story when appropriate (i.e. the different ways of calculating dog age, etc.). Hearing this audio by a good speaker with all the right inflections added to the hearability of this story. My only reservation would be that the ending may be a little too frank and sad for young children. ( )

I am having a hard time giving this book the credit that it deserves. This is a beautifully written book about a beautiful and loving relationship between a dog and his person. I loved this dog. Mer;e's story is about a fun loving, respectful and respected dog. His early months were a mystery, and he found his home with a loving person while living as a stray. His story is that of one of those once in a lifetime dogs. A dog that knows what his person is thinking and how to make his person understand his own thoughts and needs.
I was in love with this dog from his first appearance on the page.
I took a chance on this book. I rarely buy books about a dog, a cat or specific pet. As we are all too sadly aware we too often lose those we love most, and with our four legged family, it is always too soon.

This book made me sad.

This book made my dog happy, because after I read it and cried into his golden coat, I went off to the store to buy him a bag filled with beef soup bones and chicken backs, took him for a long walk and massaged his ears until he nearly swooned. ( )

This would be a good companion to Marley and Me. Kerasote adores Merle and has many words of advise for managing dog behavior. ( )

283/364
summary
Merle's door is a fantastic book so far. The part that i have read it very good. it is basically about a dog named Merle and this guy named Ted who find each in the desert and then it has stories between their relationships and how it grew from the beginning to were ever it goes( i say were ever it goes because i haven't read the ending).in the story the author give a lot of explanations, but if it was me i would rather yell the story about the dog than talk about any research that was found. there was one particular scene that i liked and it was in the beginning when they went to the doctors and they were talking about his health saying that he is almost one and he is a lab/golden retriever. the reason i liked that was because i have a lab. Oh in most of the story i could feel his emotion if when Merle was either lost or hurt or even having a good time because of the relation ship between my dog and I.
Main characters
the main characters in this book are Merle and Ted. Ted is a man in his forties who grow to care about Merle a dog who is very interesting. in the book they grow to have a very nice relationship. Merle is very interesting to me because he is a dog who would not play fetch in my mind i said what kind of dog doesn't play fetch and that made we wonder what kind of owners did he have before he met Ted. Basically Merle's an interesting dog with interesting aspects.Ted is a person who can comprehend people and dogs because he can tell what kind of a mood Merle is or he at least tries to think of what Merle is thinking in his head.
relating any situations:
in the book there was one part that i could totally relate to and that was when they went into the woods and there was a porcupine and Merle went after him and he got injured and Ted took care of his dog and comforted him as much as he could. i can related to that because there was one time when my dog body was over heated and she could not handle it and so she cries and was desperate to go out into the cold and then she could not walk straight so i got scared, after everything passed i comforted her with pillows and messaging her. i can related to the emotions that ted must have had when Merle was injured.
What i didn't liked:
there was a lot of good things about this book but there thing that i didn't like and that was ll the research that was put in this book. the reason that is so because i like when the book goes straight for the point and the action rather than just staling. For me i get frustrated when that happens, but that make me want to read that part even faster to just get it over with. That annoys me because i want to enjoy the book in a good amount of time.
recommend:
i would recommend this book to people who like dogs and to people who like reading about a relationship's between a dog and it's owner.
----- ana diaz
period3
english 9
fine

Excellent meditation on the nature of dogs and on the author's "life dog", Merle. I loved Merle - what a spirit of joy and forgivenss. I loved Kerasote for letting Merle be Merle. In my opinion, there's nothing like a dog and this book proves it. ( )

I've been reading more nonfiction lately - mostly business related titles for work. However, I have also been reading a fair number of dog books - Marley & Me and Colter: the true story of the best dog I ever had - recently. I should know better - both of those books had me crying at the end. Merle's Door was no different. However, I wouldn't have passed this book up for the world. Ted Kerasote is a fantastic writer - he paints such vivid descriptions with his words that I could see Merle skiing down the mountain. The book begins with Ted and his friends on a kayaking/rafting trip down the San Juan River encountering a beautiful, red dog. The dog, Merle, joins their river trip and his life with Ted begins. The relationship and connection between Ted and Merle goes beyond what most people think of when they have a pet. Ted and Merle can almost read each other's minds, if Ted's descriptions can be believed (and I think they can). Ted includes research on the behavior of dogs, their evolution, and other interesting dog information - but all in a very readable way that enhances the narrative. At the end, Merle passes on - but his spirit will live on through this fabulous book. ( )