乐播传媒

As Associate Professor of English Lavina Shankar taught her course in South Asian literature on March 13, 2006, she steeled herself for what would follow her class: the death of her dog, Phoebe, whose life would end after 54 weeks of treatment for lymphoma.

In preparing for Phoebe鈥檚 euthanasia that afternoon, Shankar decided not to discuss one poem that, by chance, was on the syllabus that day: Rabindranath Tagore鈥檚 鈥淩ecovery 14,鈥� which describes how a dog鈥檚 pure love can help one contemplate humanity: 鈥淥nly this creature / Has pierced through good and bad and seen / Complete man.鈥�

Ending her class, Shankar tried to skip out. But a student called out: 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 read the dog poem.鈥� Shankar paused. Could she refuse a student鈥檚 desire to learn? Could she really not discuss, at that moment, this painful poem about a dog鈥檚 unconditional love for humans?

Years earlier, on a May afternoon in 1997, Shankar sat on the front steps of her Nichols Street apartment, deep in conflict. She and her husband, Rajiv, had just adopted Phoebe, and Shankar was scared of the animal. Actually, she鈥檇 been scared of dogs most of her life, a fear accentuated by a negative childhood experience with a dog.

Shankar thought her fears were conquered in graduate school, when she befriended a gentle dog belonging to a friend. But Phoebe was a big, boisterous German Shepherd mix. And just thinking about the dog鈥檚 attempts to smooch her kept Shankar awake at night.

There were two choices, said Rajiv: Keep the dog or return her immediately. Shankar grew up in Calcutta and recalled volunteering in Mother Teresa鈥檚 orphanage as a teenager, where sometimes children were adopted and then returned. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the worst thing you can do to a baby,鈥� she says. That memory made up Shankar鈥檚 mind. Phoebe would stay, and Shankar would choose to love her.

From 1997 to 2006, Shankar went from fearing the animal to adoring her to being her primary caregiver during her chemotherapy treatments. 鈥淏y the end, her love for Phoebe helped her get over her fears,鈥� says Lewiston veterinarian Ruth Burgess. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen that so many times: You can do so much more than you think you can.鈥�

Perhaps that sense of empowerment helped Shankar choose to discuss Tagore鈥檚 鈥淩ecovery 14鈥� on March 13, 2006. Her tears flowed, but in choosing to teach rather than flee, Shankar conquered her fear of Phoebe鈥檚 death. She also faced another anxiety: that she might not be with her parents, in India, when they eventually pass away. 鈥淗umans live on the edge of normalcy, never knowing what鈥檚 around the corner,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e must live as though it鈥檚 not the last moment.鈥�

During Phoebe鈥檚 illness, Shankar decided she would repay the community 鈥� 鈥渉uman and non-human,鈥� she says 鈥� that taught her lessons about humanity, mortality, and spirituality. She began to construct a new Short Term course, 鈥淔or the Love of Dogs,鈥� using literature and service-learning to examine the relationship and boundaries between humans and dogs.

She began working on the course in early 2006. Texts came from enough perspectives 鈥� Flush by Virginia Woolf, Marley & Me by John Grogan, and The Companion Species Manifesto by Donna Haraway 鈥� to ensure the course鈥檚 intellectual teeth. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want this course to just be, 鈥楲et鈥檚 talk about our sad stories about our dogs,鈥欌�� Shankar says. Analyzing texts from a new perspective, Shankar heightened her own awareness of familiar authors.

With help from veterinarian Burgess 鈥� and from a Harward Center for Community Partnerships grant 鈥� Shankar added service-learning opportunities, with the Androscoggin Humane Society, the Lewiston Veterinary Hospital, and My Wonderful Dog, a service-dog program.

Shakespearean scholar Marjorie Garber, L.H.D. 鈥�06, whose book Dog Love was a central part of the course reading, says dogs, humans, and service-learning are a snug fit because the two species have a 鈥渃ommutable relationship. People love dogs; dogs love people. People serve dogs; dogs serve people,鈥� she says. 鈥淩eal-world interactions are increasingly important in today鈥檚 colleges, so if dogs help cross this divide, that鈥檚 commendable.鈥�

Shankar says the course鈥檚 service-learning component honors the 鈥渁venue of experience and emotion鈥� she and Rajiv traveled during Phoebe鈥檚 treatment. New relationships with veterinarians, oncologists, kennel workers, and other dog lovers 鈥渢ipped the balance of what you think of as your community,鈥� she says. For example, a local limo driver, Bob Dackmine, who drives Shankar to the airport, phoned during the ordeal. 鈥淏ob called me,鈥� Shankar mused. 鈥淢y best friends didn鈥檛.鈥�

Shankar has created nine courses at 乐播传媒, but 鈥淔or the Love of Dogs,鈥� which she taught in 2007, is the first to force her away from her disciplinary comfort zone of feminist theory and Asian American, South Asian, and modern British literature. The experience gives Shankar greater enthusiasm for exploring new scholarly areas. She also feels more connected to her students, less afraid of sharing life experiences, and more willing to learn from them and others. 鈥淯sually, a teacher must appear omniscient to her students. But the experience with Phoebe made me unafraid of not knowing,鈥� she says.

Taking a broader view, Shankar adds that 鈥渢he freedom of a place like 乐播传媒 allows faculty and students to examine their own lives and learn to live them better. This is the liberal arts education: learning for living, not merely learning to make a living.鈥�

Afterword: Following聽Phoebe’s death, the Shankars adopted Heidi, shown at left with a student in Lavina’s “For the Love of Dogs” Short Term course last spring. “Phoebe will never be replaced, but she’ll live on in the聽course,” she says.