11-12-09 Nose Down, Eyes Up by Merrill Merkoe - Fiction

4 - I just love the voices Merkoe gives the dogs. Maybe it's not original to have dogs speaking to humans, but her dogs have personalities you can stick to different breeds. The main character in this book is Gil, a divorcee in his late forties who's constantly fighting with his 22 year old self. He finds he can hear his dogs, which is ironic since his girlfriend is an "animal whisperer" who can't hear dogs and is always so wrong in her interpretations. Jimmy, Gil's alpha dog, goes through an identity crisis when he discovers he was adopted, is not Gil's biological son, and will not one day lose most of his hair, walk on two legs, or drive a car. Nose Down, Eyes Up is for all pet lovers, a funny and touching adventure about owning animals and how they become family.