Ask almost any dog lover that you know and they will have an opinion one way or the other about the Westminster Dog Show. Even cat lovers like me have been known to watch the competitions from time to time and marvel at the different breeds and how they strut around the arena for their handlers. It’s somewhat mesmerizing.

I have followed Tommy Tomlinson’s writings for years — he was a columnist for The Charlotte Observer when we lived in Mooresville and his was the one thing I always read in the newspaper. His writing style is engaging and personal and just darn good, in my humble opinion. I have loved following his career over the years and even subscribe to his podcast SouthBound which is very informative and entertaining. When I saw that he had written another book I had to jump on the Tommy train again. Surprise of all surprises, our local independent bookstore, Highland Books, brought him to Brevard for an author night. SIGN ME UP! It was a wonderful event and I was happy that Chris went along with me to be a part of the large audience that evening.

I scooped the book up the Saturday before the Tuesday night event and read it in basically two sittings. You don’t have to be a “dog person” to like this book. It is witty and engaging and offers pee breaks. Yes, you read that correctly. Interspersed amongst the chapters are pee breaks that highlight lists or other stories that kind of break up all of the facts that Tommy is throwing at you about dog shows. It works. Perfectly. Genius.

My short review of the book:

I’ve been a Tommy Tomlinson fan for years and was thrilled to read this fabulous book. Although I have never been a dog owner, I love dogs, and this book made me love them more. Tomlinson does so much more than “report” about the dog show circuit. I learned a lot about dogs, yes, but this book is so much more. I was surprised to find myself tearing up multiple times (mainly around the Fred story) and found myself loving every dog that was written about. Do yourself a favor and read this one. It will stay with you for a long time. 

The evening event with Tommy was truly special with questions presented by Lisa Rab which were insightful and probing. Followed by a Q and A where the audience asked some challenging and some fun questions and we all left feeling like we knew a little bit more about both Tommy and the world of dogs. Huge thanks to Highland Books for hosting this event for the community.

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You can get all the information about Tommy and his book tour by going to his website here. It’s a fun read and you might just learn a thing or two about the Westminster Dog Show and about dogs in general. Even Maksim had to agree that this one was one to have on the bookshelf.