This was a guilt-driven read. I am a dog person. I am a co-owner of a dog. I consider her to be a part of my family. I live in a place that has a dog park. I have never taken her to the dog park; I read this book instead.

Matthew's writing style is great. It was easy to follow his innocent adventures into this new and somewhat scary for him area of loving a dog. It was fun for me to read about his angst, because I have never had that issue. Dogs are my friends. I wave to them when I see them looking at me. Dogs have hugged me. If I am not with kids, you can find me with the dogs. There have been times when I am surrounded by both simultaneously; those are lovely times. So to think that someone is afraid of a dog or has never had a dog in their lives, is new. I love how he fell in love with Toby.

So, back to the guilt. Maybe the dog park isn't my thing with my dog. She is my partner in the garden. I trim and she bites off low limbs. I pull weeds, she eats the grass like a baby cow. We wander around the garden together. Sometimes we just sit. In the garden. Dirt is okay. We get it.

Another place we bond is in the kitchen. What can I say? She is a fan of my cooking (perhaps my only fan)! But she is enthusiastic and very encouraging of all my cooking endeavors. She is awesome, except when laying right where I need to be, but I manage.

I plan on looking up Matthew and keeping an eye on him. If he was at my dog park, I would definitely go. We could be friends.

Very touching stories; some dogs do die, but Matthew has such a great view of this too. I love the one about the perfectly happy single guy who makes a frozen pizza for one of the park people whose daughter dies. There is a caring, connected feeling with these people and their dogs that join them.

Keep writing Matthew! P.S. Hug Toby for me!
( )

Until I got a dog, I had never given a thought to dog parks. Didn't even know that they existed.

Since I got a dog, I have come to understand the role that they play in the lives of both humans and canines.

In this book, Gilbert paints an engaging and amusing portrait of life at the dog park. He captures the humor and drama that are present whenever groups of people spend time together. But his keen eye and breezy writing make this more than a "dogs are a metaphor for life" book. The little triumphs and affronts that we face in our typical day are brought to life with wit and compassion. This glimpse into the human condition, writ just the right size, make this book appealing to both dog owners and non-dog owners (who, if they are anything like me, will have their eyes opened to this amusing, yet tender, world).

Gilbert's perspective is unique. For most of his life he was the opposite of a "dog person" - afraid of dogs at an early age and not warming to them in later life. A bit of a TV loving recluse, he was not prone to seeking out groups of people for sustained engagement. Under pressure from his husband to bring a puppy into their life, he relents and... enter Toby, a playful and adorable yellow Lab. He finds wet-nosed love and enters the dog park world with its quirky characters and strong sense of community.

Lest that sound cliched, the story he tells of his gradual transformation into a lover of both dogs and humans is touching, written in a compelling manner and easily relatable. While the tales of dog park exploits are engaging, it is the author's own emotional journey that provides the real meat on this bone.

This book is not -- thank goodness -- "War and Peace". It is -- also thank goodness -- a deft and readable story of dogs, people and life. A lovely read.

( )

Matthew Gilbert had a lifelong fear of dogs, and then he married a dog lover.

It takes a while, but in time they get a yellow Lab puppy from a good breeder, and Matthew is embarked on a new adventure. The sheer animal exuberance of their new puppy, Toby, is a challenge for him at first. He falls in love with Toby, but much of giving him a full and rewarding life seems more like a new, disruptive set of chores. This includes taking Toby to the Amory dog park in their home of Brookline, MA.

Taking Toby for his social outings to the park is Matthew's chore; husband Tom prefers taking him on long, solo walks. But going to Amory during the off leash dog hours means Matthew has to be social, too, and for a shy, generally asocial, somewhat depressed man, that's a challenge in itself.

Over the next year, Matthew and Toby both learn the rules of the dog park and of social interaction with their respective species. This comes much easier for the happy-go-lucky Toby than for Matthew. The human half of this pair at first sees everything that's weird, odd, or just unfamiliar about his fellow dog owners--a collection of people who, after all, are brought together by nothing except ownership of dogs needing exercise and socialization. Gradually, though, he discovers and becomes a part of the fellowship of dog owners. He learns the good and the bad of his accidental friends, and discovers the willingness of this group to pull together to protect the digs, but also to respond to purely human needs and tragedies.

It's a human education as well as a canine one, and one that makes some important changes in his life.

Recommended.

I bought this book.
( )

Not for me, and DNF at 30%

I didn't like this book, it was barely about a dog, and even less about a dog park, or the people who go to the off-leash areas. I didn't like the voice of this book. The author came across as needy, self-involved, and mostly annoying. ( )

Not for me, and DNF at 30%

I didn't like this book, it was barely about a dog, and even less about a dog park, or the people who go to the off-leash areas. I didn't like the voice of this book. The author came across as needy, self-involved, and mostly annoying. ( )