My Life with Dogs

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Gayle Bunney loves Leo. She also loves Jack, Jenny, Trixie Poo,
Rockin’ Ronnie, Chico, Pepper, Tari Tari, Casey, Zip, Fellow, Sammy,
Rusty, Blackie, Racey, Many, Polly, Sneakers, Blaze, Bruiser, Odie,
Dagwood, Noir, Brat, Pongo, and Sniffer. These are just a few of the
dogs who have shared Bunney’s rural Alberta home and life at one time
or another. Bunney’s first book, Horse Stories: Riding with the Wind
(1998), was a collection of stories and reflections about her lifelong
love of horses. This second book is similar in style but features dogs
as the central theme. Some of the stories are about canines in
general—what makes them happy and what makes them miserable. Other
stories are about dogs in particular; from a teacup poodle to a Belgian
police dog, Bunney has owned them all, and she has a personal story
about almost every breed in the book.

Bunney’s prose is funny, chatty, and informative. She can get
sentimental and even emotional about her dogs without becoming maudlin.
If you are thinking about owning a dog some day, this book is a good
primer about what you might be getting yourself into. If you already own
a dog but just love to hear another pooch addict wag a few tales, My
Life with Dogs is an excellent choice.