I loved the concept for this great, unique book from the very beginning – a narrative of family life from two different views, with chapters alternating between the views of Benji the labrador and Meriel, one of his owners. This great book accentuates the way that dogs are indisputably attuned to their owners emotions.
To a pet owner, it is nothing new how a cat or dog can sense your emotions, and I loved the way that this book tapped into that empathy, revealing its absolute power to the uninitiated. Perhaps in future, alongside no arguing ’in front of the children’ , there will also be an awareness of what you shouldn’t expose your dog too, such is their emotional intelligence. Granted, dogs can’t actually talk, or reveal emotions in chapters of books, but in my mind there is no doubt when it comes to their emotional prowess.
I felt an affinity towards the female characters in is book, but unsurprisingly I wasn’t so drawn to the men – Phil in particular hadn’t behaved well and seemed to think that a fairly hasty apology was enough to earn him his redemption. I did feel that he blew any chances of forgiveness from me, when he brought up ’custody of the dog’ in front of said dog, shortly followed by who he felt did or didn’t like/want he dog!
Benji, I invariably loved. ’His’ words flowed with a tangible sense of canine poetry and I loved every word of it. He seemed to have nailed (or maybe clawed’ a real sense of how dogs feel about their people and their environments.
Next time you raise your voice in front of your pet, take a moment to consider their emotional health. They may not be able to speak, but they do still have very strong, real feelings.
If like me, you are an emotional animal lover, then this is the book for you. You will need to read on for yourself, to find out whether there is a future for Meriel and Phil, and how dear Benji deals with the tough times within his family unit. One can hope that Benji can maintain the way that he glues his family together.
Just use this link to buy this great book for yourself:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q3N3D15
Eatwell Reads-Well 
I do love a book about dogs! When I think of Benji, I think of the little terrier dog that starred in the movie Benji back in the early 60s
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