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Love, Clancy: A Dog's Letters Home

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Heartfelt and hilarious, this is a book for anyone who has tried to imagine what their dog was thinking.Human beings often write about their dogs, but the dogs don't usually get a right of reply. In Love, Clancy, Richard Glover has collated the letters sent by Clancy to his parents in the bush. They are full of a young dog's musings about the oddities of human behaviour, life in the big city, and his own attempts to fit in. You'll meet Clancy as a puppy, making his first attempt to train his humans, then see him grow into a mature activist, demanding more attention be paid to a dog's view of the world. Along the way, there are adventures aplenty, involving robotic vacuum cleaners, songs about cheese, trips to the country and stolen legs of ham - all told with a dog's deep wisdom when it comes to what's important in life.Delightfully illustrated by cartoonist Cathy Wilcox.PRAISE FOR RICHARD GLOVERLove, Clancy'Unnervingly accurate, always funny, Richard Glover effortlessly inhabits the fine mind of a dog' - Julia BairdThe Land Before Avocado'This is vintage Glover - warm, wise and very, very funny. Brimming with excruciating insights into life in the late sixties and early seventies, The Land Before Avocado explains why this was the cultural revolution we had to have' Hugh Mackay'Hilarious and horrifying, this is the ultimate intergenerational conversation starter' Annabel Crabb'Richard Glover's just-published The Land Before Avocado is a wonderful and witty journey back in time to life in the early 1970s' Richard Wakelin, Australian Financial ReviewFlesh Wounds'A funny, moving, very entertaining memoir' Bill Bryson, New York Times'The best Australian memoir I've read is Richard Glover's Flesh Wounds ' Greg Sheridan, The Australian

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2020

33 people are currently reading
262 people want to read

About the author

Richard Glover

96 books112 followers
Richard is a newsprint journalist and a Sydney radio broadcaster for the ABC.

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80 (21%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
Profile Image for Marianne.
4,491 reviews345 followers
April 27, 2021
Love, Clancy is a book by Australian radio presenter and best-selling author, Richard Glover, and the audio version is read by the author. After an introduction in which Glover explains how the loss of his old dog Darcy led to the addition of Clancy, a Kelpie pup, to his household, and the recommendations of a newly purchased training manual, the book takes the format of letters from Clancy to his mum and dad on a country farm, and Richard’s Response (expansion, explanation or justification) to each of these missives.

Clancy gives his return address variously as Onion Weed Cottage, Crumbling Manor, and Chateau Chaos or the Rented Hovel and his commentary cover a myriad of topics: the exercise bike, the dog park, gardening, a dog’s nose, vermin infestations, Christmas, Man and Lady’s human offspring, divorce and the canine custody issue, vanity, air-conditioning, COVID self-isolation activities, canine myths, birthdays and the canine age scale.

He shares the delight of cheese slices, digging/mining, rolling in compost, chicken pieces, games, the recycling box, interring household items, agility training, the friendliness of people in country towns, and meeting canine friends at the dog park.

He expresses frustration at the progress of his training of Man and Lady, who amusingly, believe they are training Clancy, who take an age to understand that breakfast can be fed before the papers are read, but fail to grasp the unacceptability of long delays in dog park visits, and whose dispensing of treats defies all logic, but succumbs to Clancy’s Cheese Song. He evinces a perfect puzzled tone at what is required from him by Man and Lady.

He shares his disappointment in, dismay at, or dislike of: the taste of flies; car trips; the robotic vacuum cleaner; the lack of human productivity; Man and Lady’s health and wellbeing regimen; and he bemoans the indignity of baths, derogatory canine references in many human expressions, certain dog names, thunderstorms, and diets.

He describes the services he provides: relieving tense moments, lowering blood pressure, encouraging purposeful exercise, guarding the house, and checking the backyard for iron ore deposits. Clancy points out that he is an expert at mindfulness and wishes he had been properly remunerated for the personal training role he has been filling for years.


This book is laugh-out-loud funny so the standard warning about reading in the Quiet Carriage on public transport, reading while eating/drinking, and continence issues applies here. Clancy (and Richard) have wise words and life lessons and insightful observations on humans, making this is a hugely entertaining, but also moving read, not just for dog owners or dog lovers, but for everyone: the appeal is universal. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Cass Moriarty.
Author 2 books192 followers
October 7, 2020
Many of you will be familiar with Richard Glover’s regular column in The Sydney Morning Herald (well, actually it’s written by his dog, Clancy, but Richard facilitates its publication). You may know him from ABC Radio. Or you may have read his hilarious but also heartbreaking memoir Flesh Wounds, or his take on 1970’s Australia in his book The Land Before Avocado (when young people could still afford mortgages because they weren’t forking out bucketloads of cash for smashed avo on toast). Richard Glover’s latest novel: LOVE, CLANCY: A Dog’s Letters Home (ABC Harper Collins 2020) is full of his trademark musings - characteristic wit and humour, combined with tender and poignant meditations on life, love and loss.
The death of Richard’s faithful dog, Darcy, which he wrote publicly about a few years ago, led to an outpouring of grief from the nation’s dog owners who could completely empathise with his human/dog bond. So when he decided to get a new puppy (or rather, when a plucky and cheeky puppy named Clancy decided to choose Richard and his wife as his new personal staff), Richard began documenting Clancy’s diary entries in a series of newspaper columns, which he has now collected into this delightful book, supplemented by Richard’s own reflections on Clancy’s views.
Clancy is a cute kelpie with attitude and more common sense than most humans (including, dare I say it, his owner). He is outspoken, knowledgeable, well-read, compassionate, tolerant of his humans’ rather slow uptake on training, and critical of many aspects and actions of people that seem so wrong when compared to a dog’s take on life. In some respects, he is very long-suffering when faced with Richard’s many shortcomings - his hypocrisy, his laziness, his inconsistency and the fact that he is, frankly, sometimes not that smart. But Clancy puts up with it all, with good humour, because he quite likes Man (Richard) and his companion Lady, and after a few years of training them, feels he is finally getting somewhere.
This book is an absolutely delightful, light-hearted, quirky, hilarious, moving and poignant conversation by a Man and his Canine Owner. We are privy to Clancy’s thoughts and feelings as he writes to his parents back in the bush about his new city life, the weirdness of humans, his friendships with other dogs, and his adventures with cheese, robotic vacuum cleaners and stolen legs of ham. Clancy’s wisdom and humour provide the perfect reading antidote to these ‘strange, unprecedented times’, as he drills down deep into what is important and makes us realise that it’s the simple things that matter, and that the way to be happy may often be overlooked or overcomplicated by humans, but is always embraced by dogs.
If you are a dog owner or a dog lover (aren’t they usually the same thing?), this book will resonate. If you are a cat lover, this book may yet convert you. If you need a reflective read that will make you laugh and maybe even cry, but in a good way, then this is the book for you.
Profile Image for Rachael McDiarmid.
488 reviews44 followers
November 28, 2020
Have a dog lover in your life? Then no ifs or buts you simply must buy this book for them. It is 100% entertaining. Clancy writes home about his experiences living in the city with Man and Lady (the letters are edited by said Man, ie Richard Glover) and I laughed, chuckled and smiled as I read it. A fabulous entertaining read. And PERFECT for your dog loving friends and family as Christmas gifts (but why limit it just to Christmas?) Just read it!
Profile Image for erikahope♡.
195 reviews
March 13, 2023
review:

3 stars

My feelings are very mixed on this one. Like they are flying all over the place! I will say though, that I didn’t hate this book. I don’t read non-fiction, (I used to only read it for school most of the time) so I am still trying to get into the genre (although I know I am always gonna be a fiction girlie at heart 🤭).

The first half of the book was easy to get through, but then the second half came- and bam- pain. Sadly, it just felt like a chore and it dragged on. I don’t know how to word it in any other way- like what, by saying it was me and not the book? Gosh, who knows? Probably💀🤷🏼‍♀️

And then the thought of dnfing kept popping into my head, but I kept pushing that thought away because I was soooo close to finishing it anyway, I wasn’t going to give up like that- my stubborn ass would never let me💀. And owning the book made me want to finish it even more so- sue me 🥰🫶🏼.

The good thing though is the ending (the last few pages). It got better, redeeming itself, making it as if a little beam of light emerged from the book. This made me a bit relieved thinking I didn't fully waste my time. The last few pages were bittersweet, and I got a smile out of it, which I guess made the suffering by reading the second half worth it, lol.

The author is right about saying this though- “we are so lucky to have dogs in our lives.”

Because we are, and if you have a dog as I do, let's appreciate them more. Yes, they may be cheeky at times but, they’re loyal and show love to us so... what can I say?

And this doesn't just go for dogs, it can be for any pet you have!

That's all for now, and hopefully, I am finally vacating this dreadful disease I call a reading slump. And if so, then well I slayed the day. (remember girlies empower yourselves🤭).
Profile Image for Julia.
217 reviews22 followers
December 22, 2021
A light pre-Christmas need which was very needed as my brain is mush. Letters written from a dog, a handsome Australian kelpie with a penchant for chicken and digging holes. The final chapter written by Glover about the loss of his previous dog had me in tears. I think often of my own childhood dog and how much I cried after he died. Sending all my love out to Arrow in the pup afterlife 🐶 I hope it has sardines and chicken necks aplenty.
Profile Image for Cher.
624 reviews16 followers
November 8, 2023
Brilliant book so true funny every bit
226 reviews1 follower
November 14, 2021
Extremely enjoyable book that is funny but also includes thoughtful ideas. I love Richard Glover’s humour and wit.
877 reviews1 follower
August 31, 2021
A humorous easy read by a dog trying to train his humans.
He tells of his frustrations in letters home to his family over the years since he left his country home.
Many events had me chuckling aloud.
Following each letter is a comment by "Man" - his owner.
Another clever witty read by Richard Glover.

Heartfelt and hilarious, this is a book for anyone who has tried to imagine what their dog was thinking.
Human beings often write about their dogs, but the dogs don't usually get a right of reply. In Love, Clancy, Richard Glover has collated the letters sent by Clancy to his parents in the bush. They are full of a young dog's musings about the oddities of human behaviour, life in the big city, and his own attempts to fit in. You'll meet Clancy as a puppy, making his first attempt to train his humans, then see him grow into a mature activist, demanding more attention be paid to a dog's view of the world. Along the way, there are adventures aplenty, involving robotic vacuum cleaners, songs about cheese, trips to the country and stolen legs of ham - all told with a dog's deep wisdom when it comes to what's important in life.
Delightfully illustrated by cartoonist Cathy Wilcox.

295 reviews1 follower
December 1, 2020
I was going to write this review from my two dogs to Clancy but couldn't do them justice.

Here was my first effort:

Dear Clancy
Your mum and dad passed on your letters. We have much the same issues with our man and lady but their sons are younger. The sons are much better at taking us for runs whereas our man and lady prefer a leisurely stroll. Having said that, the sons are too busy so are rather sporadic so we guess its better to have an everyday stroll rather than a run once a week.
Our lady read out bits of your letters and laughed - at some very serious issues you raise. Running after a ball - why? Our only point of difference is our treat of choice is tuna not chicken but we can live with that.
Thanks for sharing and now we know that we are not alone.
Love
Axle and Zorko

A delightful easy read about some of the mysteries of humans as they appear to dogs. Some nice chuckles along the way.

A perfect summer's afternoon read.
679 reviews3 followers
December 28, 2020
For any dog-lover (and I am certainly one) this somewhat corny and even a bit schmaltzy book is a fun and very enjoyable read although it may bring on overwhelming nostalgia for dogs now gone from your life. 😥
Richard Glover writs letters home (addressed to doggy parents) from his beloved Clancy in which we 'see' the world through Clancy's eyes.
Although not perhaps as clever as Glover's other books, this is a fun read and promotes lovely memories of one's own dogs and encourages one to wonder (as I often do) what exactly a dog is thinking.
Glover is obviously a dog lover and anyone who reads this will feel all the feels promoted by any lovely dog. ***
Profile Image for Joan.
579 reviews
January 16, 2021
Another delightfully delicious book by Richard Glover. Entertaining, witty, insightful and full of joy. A book I will recommend to everyone to lift up their spirits. I had many a laugh out loud moment and the description of Richard trying to sort out books etc during coronavirus lockdown is hilarious. Just as if he was in my home watching me deciding the best way to approach my own culling exercise.

Absolutely brilliant. Thanks Richard
Profile Image for Susan Senior.
29 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2020
A wonderful story about a very special dog. Clancy's letters home to his country family are a delight. Written from the point of view of a special, smart and handsome kelpie and with footnotes from "Man" Richard Glover his adoring master the story sings. If you only read one animal story this should be it.
Profile Image for Janelle Ballenden.
16 reviews1 follower
December 14, 2020
Simply loved this. Everyone needs a dog. And how good would it be if they could apeak? I laughed out loud with this book. I think I might read it again.
228 reviews4 followers
January 4, 2021
What a great insight into a dog's inner thoughts. All so true! I loved every letter. Makes me want to get another dog!!!
4 reviews
January 5, 2021
While each chapter was generally amusing I didn't feel drawn to keep reading to see what happened next.
Profile Image for Mr Francy Reads.
794 reviews23 followers
January 31, 2021
FOR THE MOST PART A FUN BOOK ABOUT A DOG WRITING LETTERS HOME TO HIS PARENTS.

Ok so I was exceited to read this book as the idea of a dog writing letters just sounded like so much fun to me. On the whole, it was. But there were some cons

CONS
1) The Prologue - UGH! Don't get me started! The prologue of this book went on for waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. Completely unnecessary also, given the purpose of the majority of the book is about the dog. The prologue as a whole was not only too long, but also completely unnecessary.
2) "Richard's Response" - After every single letter that Clancy (the dog) writes, concludes - Richard, his owner just HAS to 'respond'. I found this to be extremely jarring as we fully feel this fantasy of Clancy writing his letters home and then are ripped out of that fantasy because the author needs to make his own 'human' points. Not a fan of this at all.
3) Manotony - and I'm not the only one who thinks so. This book seemed to be rather formulaic and that was a big let down. Maybe if something happened that lasted a few letters (say, someone came to stay with the human owners and clancy didn't like them to begin with - had a nice moment in the next letter and then was sad to see them go in the 3rd - it might have added more dimension to the story). But every letter just seems to be little things that clancy takes issue with. This was so much fun for the first half, but by the time I got to the 2nd half I was bored, because I (mostly) knew what was coming.

PROS:
1) The beginning of the novel (bar the prologue) - Clancy's letters home as a puppy were so extremely cute and I found myself having so much fun reading things and seeing things through his puppy dog eyes!
2) Certain moments of 'human non understanding' - Clancy makes a lot of good points, that humans don't understand things from a dogs perspective! I wont give away spoilers, so I'll just say over all I was happy reading about these things that (according to clancy) we as humans need to change if raising a dog.

All in all I am glad I read this book, but by no means did I find it to be outstanding. I would definitely however recommend this book to any dog owners out there. I don't have a dog, but I would love to see how dog owners are pre-reading this book, during reading and post reading it xoxo.
Profile Image for Vicki.
558 reviews37 followers
April 12, 2021
This book was an adorable twist on most books about a dog, in that Clancy was writing letters to his mom and dad. Yes, you read that right. The dog was writing letters!

I lost track of the number of times I laughed out loud while listening to this. Clancy’s view on humans, the things they do, and the “things” in the world are hilarious. While I was listening to this book I often wondered what my dog was thinking about the things going on in our house, about her 2 cat sisters, about me, and all the noises from outside that make her tilt her head and/or run to me or under my desk. I know a lot of times she’s wondering what that noise was. She definitely doesn’t like loud noises and neither do my cats.

This book is fun from the beginning to the end. It’s a book I will listen to again, and maybe again. It was the “made you laugh” book I was wanting due to all the bad goings on for the last year.

Now I’m wondering how long it will take me to teach my dog to write.
Profile Image for Susan C.
332 reviews
March 13, 2021
I think I have written, erased, then rewritten this review a number of times. Its not that I did not like the book, in fact I loved the book and I loved the voice that Richard Glover gave him. But the book is more than humorous stories about what Clancy is thinking at any point in his life to date as he writes to his parents back on the farm. Its about the relationship between dog and man (or should that be "The Man"). It made me think that by somehow not having a canine of my own, I am somewhat missing out.

I think there will be aspects of this book, particularly the opening and closing chapters where Richard steps back and describes the relationship with his previous dog, Darcy, will make me ponder the relationship for some time to come. Now, how do I convince the other member of this household that we need a dog.

Profile Image for Xanthi.
1,654 reviews16 followers
November 22, 2023
I listened to this on audiobook format. Read by the author. Although I love cats, I like dogs and so a whole book about them, and mostly written from the perspective of one, appealed to me.
This was laced with the kind of humour I have come to expect from this author, though there are some tender moments.
My only gripe is this: A shelter or rescue dog needs a home more than a breeder needs your money, Richard.
Maybe in the future, if you’re still set on a breed dog, adopt from a breed specific rescue group. They do most certainly exist for Clancy’s breed, as many of these young dogs ‘fail’ as working dogs and are therefore discarded by selfish humans.
Profile Image for Nicki Jeffery.
Author 4 books1 follower
September 11, 2021
"Love, Clancy: A Dog's Letters Home" is a humorous book told from the perspective of a kelpie, with a few added comments from his owner. I came to read the book because we have a kelpie and we walk her around our neighbourhood. A lovely lady who also owns a dog met us a few months ago. Her dog's name is Grace and our cat's name is Grace. Our dog's name is Jessie and she used to have a dog named Jessie! It was she who gave us Clancy's story to read, and it has been delightful! Pets bring such joy and connection between us.
Profile Image for Sunshine Biskaps.
358 reviews5 followers
May 5, 2021
"Love, Clancy: A Dog's Letters Home" by Richard Glover
Reviewed on 5 May 2021

Richard Glover thinks outside of the box and is hilarious with his thoughts. This little fellow Clancy is a fine young lad of a dog and is very clever to write letters home to his mum and dad from his new home in the city. Sometimes Clancy and his new humans don't see eye to eye, and that is what makes this book entertaining. Light-hearted and easy to read in a couple sittings, I'd recommend it to any dog lover.
Profile Image for Magpie.
2,238 reviews16 followers
December 4, 2021
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️… because your can’t rate a book about dogs with fewer stars. Glover and Oswald navigate owning a busy, clever kelpie for the second time, each dog unique but consistent in their ability to give love, protect the house and keep the wheels on.

Clancy’s letters home reveal a wisdom that Man’s analysis often didn’t add much to. More dog I reckon.
Loved it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
913 reviews3 followers
April 24, 2021
Another great book published by Richard Glover, but written of course, by his dog Clancy. It actually contains letters Clancy sent home to his parents on the farm, explaining all the weird things that city folks do. Very sweet.
Profile Image for Alexandra.
2 reviews2 followers
July 6, 2021
Funny, heart-warming book. I listened to the audiobook read by the author and had several laugh-out-loud moments. Unless you hate dogs and light-hearted tales about human and canine foibles, I think you'll enjoy this book.
141 reviews
October 11, 2025
3 and half stars
The whimsical humour of a dog writing home to his parents telling of his time with his Lady and Man owners. I didn't find it laugh out loud but there were some clever anecdotes throughout the book that I enjoyed.
An easy read
Profile Image for Rebecca Davies.
292 reviews
November 8, 2020
Great fun as always from Richard Glover. I had an audiobook version of this, read by the author. As the owner of a new puppy, there was much I related to.
Profile Image for Wayne's.
1,298 reviews9 followers
January 2, 2021
Funny take on a dog's eye view of humanity.
Profile Image for Sharon.
1,306 reviews10 followers
January 5, 2021
Cute book, written from the dog's point of view. Certainly living a good life despite what he may think at times.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews

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