Dog lovers will be charmed and amused by this little literary gem, with an adorable photo of a dog licking its face on the cover, and more adorable photos of dogs on every page. From pit bulls to pugs, the faces of the dogs and the haikus on each dog’s page are carefully selected for maximum effect. The lovely white poodle with the fancy lion haircut adorns a haiku that reads:

‘Names
Within me there lies
The blood of a million wolves
You named me “Fluffy”‘

Some haikus are so clever and ambiguous, only dog parents will know what they are really referring to. “Lunch, no longer lunch/ Pooling in autumn sunshine/ Becomes again lunch”

There’s many references to poop and balls. The toilet might also be mentioned a few times. After all, it’s a dog who “wrote” these poems. Right? But there are also references to the companionship and love we have for our dogs and they have for us. But mostly, it’s humor. With some poignant exceptions like on poem titled “Going to Live on the Farm:” “Guys, there is no farm/ I wish there was, but there is/ Only nothingness” Heartbreaking haiku.

What makes these poems so enjoyable and so relatable is that they really do seem to express the feelings of our dogs. Loving, resigned, stoic, even disgusting at times, in all ways like our four-legged (usually) best friends.

And to answer the title question? It’s what remains after the surgery to neuter one’s dog, only expressed in rather less technical language.

First posted on Bookreporter.com.