Jonna Higgins-Freese's Reviews > A Wolf Called Romeo

This was one of the best books about interacting with nonhuman animals that I've read. The narrative of Juneau's relationship with Romeo was seamlessly interwoven with information about wolf biology and behavior that provided context and depth. Some of his writing is poetry reminiscent of Norman Maclean: "As a sentient, intelligent being, [Romeo] made a choice to live where he did, and to interact with us and our dogs -- not only on his own social terms, but through an adaptive understanding of our rules" (228). Or this: "Without knowing or caring, simply by being what he was, he brought people closer: friends and families, but also those who might have never met, if not for his presence. Across the years, I watched hundreds and finally thousands of Juneau residents -- two here, a half dozen there, one group after another, out on the broad sounding board of the lake -- lean on their ski poles and chat as they watched the wolf playing with dogs, trotting across the ice, or lying in one of his spots at the lake edge; and many times, I took part in such conversations . . . . So it was that the wolf melded into Juneau's story and became part of us" (229)