Madeleine’s Reviews > The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love > Status Update

‘Other dogs have come into my life, but she is still my best friend. she will always be.’

‘dogs might be difficult or demanding or infuriating or exasperating, but that doesn’t mean they’re not cherished. when they leave us, the antics that used to make us tear our hair out are the same ones we miss the most.’

‘a dog person’s someone who first and always loves dogs. a dog person treasures connection and brings humans together. a dog person is open to the possibilities that come from loving an animal that needs you and loves you back. and now, after a lifetime of not being one, i was a dog person. it looked like the dog in the red shoes would make our lives better.’

‘He states at me with such adoration that sometimes i look away, because the love he has for me is so palpably genuine and unwavering. he trusts me unconditionally. … he zooms past her and jumps into my arms, licking me enthusiastically. each time it happens, which is every single time i come home, i think, “maybe i am not a dog person, but i am this dog’s person.”

‘I hadn’t realized how fully you could know a particular dog - how i would be able to decode the rise of his ears, the tilt of his head, the tone of a bark. i hadn’t know how wholeheartedly you could love a dog - or that watching my husband love the dog in this same all-consuming way could expand my love for both of them.’

‘and yet, despite this lack of affection, it felt like we were joined at the hip. she often came to stand beside me while i worked, less than an inch away, her whiskers brushing the top of my arm, her whispery exhales creating the smallest breeze on my skin. I LOVD YOU.’

this book is going to absolutely destroy my soul

‘all of it makes me happy to think about. all of it hurts.’