Some years ago, suburbanite mystery writer Jon Katz packed up and bought an upstate New York farm in hopes of giving his border collies the best life possible. Now, some five books later, Katz has discovered what that really entails. His sixth in the series, Dog Days, is series of dispatches from Bedlam farm, which now boasts the beloved dogs, as well as sheep, steers and cow, donkeys, a barn cat, a rooster and three hens. Katz, who writes about farm life for Slate and co-hosts “Dog Talk”, a public radio talk show, dropped in on Diane Rehm to discuss how hard it is to promote harmony between animals, why his donkeys like Willie Nelson best, and how his collies continually surprise him.

Listen to the full interview.