Required Reading
Somewhere, Allen Ginsberg must be chuckling. The editors of The Bark magazine have followed up 2004's “Dog is My Co-Pilot" with a collection that includes tales from Stupid Pet Tricks creator Merrill Markoe, Dave Barry, Kinky Friedman, Ann Brashares and many others.
– Billy Heller, New York Post

This collection of short writing about dogs—including essays, parodies, playful advice, true stories of beloved pets, imagined canine perspectives, even a play and a cartoon or two—has one goal: to make you laugh. The quotation above gives you a taste of “Excerpts from Great Books in the Canine Canon” by Francis Heaney. In “The Dog Mumbler,” Merrill Markoe suggests hilarious alternatives to the techniques of Cesar Millan (dog-training guru from the TV show, Dog Whisperer). Other contributors include Pam Houston, Haven Kimmel, Margaret Cho, Al Franken, Abigail Thomas, and Patrick McDonnell. Curl up with your own funny pup, and enjoy a mirthful Howl.
– Bas Bleu

Hot Diggety DOG!
The book features 68 essays about dogs that have appeared in BARK. The magazine attracts some stellar contributions. HOWL features essays by folks like Al Franken, Dave Barry, Kinky Friedman, Margaret Cho, William Wegman, and Ann Brashares.
As you might have guessed, many of these pieces are rather humorous.
Some of the essay titles offer an inkling of what you can expect from reading HOWL: It includes essays with titles like: Carolina’s in heat and I’m not, Bone alone, Dog whores, the seven-month itch, What my dog has eaten lately, Doggy love, and No wonder they call me bitch..
Good stuff. Do you know any dog nuts? Let’em gnaw on this volume for a bit. Their tails will be a waggin’ fer shure….
– Vick Mickunas, Dayton Daily News

Staff Pick
A delightful collection of tales, tunes, tutorials, and more, written by some of today’s most well-known writers and comedians, occupies this follow-up to the essay collection of “Dog Is My Co-Pilot”. Al Franken, Margaret Cho, Neal Pollack, and others weigh in with dog stories that highlight the comical interactions between pooches and their people, promising to cause a chuckle with the turn of every page.
— TAILS magazine

The second literary salvo from The Bark magazine … Those with fortitude will be rewarded … Marc Spitz's essay on how his dog changed his life, riddled with pop culture references and self-deprecating humor, is truly a joy. Kinky Friedman's all-too-short piece on the trials and tribulations of sharing a bed with animals will have dog lovers smiling and nodding in recognition, and Nancy Cohen's "The Seven Month Itch" masterfully incorporates the multitude of nicknames owners have for their companions in a story about the search for the cure for a rash.
– Publishers Weekly

Holiday Pick 2007
Howl is a collection of essays about people’s experiences with dogs … it’s a good gift for the mom obsessing over her Cavalier King Charles spaniel now that the kids have flown the coop.
– Philadelphia Weekly

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