Rover may be a treasured member of your family, but should he have the same legal rights as your child? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an argument for the rights of dogs and other animals. Some scholars think this is the next great legal frontier. Also, a novel written through the eyes of an elephant.

Paul Auster reads from his novel "Timbuktu," and talks about it with Jim Fleming. The book tells the story of a smart mutt named Mr. Bones and his devoted master, an alcoholic, schizophrenic, and homeless failed poet named Willy. Auster says Willy considers Mr. Bones his equal, and explains what his own dog taught him about the power of smells.

Attorney Steven Wise tells Judith Strasser that some animals should be recognized as legal persons with rights, and not just as property. Wise teaches the first animal rights law class at Harvard and is the author of the forthcoming "Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals." Also, historian Adrian Shubert is the author of "Death and Money in the Afternoon: A History of the Spanish Bullfight." He tells Steve Paulson about the historical origins of the bullfight; what actually happens in the ring; and what makes a great matador. He also responds to the charge that bullfighting is obviously cruel.

Barbara Gowdy is the author of "The White Bone," a novel about elephants told from their point of view. Gowdy tells Jim Fleming how she prepared for the book by visiting Kenya and thinking elephant, and what it meant to imagine herself perceiving things through elephant senses. Also, ecologist Robert Pyle tells Steve Paulson what he learned following the Monarch butterflies on their long migration. Monarchs born in the fall live all winter and migrate south; monarchs born in the spring or summer move north and take three or four generations to make the return trip. Pyle's book is "Chasing Monarchs: Migrating with the Butterflies of Passage."

Distribution dates:

• week of 12/03/2000 - hour 2
• week of 10/03/99 - hour 2