Not to be disloyal to my core felinity or anything...I bought this collection for a friend who recently adopted a lab mix he named Sadie. Opened it to an essay by Alice Walker about her girl-dog Marley...and wept.I am so thrilled to be on a planet that has Alice Walker...when she's on, I have literally never read more luminous prose nor witnessed such brilliance in pattern and rythm. No idea how the rest will read but the first essay completely knocked me on my ass.Also beautiful is when literar...

The first and (in my opinion) best anthology book put out by The Bark magazine. They actually tracked down the guy first attributed to the expression "God is my co-pilot" and got permission from him to use "Dog is my Co-Pilot" as not only the title for this book but for the magazine's logo/manifesto.I read this about ten years ago but I do not think there is an actual story about a flying dog. The co-pilot refers to life partner. A dog is seriously considered a guru in one memorable selection. O...

Loved it! Turns out, having a dog in the family creates universal experiences so special that they feel like a gift only you know about. I had to laugh at the nearly page-long description of that writer's list of nicknames for their dog. And I found it interesting that so many of the writers felt they had to admit it silly to have such love and admiration placed on their beloved dogs. I have never felt any embarrassment over my strong feelings towards my two furry loves and think we should rejoi...

A good collection of short essays on our relationships with dogs. I am a first time dog owner and she has changed my life. It was nice to read that I am not the only one who has such an intense bond with an animal. One or two of the essays were not up to the others but that is to be expected from any collection.

I enjoyed this overall - it suffers from the same problem that many anthologies do in that the quality of writing varies greatly from story to story. Some of the pieces are good because of the content, some because of the writing, and some...just aren't good at all. A quick read (I finished it in an afternoon). If you don't love dogs, then this book isn't for you. And for the dog lovers, there are better books in this genre out there. All in all though, not bad. I certainly don't regret reading

This anthology - (42 essays) had as you would expect a variety of experiences. Some were very insightful, humorous, sad, and a pleasure to read. I got the feeling, that animals, not being burdened with souls, are a blessing which we humans do not really deserve. You realize just how much, as usual, we take for granted. Co-Pilot is worth your taking time to read, even if you do not particularly care for animals. For the most part they are better company than many humans. Think, you can choose you...

I thought this anthology was pretty well put together, with its collections of short stories, essays, etc grouped into topics such as "Beginnings, Lessons, and Passages". This book is what it set out to be: a celebration of the "unique bond between humans and canines". It was not a super fast read for me because some of the stories are obviously better than others, but I did laugh, I did cry, and I did relate to much of what was shared in this book.

I often have problems with short story collections. The quality of the writing can vary wildly from writer to writer, number one. And number two, I have issues with short stories in general. I like to get to know my characters and when I'm reading a short story, I feel like I'm just starting to get to know them and suddenly they're gone and the story is finished. I want more!But this collection was wonderful. Just a group of almost uniformly wonderful writers, writing about dogs. Some really exc...

I always seem to review the imperfect books, never the no-holds-barred, near-perfect blow-outs. But this is a three due mostly to its being an anthology. 20% of the essays (Or short stories? Weird mix - sometimes I wasn't sure which I was reading, which I admit would've affected my perception of the pieces' strengths and weaknesses) could've easily been cut. But there is simply so much loveliness to be found here. This is (rarely) a sappy, uber-sentimental bit of fluff. The writing here digs int...

A charming collection of literary essays about the relationships between dogs and their humans. I was especially taken with it because of its avoidance of the syrupy emotionality that often comes from animal stories. You know that when Maxine Kumin, Alice Walker, and Mark Doty are writing that it's not going to be sappy. These are beautiful stories, but stories that also insist on being taken seriously on their own merit.

Holy cow. This book is astounding and incredibly moving. To me, anyway, because I am realizing that dog IS my copilot. Finished it. As it is a collection of pieces by many different writers, some stood out for me, most notably the one about the Irish Wolfhound and the important rules for living he taught her that allowed her to have a happy marriage. Very moving tale. I skipped through a few of the chapters, laughed at a few of them, lingered here and there and even thought to look up other thin...

There were honestly only a few stories in here that I actually enjoyed and those were by authors that I have read before. They started and ended kind of in the middle of a bigger story. A lot of the authors were really out there and abstract, not my kind of writing usually. Even the stories at the end about saying goodbye didn't evoke much emotional response from me and I am a crier when I read those types of stories. The book was super easy and if I had sat down and read it in decent stretches

A lovely collection of stories. I liked how balanced it was; there is such a wide range of meanings to loving one's dog, and this anthology ran the gamut of philosophies. While that meant some stories resonated with me far less than others, I also think it means there is something in here that should appeal to any dog lover. Same goes for the variety in writing styles, genres, and moods--some had me smiling for days, or made me rush to hug my own pups, the way they could put into words what I kn...

Some stories were better than others but, on the whole, great read about how dogs just make ours lives better, funner and more joyful.

I give this book a nice swell C rating. I liked the format, an anthology of stories from dog lovers, writers- so the stories are well written. Some stories were fabulous, and some were so-so. Maybe it is like the dogs we have in our lives. I love all the dogs that I shared time and space and TLC, but they are different, aren't they? I guess I am sucker for the stories of redemption, like strays and pound pups, those are favorites. A funny one in particular is where a woman thinks the dog that "...

Very enjoyable. Perfect summer read. Great for travelling, too. This book introduced me to many authors and led to a year or more of reading via their connections. One author I particularly loved was Caroline Knapp, who wrote, Drinking: A Love Story and A Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs, both books are still with me. Caroline's best friend, Pulitzer Prize winning book critic Gail Caldwell wrote a book about their relationship, Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Fri...

Ok, so this book is pretty much just for dog lovers. It is a collection of essays, some really good, some not so good, most fairly good. It is from the editors of "The Bark" which I've read in Barnes and Noble though haven't gotten around to subscribing to. Overall, it's a fun read. If you are nuts about your pooch/es like me then you will enjoy it. If you keep your dog outside in a pen you will think all the essays are written by lunatics. If you don't have a dog or are cat crazy then you might...