This question, and many more, are brought out of the doghouse in John Homans’s informative new dog book as he discusses domestic life with his lab mix, Stella — as well as the overall explosion in dog ownership in America (from 53 million in 1996 to 77 million in 2010).

The author questions if we as a people are becoming more isolated — or, perhaps, it’s just harder to make true, loyal friends in today’s fast-paced Internet age? (NYT)