10 titles about a man's best friend

 

There is no greater joy than having a dog, but there is also no greater sorrow when it passes. In tribute to the baddest, wildest, yet cuddliest French bulldog, Cooper, who unexpectedly died yesterday, here are 10 books about a man's best friend—five titles about how awesome dogs are, and five blockbusters in which the Frenchie makes a cameo.

"French Bulldogs: Lightweights Littermates" (Stewart, Tabori and Chang) by Sharon Montrose. This is the cutest coffee table/picture book you can get about French bulldog puppies. And who does not love puppies (only serial killers, that is who)? Featured are these simply adorable little creatures who are barely old enough to waddle around. This book with amazing photographs will definitely open your eyes for the irresistible bat-eared dog.

"Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems" (Harmony) by Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier. All dogs have their problems, and the Dog Whisperer will teach you to become a better pack leader who understands your dog's needs.

Millan explains that despite what some owners think, dogs rely on three key elements in their lives: exercise, discipline, and affection. According to Millan, "problem dogs" can be attributed to "problem owners," owners who do not understand or who misinterpret their dog's behavior. Learn to become a better dog owner, and your life will be so much easier.

"Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World's Least Likely Agility Dog" (Hudson Street Press) by Robert Rodi. This book chronicles how Robert Rodi and Dusty, his disobedient Sheltie, teamed up to compete in agility competitions: a dog sport in which a handler directs an off-leash dog through an obstacle course in a race for time and accuracy. The book received mostly five-star reviews on Amazon, so for those of you who are into agility, you should definitely check out this tome that was recently released.

The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel" (Harper) by Garth Stein. Here is the story of Enzo, a lab terrier mix picked from a farm outside Seattle to ride shotgun with race-car driver Denny Swift as he pursues success on the track and off. As a dog, Enzo gets frustrated by his inability to speak. As he narrates: "I have no words I can rely on, because much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long, flat and loose, and therefore ... less effective tool for making clever and complicated polysyllabic sounds that can be linked together to form sentences." While he ponders upon the long life he has had, Enzo hopes for the day when his life will end and he can be reborn a man.

"A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog" by Dean Koontz. When you think of Dean Koontz, you probably think of his horror and suspense thrillers. But in his upcoming Aug. 25 release, his focus will be on Trixie, a retired service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, who "taught Koontz to trust his instincts, persuaded him to cut down to a fifty-hour work week, and, perhaps most important, renewed in him a sense of wonder that will remain with him for the rest of his life. She mended him in many ways," according to the author's Web site.

Five blockbuster books and movies where Frenchies make cameos:

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (Del Rey) by Alan Dean Foster. Chances are, you have not not read the book, but if you did catch this blockbuster hit at the movies, you probably noticed that Sam's beloved chihuahua Mojo has gotten a new friend: a French bulldog named Frankie, who gets constantly humped by Mojo.

"The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger. As a lowly assistant at the most influential fashion magazine, one of Andrea Sachs's assignments involves picking up Madelaine, her boss's French bulldog puppy, from the vet after getting spayed. Obviously in discomfort, Andrea tries to comfort the "small, white batlike bulldog."

Later in the book, Andrea has to find her boss's daughters two new French bulldog puppies, a mission to which Andrea sarcastically refers to as, "I think that what makes me the luckiest of all is getting to talk to breeders all over the tristate area for three straight weeks in search of the perfect French bulldog puppy so two incredibly spoiled and unfriendly little girls can each have their own pet."

"Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter" (Harper) by Phoebe Damrosch. When Damrosch runs into Buckwheat, a French bulldog, her boyfriend André mentions how that is the kind of dog he has always wanted. Damrosch notices that Buckwheat "was breathing like Darth Vader after a flight of stairs," but André adds, "I love those dogs."

Damrosch explains she is not used to small city dogs, as she "had grown up with a 'real dog,' a collie/golden retriever named Turnip." To which André acts offended and says, "Buckwheat's a real dog. And he has a nose—it's just a little smooshed."

"Possible Side Effects" (Picador) by Augusten Burroughs. The author's absolutely best one of all his memoirs is "Running With Scissors," in which he recounts his dysfunctional family and childhood.

But it is in "Possible Side Effect," Burroughs talks extensively about his two Frenchies, Bentley and The Cow, and how he "developed an unnatural dependency on them." In an interview with PopMatters, he mentions how the best things he ever bought were his French bulldogs

The "Alex Delaware" series (Ballantine Books) by Jonathan Kellerman. In his series on Alex Delaware who solves murder cases, Kellerman often features French bulldogs; Blanche and Spike, in particular. According to an interview with Penguin, Spike was loosely based on Kellerman's own French bulldog, Archie.

In "Obsession," Kellerman writes about Blanche as a puppy, a fawn-colored "wrinkly, soft-bellied, flat-faced ball of serenity who spends most of her day sleeping." In "Bones," Blanche has grown to become "the other female in his life," a 20-pound "vanilla-colored French bulldog with tidy table manners rarely seen in the breed and a saintly disposition;" and in "Flesh and Blood," Kellerman writes about French bulldog Spike, Blanche's predecessor, who greeted the protagonist at the door "with a dismissive snort."