If you are or ever were a dog owner, or if you just love dogs, Dog Years by Mark Doty is a perfect book to curl up with. A memoir, Dog Years is about Mark Doty and his partner, Paul, and their experiences with their two dogs, Arden and Beau. It touches on the good and bad times they went through and what their dogs inevitably brought into their lives.

I say that this book is mostly for dog lovers because I honestly can’t see someone who doesn’t enjoy dogs appreciating this book. I don’t think I would understand half of what Mark Doty was talking about if my sister hadn’t successfully persuaded my dad into letting us get a dog a year ago.

Not only is it an amazing story about the love of two owners for their dogs, but also the love that the dogs show to their owners. There are times when I laughed and I also became teary-eyed through the tough times: when Beau first became sick, when Arden grew too old to walk. It’s a tough book to get through because of the heart wrenching moments where you just want to hug the dog yourself, but at the same time it’s so intriguing and beautiful that you can’t put the book down.

This is a very short review because I don’t want to give anything away. So my last sentence will be my suggestion that you go out and buy this book. You will not regret it.

Grade: A+