The title of the book says it all; Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers.

As a dog lover from way back, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Marge’s new volume. No one I know is more capable of making Yiddish accessible to those of us who only have a smattering of knowledge of the language, than Marge Gottlieb Wolfe. In all of her work, she finds ways to make learning, and using, Yiddish fun. By introducing common expressions and terminology from our everyday lives, she breaths new life into what some consider a slowly dying language.

In Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers, Marge practically anthropomorphizes the language by utilizing some of the most imaginative and hilarious illustrations to describe her definitions. Not only are there charming cartoon images of dogs and cats, but scattered among the pages are actual pictures of people’s pets in various poses, and costumes. I confess, that our own Rosco the Yiddishe Pug, was offered a spot on one of her pages. Sadly, we could not coax a portrait sitting session into his very busy schedule. Although his presence would have been a great asset to the book, I freely admit that the overall quality has not suffered one little bit due to his lack of cooperation.

I come from a time when the family pet was not quite as catered to as they are now. They were wonderful to have around but, in a sense, we kinda kept them “in their place.” But now, their place has expanded into every part of our lives. We accept our dogs, and cats, as full members of the family. They eat the finest of gourmet pet foods, we celebrate their birthdays, some Jewish dogs even attain their bark mitzvahs, with all the regalia and feasting as would be expected at such at event.

Are we getting a tad carried away with our devotion to our pets? In my opinion, the answer is, no. What with the joy, happiness, unquestioning loyalty our pets bring us, how can we ever begrudge them whatever comfort, or security, we are able to provide. I admit some of us might go a bit far, such as when, at night, I need to get up and use the bathroom. I hesitate to move because I don’t want to disturb the slumbering Rosco. The other human in the bed does not even cross my mind in that consideration. Meshugga? Perhaps; but the other human shares this priority, so it works out well.

Marge’s warmth and love flow like high grade kibble through the pages of Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers. She brings her always bright and sharp sense of humour to this work, and sprinkles in just enough seykhl to make it all very meaningful in a special way.