Author Spencer offers a unique, delightful, and well-researched view of the canine population, depicting dogs as humans' best friends, entertainers, and guardians. She opens with her own attachment to these lovable, loyal, quirky creatures, which began when, on her first birthday, she received Gizi. The puppy would wear costumes designed by Spencer's mother, perform with the child in "Beauty and the Beast," and portray a horse to the girl's act as her rider. Gizi died in Spencer's loving arms when the girl was sixteen, a happening that, as she now declares, "elevated the canine-human bond to the nth degree for me." Thus began Spencer's ever-widening exploration and depiction of what dogs may mean to, and do for, the humans that care for them, peppered here and there with photographs, allowing pets to offer wisdom and share delightful humor.

An early "contributor" is Wilbur, who believes he is the "top dog," presenting such advice for his canine underlings as to avoid peeing in one spot and bear in mind that "fingers are not sausages." Throughout this expansive composition, history has a role. For example, in 1944, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act condemned the consumption of Hunt Club Dog Food because its ingredients could not provide the nutritional benefits its advertisements widely touted. Additionally, a little-known saga concerns the many dogsleds that distributed diphtheria antitoxins desperately needed in Alaska's remote regions in the mid 1920s, an accomplishment regarded as miraculous. Canine mascots and workers also participated in wartime efforts from World War I to the "halls of Montezuma." Other highlights include a charming image of a woman in a wedding dress holding a fuzzy canine in her arms, accompanied by the dog's piercing remark about the inadvisability of submitting to a groom: "Ick! I hate grooming!" Such touches constitute the author's wide-ranging panorama of the unique relationship between dogs and their people. Spenser chronicles the ways that canines have joined in organizational efforts, entertained their owners, and saved countless lives by pure instinct and devotion.

Award-winning writer Spencer's multi-level career and artistic pursuits clearly underpin the skills and talents so deftly displayed in this enjoyable, educational work. She has been active in food service, musical presentations, and clothing design. Extensive travel with her husband has often been accompanied by dogs, rabbits, and cats, powerfully demonstrating their love and respect for the variety of nature's animals. Using sweetly invented dog "speech" combined with her penchant for factual investigation, Spencer offers readers an invariably intriguing viewpoint into the seemingly timeless love between humans and their devoted canines, honoring both the active charms of shared lifestyles, tasks, and play, and the sad but inevitable death of one's furry friends, often resulting, as in the author's case, in the need to adopt, perhaps rescue, new animal life-sharers. Her deep dive into the world of dogs will doubtless attract readers across a wide range of interests, ages, and similar sentiments, evoking thoughts, feelings, and plans for fresh creative ways to share their lives with those of their beloved furry friends.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

A 2021 Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist

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