A sweet story about an ugly dog creating beauty all around him

My friend Louise, who works for a big publishing house in Australia, gave me this book when I visited last year and it’s been sitting on my shelf growling at me to read it.

Yesterday, lying in the glorious sunshine, I finally sunk my teeth in, and after going to bed and not being able to sleep, I lapped up the whole offering with gusto.

Waiting for Doggo by Mark B. Mills, published in 2014, is filled with lovely ideas about love throughout its 213 pages. It doesn’t break new ground, floor you with its ingenuity or make you reach for a pen to write down memorable anecdotes, but it does leave you smiling.

Doggo is a dog brought into a faltering relationship to try to save the day. When his rescuer Claire ups and leaves her boyfriend of four years, Dan, he’s left with the unfriendly bundle as a reminder of what went wrong. But he’s not really sure what went wrong!

A new job for Dan gives Doggo new surroundings and an opportunity to show his true colours. He becomes the office postman, delivering the mail to those he likes. It’s sweet little things like this that can easily be missed in this tail, I mean tale, of love lost and discovered again.

Of course, Doggo becomes more than just the ugly mutt – he’s a sign of hope. As Doggo’s personality shines, he makes Dan a better man too. The dog’s interest in Jennifer Aniston, and Dan’s work colleague Edith, means he has an eye for detail that would possibly swish past Dan in the wag of a tail.

Waiting for Doggo was a lovely read – very simple and sweet – and a wonderful way to spend a few hours; lost in the workings of a London advertising agency and the characters it holds. Nothing stressing, nothing confrontational – all just as sweet as the little dog who surprises everyone.

The ending leaves an opening for a sequel perhaps?