Alexandra Horowitz on the limits of detection dogs and why their capability is misunderstood by the public: “We think of the detection dog as an instrument, a kind of device…But no dog has yet been trained to sniff out malicious intent.” http://nyr.kr/ZPrxl7 

  ”When I was a child, my greatest dream was to find a box full of puppies. And every shoebox, every discarded Manhattan Mini Storage vessel had the potential to change my life…”

In this week’s issue, Lena Dunham reflects on her childhood longing for a dog, and her recent experience adopting her pet mutt, Lamby: http://nyr.kr/YuDNGa

Photograph by Robin Schwartz.

(Source: newyorker.com)

Get the story behind this week’s cover, “Canine Couture,” by Maira Kalman: http://nyr.kr/ZuAzDs

This past weekend, back when Banana Joe’s victory was just a whisper in his owner’s heart, the photographer Landon Nordeman found himself holed up in the Pennsylvania Hotel, where hundreds of dogs and their owners were gathered in preparation for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and the events that surround the annual competition. In the course of three days, Landon and his team produced studio portraits of the hotel’s canine guests. Nordeman, who regularly photographs for The New Yorker’s Goings On About Town section, is no stranger to dog photography; in fact, his first assignment for the magazine was to photograph a border collie for a story by Susan Orlean. This is his third visit to Westminster (we published sets of his photos from the show in 2010 and 2011), and, last fall, he travelled to Romania to photograph Euro Dog 2012. Click-through for a slideshow of portraits from his weekend at the Hotel Pennsylvania: http://nyr.kr/XAlAqd

Cartoon by Frank Cotham. For more: http://nyr.kr/UQzYfP

Cartoon by David Sipress. For more from this week’s issue: http://nyr.kr/103NmC7

Cartoon by Mick Stevens. For more: http://nyr.kr/WFsvyf

Cartoon by Frank Cotham. For more: http://nyr.kr/12VSHef

“Do you know someone who adores dogs? Silly question. Even if you yourself are not a member of the Church of Canis Lupus Familiaris, you probably know many congregants. So, hallelujah and amen! “The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs” is available at fine bookstores everywhere. Go and get one. They’re going fast… You’ll find many great essays, articles, and stories packed in these three hundred and eighty-four pages, and, of course, lots of cartoons. How could there not be? Man’s best friend is also the cartoonist’s favorite animal…”

Bob Mankoff on The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs, and dog cartoons: http://nyr.kr/XrIkxO

Cartoon by Jack Ziegler. For more cartoons from the issue: http://nyr.kr/VYi5yb