Letters of Note: Dogs

by Shaun Usher (contributor)

A charming collection of letters celebrating our beloved companions curated by the founder of the globally popular Letters of Note website.The first volume in the bestselling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name--an online museum of correspondence visited by over 70 million people. From Virginia Woolf's heartbreaking suicide letter, to Queen Elizabeth II's recipe for drop scones sent to President Eisenhower; from the first recorded use of the expression 'OMG' in a letter to Winston Churchill, to Gandhi's appeal for calm to Hitler; and from Iggy Pop's beautiful letter of advice to a troubled young fan, to Leonardo da Vinci's remarkable job application letter. Now, the curator of Letters of Note, Shaun Usher, gives us wonderful new volumes featuring letters organized around a universal theme.In this volume, Shaun Usher turns to our beloved dogs. Includes letters by Clara Bow, Bob Hope, Charles Lamb, Sue Perkins, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, E.B. White and many more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Animals

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2021

About the author

Shaun Usher is a writer, editor, and compulsive collector of remarkable words. He is the author of Letters of Note, an international bestseller that began life as a blog and grew into a celebrated series of books and inspired the live stage show Letters Live, which he has co-produced since 2013. He has published 16 books so far, covering everything from love and grief to music, dogs, and outer space, and in October 2025 will release his 17th, Diaries of Note: 366 Lives, One Day at a Time, a curated journey through a year’s worth of diary entries from history. He lives in Manchester with his wife, Karina, and their three children.

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of this was good, most of it was bad. The first letter was my favorite.

[Michelle | PurelyBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you that this book had me experiencing all kinds of emotions. I laughed, I cried, and ultimately felt so appreciative that I’ve had dogs all my life.

I absolutely loved reading the letters penned by famous people and loved reading about how much love they had for their dogs. It really is amazing and interesting to think how people can connect with each other because of their love for their animals.

Highly recommend this book when you want to feel all the feels. It’s a great book to carry around since it’s physically very light and doesn’t have to be read in any specific order, though it’s nice if you do.

[Lauren Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

George Bush Snr wrote a particularly funny letter about his portly pooch and Sue Perkins letter was utterly heartbreaking. However, I can’t really give this author much credit for printing other people’s letters and mostly they weren’t that interesting.

[Amy Wylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

RIP Pickle Perkins 😭

[ReadBecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it says on the tin, this is a compilation of letters to or from famous folks about dogs. Many of these are very funny, some heartfelt and emotional, it was an enjoyable read.

[Susan]

I tried. The timing was all wrong. I let go our my sweet girl on Jan. 14. Maybe in another life.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“I might live another 30 years, which would be 2 dog’s lifetimes”

I was lucky enough to live in an animal filled house growing up - various animals scattered throughout the rooms, age and maintenance needs appropriate as we grew, but the constant throughout were cats and dogs. Our dogs had their own armchairs, which my Nan would foolishly try and perch on the front of when popping in for ten mins but the dogs never gave space - nice try though Nan… each animal brought something different to us all, but it was the dogs that were able to come out with us on walks to the local valley, trips to the reservoir and parks - most days out and extra trips when the weather has an inclement change. These shared experiences meant that the experiences were high, but the loss huge - something that these letters really focus on which makes it quite a sad and detached collection - missing a friend never to return, and knowing from the outset that it’s more often than not that we will outlive them.

Personality, strength, potentially threatening brutishness, can they smile? Daft dogs, unfriendly dogs, loyal dogs, dedicated guide dogs, support dogs - so many easily identifiable characters. The story of Greyfriars Bobby always makes me well up and I’ve visited the statue on several occasions. Really interesting reflection on Presidents and the ownership of dogs too. I’m a long term fan anyway, but the standout letter in this is the Sue Perkins dedication to Pickle - an emotional summary of what they meant to each other - just beautiful

“You were the engine of my life, the metronome of my day. You set the pulse and everything and everyone moved to it”

[Dawn Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming and sometimes genuinely affecting collection of letters about canine companions from a wide variety of correspondents — George Bush Sr., Jane Welsh Carlyle, Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, Bob Hope, Zora Neale Hurston, Helen Keller, Eric Knight (Lassie Come Home author), Charles Lamb, Anaïs Nin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Sue Perkins, Petrarch, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, E.B. White, and more. This is also great on audio, where a number of talented actors and voice actors (Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Stephen Fry, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong, etc.) narrate the letters.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing. The introduction was one of the higher points, which is not how it should be. The audiobook included a bonus section at the end which was good: a series of letters to the Guardian about cats and dogs. Too many boring letters, and most of the better ones were terribly sad. It’s the first of the Letters collections I’ve read, so I hadn’t realised that most of them were picked for the fame of the writer rather than the letter itself. Perhaps that’s why the Guardian readers were such a welcome bonus. And yes, Sue Perkins’ letter was one of the best, as many others have said.

[Anne Wi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book filled with dog letters. We were from human to dog and some were from dog to human. Letters of Note: Dogs covered every dog topic we had dog keepers experience. There were letters about Lassie, the oldest letter was from the 1500''s, other letters were from Bob Hope, Roosevelt, Helen Keller, E.B White, and Ronald Dahl just to name a few. Some of the letters made me laugh, others made me sad. As a keeper of dogs I was able to relate to so many of these letters.
Letters of Note: Dogs is DEFINITELY a good read.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were several letters in here that were wonderful.
Much of the book however was me going... what the hell am I reading and why???
I guess it's reassuring to my writing? So many famous letters can produce such a sense of inadequacy for me -- that someone just writing a letter to another person on a daily basis could write better than me when I'm doing my best -- this was very reassuring that that perception is selection bias.

[Bess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of these letters were delightful, a few a bit boring, and a couple made me weep. Which, when the topic is dogs, is actually easier than it ought to be. Sue Perkins' letter was especially sob-worthy and sweet and devastating.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Cute idea but it felt many letters were included just to stretch the content. Like when someone calls a meeting that could have just been an email.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have appealed to me more had more of the letters been contemporary.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Very fun quick read of dog letters from owners. If you love dogs this is a book for you.

[Gabrielle Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total tear-jerker!

[Gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A mixed bag, but the final letter, read and written by Sue Perkins, is excellent.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pickle letter made me weep. Four stars just for that letter. The rest are variable.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read