Fans pick 100 books like Dogtripping

I’ve been a fan of Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author Dave Barry for decades, and his Lessons From Lucy book surprised me — not because it’s hilarious (of course it is!), but because it’s so profoundly moving. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I read it. Here’s what inspired the book: When Barry turned 70, he reflected on how unhappy he was about aging — in stark contrast with his blissed-out senior dog, Lucy. Barry noticed that Lucy was always ready for fun new adventures, eager to make new friends, and able to live in the moment. In this gem of a book, Barry explores the realities of the human condition and zeroes in on the real keys to contentment in life, all thanks to the love of a dog. 

The author’s bio in Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs says this of Gene Weingarten: “He wants his tombstone to read only: ‘Gene Weingarten, a funny man who loved dogs,’ and to be carved in the shape of a fire hydrant.” This gives you a sense of why Old Dogs has been one of my favorite books for years. It’s masterfully written by Weingarten, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for feature writing and former humor columnist for The Washington Post. (Fun side note: Weingarten is the editor who discovered Dave Barry years ago at the Miami Herald!) Old Dogs is a collection of profiles of sweet senior dogs — and you’ll love every pooch you meet in these pages. (I have a special soft spot for Harry and Honey!) 

I wrote the foreword for Sophie...Best Friends are Forever because I believe in its message about the healing power of therapy dogs. In this book, Ted Slupik shares the story of his rough-coated collie Sophie, a loyal friend who eagerly visited patients in hospitals and nursing homes with him each week for more than 12 years. Sophie’s uncanny ability to connect with and comfort people at dark or challenging moments is sure to move you, as will Sophie’s greatest lesson: that every day is a gift. Here’s a happy and important side note: All net proceeds from sales of this book go to Lizzy’s Fund, another one of my favorite charities that helps senior dogs in need.

This National Geographic collection of photos and stories of sweet senior dogs is sure to make you swoon. Photographer Jane Sobel Klonsky loves animals and people, and her book is a celebration of the human-animal bond and all the endearing traits that make senior dogs so special. Unconditional is an excellent gift book for dog lovers. It’s also fun to follow Project Unconditional on Facebook and Instagram.

This has to be the coolest story of reinvention – man gets unexpectedly dumped by his wife, moves to a California beach town, rescues a 140-lb neglected Newfoundland, and teaches him how to surf with him on his longboard. Man and dog are both traumatized, and the scenes of their slow dance around one another in a tiny apartment are so sweet and awkward, like the slapstick 80’s sitcoms I grew up watching. I love stories like this that make me believe in fate, that Colin and his dog George were destined to give each other a second chance. When they start winning dog surf competitions, I was cheering out loud. It’s quirky, brilliant, and badass all wrapped in one. 

“She died sniffing life, and enjoying it,” wrote E.B. White in his obituary for Daisy, a terrier hit by a cab while smelling a Manhattan flower shop.

White had a keen eye for the distinctive personalities of dogs, and he shared his life with many, who scamper to life in this compendium of essays, letters, and occasional pieces. My favorite of his canine characters, the curmudgeonly dachshund Fred, “saw in every bird, every squirrel, every housefly, every rat, every skunk, every porcupine, a security risk and a present danger to his republic.”

White had better-natured dogs; none got under his skin like Fred. Love can be complicated, White reminds us. Even between human and dog.

This book proves rough beginnings can produce beautiful endings.

I read Marley and Me a few years before losing our first golden retriever, Sunny. I had waited twenty-three years to have a dog of my own. My husband and I had looked at more than a dozen puppies before deciding on our perfect little princess.

The first day, our puppy slept like the sweet princess we knew she was! But on day two, she woke up a tyrant. She was the golden retriever version of Marley—and like Marley, Sunny won our hearts and became a beloved member of our family.

She lay in my lap while I read Marley and Me—a good thing because I had to stop reading and hug her a lot while reading the book!

I can’t say enough about Through a Dog’s Eyes. Read it to save your puppy from harsh training methods. Read it before you choose a training method to prepare for raising a puppy/dog.

Arnold offers a giant step forward in the humane treatment of dogs as feeling and thinking beings. Jennifer Arnold once thought methods of dominance and negative correction were necessary, but through her Canine Assistance program (a service dog organization), Arnold learned that kindness and encouragement proved the best way to train dogs.

For twenty years, Arnold adopted, raised, and taught dogs for people with special needs. Dogs showed her how to “teach” dogs to make choices, not to simply “train” to follow commands. Her dogs performed amazing feats of thinking and taking lifesaving actions.

This is a great book about a dog named Jade who was involved in a roll-over car crash in the wilderness near Yellowstone Park. It’s an emotional and very interesting read as you learn what this desperate family had to go through to recover their lost dog, a task made all the more difficult because they (husband and wife) were injured in the car crash and because Jade was skittish and ran from anyone who tried to help her. In spite of grizzly bears, other predators, frigid nights, and potential starvation, the family managed to recruit local volunteers who ultimately helped them capture their dog.

TV’s Lassie saved children from wildfire and quicksand. Real-life service dogs save entire families from the isolation and stress of a child’s incurable illness or severe disability.

Through the vivid stories of compromised kids who blossom with highly trained dogs, Greene celebrates the canine gift for understanding us humans—rooted in 10,000 years of interspecies history but ignored by science until the recent past.

This book gripped, moved, and informed me while hitting close to home. Like my own rescue mutt, many service dogs were trained by prisoners who discovered their own best selves by teaching an unwanted animal to love. Humans and dogs need each other, as Greene shows with heartfelt but rigorous reporting.