World literature is filled with iconic animal characters. We encounter animal characters in the first works we read as children and in the books we read in our youth and in our teen years, but some of our most sophisticated and most demanding authors, including the great modernists, make animals the subject of their work, and this is no wonder–animals resemble us in so many ways. They have their moods, idiosyncrasies, and personalities just like we do. In this week’s show, we will discuss if animals have souls and how we learn about death from our early childhood pets. Our guest will be Elisabeth Lanser Rose. Elisabeth’s novel “Body Sharers” published by Rutgers University in 1993 was a finalist for the Pen/ Hemingway Foundation Award for first novel. She is also the author of the memoir “For the Love of a Dog,” published in 2002 by Random House, of which Publisher’s Weekly wrote “Seldom has the intensity of the dog-human bond been expressed so clearly. Library Journal wrote, “the writing here is of the same high quality, [as in Body Sharers], with scenes of harrowing emotional intensity.” Elisabeth is a teacher in an International Baccalaureate Program in Florida. If you would like to know more about host Mark Seinfelt’s work visit his website: www.markseinfelt.com . Please also visit the Amazon page for Elisabeth’s “For the Love of a Dog”: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Dog-Memoir-Elisabeth-Rose/dp/0609606921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303074639&sr=1-1