Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs

My wife would not read it or look at the photographs because we have our fourth dog that has 4-6 good years remaining and she thought it would be too sad. I liked it because most of them with the short narrative gave me a different and new appreciation for the aging ones. You can also make the jump to humans in your thoughts and have better appreciation for the many who are warehoused.

I'm a veterinarian, and I've seen thousands of old dogs over the span of my career. This book does a great job in illustrating the incredible bond that people feel for their dogs. Anyone who has ever watched a beloved pet grow old owes it to themselves to get this book. I bought copies for family and friends, and one for the waiting room in my animal hospital. I love this book.

This book is filled with charming and heartwarming stories of real dogs. If you are caring for an older fur baby or just remembering a beloved companion from the past, you will love this book. The book is a series of 1-2 page stories that illustrate the unique appeal of older pets along with a picture of each pet. It is uplifting, funny, and sweet. I have my own copy and have given it to three friends caring for older dogs.

If you are a dog lover , you NEED to have this book. Your eyes will well with "happy tears" as you meet this beautiful senior furry friends and hear their stories. I am sure as you read about these beauties your heartstrings will be pulled on as you relate your own beloved furry family members you have had over your lifetime and remember them even more fondly. We have two senior dogs and this beautiful book reminds me daily to love them a little more each day, give them extra hugs and be so grateful for the gift they have been to us. I highly recommend this book.

The introduction to this book is the best thing that has been written about dogs, I'm convinced of it. I don't believe a word of it could be changed that would make it any better. It is perfection.The only qualifier is that it isn't really "about" dogs, old or otherwise. Weingarten says in the introduction to  The Fiddler in the Subway  that a story "will never be better than pedestrian unless it can use the subject at hand to address a more universal truth." Those universal truths always come around to a favorite maxim of Weingarten's, one that he cribbed from Kafka: "The meaning of life is that it ends."---One reviewer said the book can be dangerous if you have an old dog because "it can be crushingly sad," and suggests that you should only get this book after you lost your dog so that you can reminisce and mourn. I agree with the crushingly sad part, but I profoundly disagree that you should wait until your dog is gone. Why wait until after he/she is gone to appreciate your major and minor moments together?

What can I say? Old dogs are the best dogs. I have had them for years. The only worry is knowing they will leave way sooner than you ever thought. But at least you had their warmth, love, and personality. Keep pictures of these dogs-to revisit the old days.

Ben Franklin said nothing is certain, except death and taxes. But here are two more certainties: you will cry when you read the last three words on page 13 and laugh when you read page 18 of "Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs" by Pulitzer Prize winners Gene Weingarten and Michael Williamson. People love books about puppies. They're so cute and cuddly. But they have no real personalities yet, other than "cute and cuddly." Old dogs, however, have their own distinctive personalities, quirks and traits, developed over a lifetime. This captivating book is a tribute to our old dogs, our best friends. Mr. Weingarten asked his readers at the Washington Post to tell him about their old dogs. In the acknowledgments of "Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs," he thanks the countless people whose dogs had their pictures taken but didn't get into the book. He writes, "For this omission we entirely blame the editors of Simon & Schuster, who, for reasons known only to them and for which they will no doubt have to answer in the Hereafter, balked at producing a 1,294-page book." "Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs" combines a striking full-face, full-page photograph of each old dog (taken by Michael Williamson) with a narrative opposite each. We meet Chester, the Pembroke Welsh corgi, on page 35. Herding is in that breed's DNA. What's a house dog to do? Every morning, Chester takes his own personal flock downstairs, one at a time, in his mouth. There are eight of them, including little gingerbread man, large gingerbread man, purple teddy bear, and mousie. He deposits each member of his flock under the coffee table and ignores them the rest of the day. At bedtime, Chester takes all eight of his flock upstairs, one by one. His daily job is done, his destiny fulfilled. Sparky, page 135, kept gaining weight. Her owners were puzzled. Finally they realized that when she'd wake them at three every morning to be let out, "She'd take a long time. Turned out she was going next door, walking into our neighbor's house through the dog door and eating all their dog food." The story of Harry S Truman in the front of the book is the most loving, moving tribute to an old dog I've ever read. (This is the narrative with the "last three words" mentioned above.) Harry S Truman was the author's dog. Gene Weingarten writes at the beginning of the book, "This is a tribute to old dogs, a celebration of their special virtues. All dogs profiled in this book were at least 10 years old when their portraits were made. If you ask us which of them are still alive,our answer is: They all are. May old dogs live forever." You'll love "Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs", even if you've never been owned by a dog.

If you are a dog lover, and have ever been lucky enough to have a dog grow old with you, then i implore you to buy and read this wonderful book. It is filled with touching stories of people, like yourself, who have enjoyed growing old with a canine companion, and know that special bond and the joys that only an old dog can bring to one's life. The photos, the short essays that accompany each photo, are all superb. To have loved an old dog is one of life's true gifts, and to have this book is an added bonus in life. I am buying one for every friend of mine who is growing old with a little heartbeat at their feet---a true treasure, this book. One of my favorite books in life.....and dogs, and all my old dogs from the past---Rusty, Tiger and Duffy, RIP---we had a great run---now enjoy chasing those squirrels---this book is in your memory.

My wife shed a tear or two

Wonderful book, although particularly heart wrenching, as I lost my old girl within a couple of weeks of purchasing it.I have bought another copy for a friend and my mother has also bought two copies..........it is a must for anyone who loves dogs.

Absolutely stunning! Gorgeous black and white photographs of older dogs. The photos are beautiful, the details are stunning in black and white, you can see in the dogs eyes they have lived a long life! There are little notes on each dog, some are very emotional, and others sweet. Im really glad i bought this book! :)

great book

Lovely pictures. Great little gift but I will keep this one.