Ever wanted to get inside your dog’s head? Did you ever wonder what your dog is thinking and saying to himself?

You can find out. Well you can find out what one dog thinks and says anyhow: Shilo.

Emails from Shilo is about a Golden Retriever and his quest to understand almost everything about his life. Through emails to his canine cousin that his Mother came across, the book tells the life story of Shilo. Shilo talks about his fears, his worries, his dreams, his wishes and his happiness.

Thanks to the intelligence of the neighbor dog, a Bassett Hound named Sammy, Shilo is able to figure out nearly everything he wonders about: Ancient wolf lore (his ancestors), opposable thumbs, wild cats, bad dreams, why he has a problem with other dogs around his parents, and more.

Emails From Shilo

I must admit I was captivated by this book. Shilo is a witty, fun, inquisitive (aren’t most Goldens?) and smart Golden Retreiver who you can just see being a big old sweetheart (and a little worry-wart, as most rescues are). The book is illustrated, alas it’s in black and white so it’s kinda hard to get the full effect of the pictures. Nonetheless, they help move the story along quite nicely. Shilo is a handsome specimen who I just wanted to hug and snuggle with.

And I must admit this book made me cry. Twice. Once was when Shilo finally talked about what happened when his first owners gave him up and why that’s caused him “issues” today. It made me cry because it’s true and it’s sad what humans can do to animals sometimes. Some of us forget that they have feelings, too.

I won’t tell you what the second thing that made me cry is. You’re going to have to read it to find out. (It was a good cry!)

Anyhow, I highly recommend Emails from Shilo for some GR-eat reading, good stories, and good entertainment. It will make you think twice about what your dog is thinking when you take walks, go to the park, pass other dogs, go for a drive, etc. Trust me.

So long Sammies,

Jaime

For all of you dog-lovers out there who humanize your dog, this is the book for you.

I know most of us have “voices” for our dogs, and we’ve all given them little personality traits and thoughts from time to time. (For example, at our house we frequently discuss with our Golden Retriever, Benson whatever happens to be worrying him that day; he is a little worry-wart dog as made evident by the look in his eyes and his little cone-head look. Oftentimes we have conversations with him about what is worrying him - with one of us obviously being the dog’s voice. I know, we’re totally nuts).

Anyways, back to the book. Dog Park Diary: the Social Round of Goody Beagle is all about Goody’s life at the dog park. It’s a diary he kept of one of his more rousing weeks at his favorite place: the dog park.

I must say, this book is HILARIOUS. I was laughing out loud on the second page. It so poignantly brings to life what we all think and say and do for our dogs every day. We humanize them.

Goody teaches us all about proper dog park etiquette, namely about “sniff-butt,” every dog’s favorite activity. He tells us stories about the other dogs, some his friends, some not his friends. He teaches us all about Beagles, too.

There are so many things we humans don’t know our dogs are thinking: Goody will tell you all of them.

So if you’re looking for a FUN read and a belly laugh, pick up a copy of Dog Park Diary: the Social Round of Goody Beagle. It has some GREAT photography to accompany the story as well.