Dharma Dog: When Your Spiritual Teacher Has Four Legs

For several decades, Stephen Cope has been a highly respected author in the American contemplative domain, with many best-selling books to his credit. But at the age of seventy-two he faced an interesting dilemma: Should he dive deeply into his next big book project, or should he help adopt the weeks-old spaniel puppy named Kenzie who had “accidentally” shown up in his life? Something about this puppy called out to his heart, but the idea of raising a dog at his age was wildly out of his comfort zone.


Of course, he chose the puppy, and his life has not been the same since. Cope discovered, much to his surprise, that helping to raise Kenzie taught him as much about the so-called “spiritual life” as had his library full of sacred texts. Most of all, the pup taught this highly intellectual and scholarly man important lessons in love that he had somehow missed along the way.


In Dharma Dog, Cope recounts the story of his unexpected late-in-life awakening: He wrestles with the many dilemmas of aging, finds support in the deepening of friendships, and most of all delights in the transformational wonders of the profound love he shares with his pup.