I feared I'd not be able to get through Alston Chase's recently published memoir, "We Give Our Hearts to Dogs to Tear: Intimations of Their Immortality." I started weeping almost from the moment I opened this book. If you are concerned about the future of purebred dogs, if you are concerned about the loss of genetic variation and the loss of wilderness and what these things have to do with one another, and--especially--if you are in love with terriers, this book is for you.

I second (or third??) The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

The all out funniest I have read and I mean so funny that my friend's husband made her leave the bedroom because she just could not read it and not laugh is
What the dog did by Emily Yoffee about a rescued Beagle.

I'm seconding "Because of Winn-Dixie". What a great book. Movie wasn't as great as I wished it would be, but I wasn't expecting much.

Also, Lynn Hall has some WONDERFUL dog (and some horse) literature. Most of it is aimed at young adults, like 12-17 years old, but it can certainly be enjoyed by all ages. "Soul of the Silver Dog" is probably my favorite, and was actually my introduction to the sport of dog agility. "Murder at the Spaniel Show" is also good, and there is one about a stolen GSD that I LOVE and the name of course escapes me now. Oh, oh, oh, and "Halsey's Pride". Yeah, they're all good.

One more vote for Dog Years by Mark Doty. So beautifully written.

Not American-style pets exactly, but Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann is quite fun -- a mystery in which a flock of sheep end up being detectives, with all their sheepy limitations.

Re: Waiting for my cats to die

That was being passed around the Feline Diabetes board for a while and seemed pretty popular (one person mailing it to another . . . ) Seemed very popular.

Here is a book written by a friend of my mom's -- a Vietnam Vet. "Beyond the Call: A War Dog's Final Duty."

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Call-Dogs-Final-Duty/...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215518626&sr=1-1

It is about one of the military dogs in Vietnam, and the love of his soldier/master for him, how the military uses dogs in wartime etc. My biggest critique of the early version I read was the dog wasn't central enough (he's definitely a driving theme, but there is lots of war, and also romantic drama for the main male characters).

BUT it's a riveting account of scenes from Vietnam, and also touching in that the protagonist definitely views the dog, Beau, differently than the military culture's norm in that environment.

In a way, it's a story about how a dog and his man struggle to save each other.

It came out around the same time that female Iraq ware vet was fighting in congress to be allowed to adopt her "war dog." I think the story of military dogs is very affecting and like all conscripted dogs, not often enough heard.

If you have a taste for war novels and also love of dogs, this is a pretty good read.

My Cat Spit McGee and My Dog Skip both by Willie Morris

Thanks for the great recommendations.

Tell Me Where it Hurts is pet-lit, I think. I liked it. Sharp Teeth? Not so much. But that was great.

Well, i dont do fiction really but I have a couple of lighter non fiction books to reccomend that havent already been named
A Dog Year, By Jon Katz and
The Dogs who Found me, by Ken Foster

"Tell Me Where It Hurts" by Dr. Nick Trout is quite amusing, but it's more of a day in his life as a vet, not really pet lit. Still, I recommend it.

Try the Smarter than Jack website for short inspirational, funny, sad, heroic, etc. stories about pets. Mostly cats and dogs, but also birds.

We have a twice yearly bookfair and the first place I visit is the horse section, followed by animal stories. I like reading some of the books about people on UK farmlets - Monica Edwards comes to mind as a good author. Also, if you can find them in the US, Henry Lamond books - kangaroos, horses, dingos. A great read. He is long gone but his books live on.

I have to give big props to The Art of Racing in the Rain, that others have already mentioned.

"Dog Years" by Mark Doty is WONDERFUL. Beautifully written memoir.

"From Baghdad, With Love" by Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman is very good. Also a true story.

Then, a nice set of short stories is "Dog is my Co-Pilot" from the editors of BARk magazine. Lots of great reads.

Good luck and happy reading!

Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain
by Martha Sherrill

Morie Sawataishi had never owned a dog, but in 1944, when the Japanese man was 30 years old, the desire for one came over him like a sudden... craving. During WWII, snow country dogs were being slaughtered for pelts to line officers' coats; working for Mitsubishi in the remote snow country, Morie decided to rescue Japan's noble, ancient Akita breed—whose numbers had already dwindled before the war—from certain extinction.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
by David Wroblewski

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm--and into Edgar's mother's affections.

Waiting for My Cats to Die: A Memoir    
by Stacy Horn

Horn, a cyber-pioneer who launched Echo, a successful Gotham-based online community in the early '90s (and documented it in 1997's Cyberville), assembles haphazard thoughts on her samba drumming career, her diabetic cats, death and the single life, in this morbid but engagingly quirky memoir. Although she has no reason to believe that her own mortality is imminent

Oops! Forgot to list a couple of other favorites - "The Good Good Pig - the extraordinary life of Christopher Hogwood" by Sy Montgomery and "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" by Mark Bittner.

The Pig Who Sang to The Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals by Jeffrey Masson
It is amazing.

http://www.amazon.com/Pig-Who-Sang-Moon-Emotional/...

Have you read Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte or the sequel Fowl Weather?

http://www.amazon.com/Enslaved-Ducks-Bob-Tarte/dp/...=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215466873&sr=8-1

Another recommendation for "Merle's Door" and "The Art of Racing in the Rain". I have given these as gifts to my friends with dogs.

I am two chapters into "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" and I am so hooked! It's magical and the writing is exquisite.

I second 'Merle's Door'.....very good.

I LOVED Golden Days by Arthur Vanderbilt. If I can only get through school and sign my life over to a bigger condo, I'm gonna bring one home...

Not really pet lit but check out the blog at www.saintsrescue.ca SAINTS is home to over 90 senior animals or the wrecked and crippled crew as they are often lovingly referred to by SAINTS founder, Carol. She talks a great deal about the trials and tribulations of rescue and there are lots of funny stories in their too!

I don't know if any modern children's literature has yet reached the heights of "Old Yeller" or "Black Stallion", but my vote for the best children's pet book of the 21st century would be "Because of Winn-Dixie" (by Kate DiCamillo) about a lonely little girl and the bedraggled dog she adopts. The movie was charming, but the book is wonderful (because of the magical writing)
Other goodies:
"Shaper" by Jessie Haas. A boy grieving for his dead dog learns change and control through clicker-training. Incidentally, this book has one of the ugliest covers I've seen in awhile.
"Listen" by Stephanie Tolan. A young girl befriends a feral dog, and in doing so, heals physically and emotionally. (based on the author's own experience)
"Walter: the story of a rat" by Barbara Wersba. A lonely, literate rat tries to befriend a children's book author. Walter is quite anthropomorphic, but it's a poignant look at how unfairly rats have been viewed and the writing is very good.
And in case you're looking for 5 minutes of diversion, I highly recommend two picture books:
"Magic Thinks Big" by Elisha Cooper. Why do cats stop halfway through the door, going neither in nor out? Super watercolors.
"Stanley's Party" by Linda Bailey What could happen when you leave your dog alone in the evening.

Everything cycles; 10 years ago, children's fantasy was on the back burner. In another 10 years, it'll be sci-fi, or realistic fiction will be in ascendancy. I don't know that animal stories will ever be a best-selling genre, but I can attest that they are always popular (although we need more good ones about cats)

Happy reading!

Bloodhound mysteries by Virginia Lanier

Just out this spring, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. At first I was skeptical - a dying dog and professional auto racing, really? - but it's wonderful. Quirky, funny, poignant, philosophical, an all around good read

"The Cat Who..." mysteries are always a fun read! Author is Lillian Jackson Braun.

Sent to me by a friend when I was struggling with whether or not to euthanize or provide hospice care to my brain damaged cat, and helped me understand my own impulses to place a value on his life even such as it was.

It is a very sweet book about a couple who have devoted their lives to hospicing senior animals, those that are terminally or chronically ill. Not fiction, but very heartwarming and challenging on many levels.

It's called "Getting Lucky," and it's about a place called "Angel's Gate," and focuses on one very special dog who lived a little, and then died, there, and the lessons they took from this.

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Lucky-Special-Second...

Excerpts from Amazon:

"Susan Marino was an intensive-care pediatrics nurse for 30 years, working with terminally ill children. She founded the nonprofit Angel's Gate hospice 12 years ago in her home on Long Island . . . Getting Lucky tells the story of Lucky-a dog who's sent to Angel's Gate to die but instead finds a whole new way of living-and 20 other animals at the hospice. But it's also the story of a woman with a mission. Marino, a former pediatric nurse, started Angel's Gate 12 years ago in the belief that even critically ill and abandoned animals deserved to die with dignity and respect, and her work has made her a genuine hero. She speaks to veterinary groups across the country about her groundbreaking approach to animal care. "

This is hardly lit but something that elicits tears from everyone I know who's read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Flawed-Dogs-Leftovers-Piddle...=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215452052&sr=8-2

Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

I don't know how easy these will be to find, since they hearken back to the good ol' era that you mentioned, but I really liked them as a kid:

Little Dog Lost, by Rene Guillot
Animals Can Be Almost Human, a Reader's Digest anthology
Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawls

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be by Farley Mowat. Not a new book but a great read, it's memories of his youth in rural Canada and their crazy, smart, unique family dog.

Susan Conant's mysteries are fun. I especially like "The Wicked Flea"

For nonfiction, I love Patricia McConnell's "The Other End of the Leash" and Suzanne Clothier's "Bones Would Rain From the Sky."

There is a self-published book called A Man and his Maniac: The Bunkie Story by Charles Emery that I quite liked. Oh and 'the good, good pig' by Montgomery. Both are the product of the writers culture but still interesting. The pig book also includes stuff about other animals.

Oooh, I second "Book of Night with Moon" - it's a lot of fun.

Next on my books-to-read pile is this book "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" - ignore the hamlet thing on Amazon, the breed of dog and the way it's developed is supposed to be awesome. http://www.amazon.com/Story-Edgar-Sawtelle-Novel/d...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215448018&sr=8-1

It got really good reivews on my dog book list (there's three of 'em on yahoo :P) and I can't wait to start it.

Thurber's Dogs, a classic and sure to make you smile.

The Book of Night with Moon, by Diane Duane

"My Dog Tulip," by J.R. Ackerley
"Pack of Two," by Caroline Knapp

Read: Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog

http://www.amazon.com/Merles-Door-Lessons-Freethin...