When You Love a Dog

by M.H. Clark, Tatsuro Kiuchi (Illustrator)

When you love a dog, someone is always waiting with bright eyes and an open heart. Life fills with belly rubs, quiet walks, and small moments that remind you how good it feels to be loved.

This book celebrates the simple joys that make life with a dog so special. Through lively illustrations and gentle reflections, it captures everyday magic—from playful antics to the comfort of coming home to a loyal friend who understands you without a word.

Warm, affectionate, and lightly humorous, When You Love a Dog honors the little moments that become a lifetime of memories.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs, Childrens, Pets

38 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2018

Reviews

[Gina]

Finding this book was divine providence. About a month ago, our healthy 8 year old Labrador was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Up until about 2 weeks before his diagnosis, he was an active loving dog who enjoyed his walks, going to the dog park, and most of all, escaping the house whenever possible so he could play in the creek that runs behind our neighborhood. Everyone in our little neck of the woods knew Pacer and when he made his great escapes, he either came back on his own or one of the neighbors would find him and bring him home soaking wet, but safe and sound. The trouble came when I noticed he was having seizures when he slept on the floor by my feet. I immediately knew something was wrong and, sure enough, the veterinarian diagnosed our sweet puppy with a brain tumor. We were told that he was perfectly healthy if he didn’t have that damn tumor, but we knew our time with him was limited. Things went downhill quickly. He eventually forgot or loss the function to use his mouth to eat, he was falling all of the time, and running into everything because the vet said he was either seeing double or blind in his right eye. Two days ago, we had to say goodbye to our sweet loving dog. It was time. He was miserable even though he wanted so badly to still greet us every morning, but his falls were becoming dangerous. He went peacefully with my husband and 14 year old son by his side until the end. We had him cremated, like we did with our former pet who was also a Lab. He came home today in a beautiful urn to be by our other dog, Holly.

Now...about this book. Divine providence. I was picking up prescriptions from my local family owned pharmacy and saw this behind the registers. I gave it a quick read and bought it. It is a simple story of how true dog lovers feel about their pets. It tells in simple but such beautiful language how a loving dog will always act with their “people”. (That’s my word. People isn’t used in the book) The illustrations are beautiful. Each page shows a different breed of dog and the words describe the love that both the dog and the owner give to each other in the everyday interactions between dog and owner. This book would be a perfect gift for dog lovers, new dog owners, or someone (like me) who has recently lost a pet. 5 stars!

[Chase Hall]

Absolutely adorable and heartfelt. Love the art. Want as a coffee table book in the future!

[Claudia]

When you love a dog, someone waits for you -
You're the one they want to see.
What a gift it is to come home to this,
this love is here for me.

A tribute and reminder of the love, affection and devotion that our dogs have for us silly humans. And a celebration of the partnership that develops.

And the illustrations by Tashuro Kiuchi are lovely.

2022-281

[Basti]

Cutie Patutie

[RaeAnna Rekemeyer]

Story Time! When You Love A Dog... You do whatever it takes to make sure they're loved, safe, and healthy; in return, they love you with their whole entire hearts. Right now, I love more than one dog. I love FIFTEEN dogs. I might be completed exhausted, but I have never felt more loved. I tried to corral the puppies for story time, but they were not cooperating. I did get a cute picture and a bunch of bloopers.
https://onthebl.org/2020/04/15/story-...

[Lisa MacKenzie]

A heartwarming piece that will fill dog lovers hearts all around with love and joy. Full of reminders of why dogs are absolutely perfect creatures whom we do not deserve but are lucky to have in our lives. Especially beautiful for those of us who want to reminisce on the all of the unconditional love shared by our four legged family who have crossed the bridge. The illustrations are simple but full of character and emotion. A great addition to any dog lovers library!

[Paige Kilian]

A tiny perfect read

[Sofia]

Welp, not me crying in the store where I picked this up and read it. Gorgeous art, too.

[Morgan Lott]

Yes I did cry. So what?

[Rosemary Reeve]

This is a beautiful book. It captures the pure and tender bond we have with dogs, in spare and perfect prose and lovely illustrations. I bought multiple copies to give as gifts to dog-loving friends!

[Paige Etheridge]

I just read this out loud to my own dog and it was a beautiful experience.

[Amy]

A darling book with lovely artwork. Perfectly captures why loving a dog is so easy.

[Elizabeth]

This is a very cute book for kids, easy to read.

[Thomas Cavanagh]

Absolutely loved it! Read it once alone than once to my dog. This book could not be more accurate about life with a loving dog!

[Michael Lent]

This tiny treasure captures exactly how our family feels about Gracie and Oatie, the two sister and brother puppies we adopted earlier this year.

[Alison Slyman]

Adorable book that would make a good gift for dog lovers.

[Becky]

😍😍😍😭😭😭

[Divya]

the sweetest book about the sweetest love :')

[Anne]

Cute book with great illustrations.

[Tina]

Love this book. <3

[Sam S]

Cute, simple book that explains the positives of having a dog in your life.

[Alyson]

The finest book I own :) It will grab your heart forever.

[Melissa Weedman]

My dog Dasher got this for me for Christmas. If you love dogs you will love this book. It is just the sweetest. Warms your heart!

[Savannah Carter]

“When you love a dog, you’re loved in return for everything you are” 💛

[Susan]

very sweet book, read in a few minutes, but I'll go back to it over and over, I'm sure

[Barrita]

🥹

[Caryn Reveling]

I love reading cute little stories like this. The way I see my dogs and how they look at me, especially on the bad days.

[Mike Barzacchini]

Delightful.

[Valerie Jackson]

Such a cute book! Love it all! Great reminders for our furry loved ones 💕

[Russeller]

Adorable. And so true!