Posthuman Community in the Edgelands

This paper draws on a study of companion animals in human households and public spaces, deploying material gained by ethnographic observation and interviews with dog walkers in urban and rural contexts. The communities which are the subject of this study frequent public places that might be described as ‘edgeland’ space where dogs and ‘dog people’ meet. The paper argues that the relationships between cross-species packs of people and dogs develop over time in the routine practice of walking are micro-communities inclusive of both dogs and their human companions. It is suggested that these might be understood as posthuman social forms with particular characteristics of inclusivity, diversity and reconstitution. Human members of such communities are also invested in, and defensive, of edgeland spaces and engaged in practices of care for both human and canine walkers.