I Love "Talking" Dogs!

I think I first fell in love with books that featured talking dogs years ago, when I read Harlan Ellison's classic novella that included A Boy and His Dog. The dog didn't actually talk, but he communicated with his human pal telepathically. It was a post-apocalyptic story that was made into a somewhat horrifying movie.

I remembered that book recently as I fell in love with another talking-dog book. In I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson the dog actually talks. Stella, a german shepherd/labrador mix listens to her owner Paul's woes and offers some wonderfully amusing and wise advice.

A typical exchange:

Paul is explaining to Stella that his father has had a stroke. He says, "They don't know how bad it is. I was talking to a guy at the bar who said if they get to you in time, they can limit the damage."

"A guy at the bar said that?

"Yup."

"Always a good source for reliable medical information," she said. "I'm sorry for you." I love this dog!

Another dog I fell in love with is Chet from the Chet and Bernie mysteries by Spencer Quinn. Chet doesn't actually talk, but he narrates the stories. The first one, titled Dog On It, finds Chet and his owner Bernie investigating the disappearance of a teenaged girl who may or may not have been kidnapped. From Amazon:

"Chet might have flunked out of police school (“I’d been the best leaper in K-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn’t remember exactly, although blood was involved”)...And that's what I love about these dog books - the dogs may be special (talking, telepathic, novel-narrating) but they're still very much dogs. They eat, poop and love a good scratch. And they're ever so loyal.

(Thanks for the idea, Em.)