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INTRODUCTION

The dog was the first animal to be domesticated by humans. In fact, we buddied up with the grey wolf such a long time ago that experts can’t be sure exactly how many tens of millennia our friendship has endured. What is certain, however, is that our bond with ‘man’s best friend’ is stronger than ever. Estimates vary wildly, but it is generally believed that there are currently in the region of half a billion dogs keeping humans company around the globe. And thanks to our refusal to stop meddling with nature, they now come in all manner of shapes and sizes: according to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (World Canine Organisation), those half billion dogs can be divided into approximately 360 officially recognised breeds, ranging from your garden variety, no-nonsense players like poodles and Labradors, through to the lesser-known (at least to me, an ignorant Englishman) models such as the Norwegian Lundehund and the Hungarian Mudi. And we don’t just keep canines around for companionship. On a daily basis, dogs are saving the lives of countless humans as they guide the blind, find bombs, search for missing people and detect disease. It is difficult to imagine life without them.

I write this on a Chewsday (forgive me) in November 2020, an undeniably terrible year now entering its 6932nd day. For hours, a gale has been thrashing the window behind my head and rattling the roof tiles above, the permanent low hum of radiators being warmed serving to remind me that the cruelty of winter is just weeks away. The political landscape is simply too grim to contemplate. Civil unrest seems omnipresent. In the UK we are in month nine of a life-changing pandemic that has already resulted in millions of deaths worldwide, devastation to the economy and the enforced isolation of huge swathes of the population. To put it bluntly, things are not looking or feeling great. And yet, to my right, curled up beside me, is Red, our permanently dishevelled dog. A ball of fluff whose very presence calms my nerves. A cherished member of our family who is blissfully unaware of any problems beyond our four walls, whose beautiful nature brings the very best out of our children and has taught them about life and love in ways we couldn’t. It is no surprise to me that many of my fondest childhood memories star at least one of my family’s dogs, and I will forever be grateful to my parents for bringing them into our home.

Despite all of the above, as far as I could tell – and trust me, I have looked everywhere, even beneath all the chairs – there did not already exist a book filled only with letters related to our trustiest companion. Certainly not in the English language. Which brings us to the book in your hands, Letters of Note: Dogs, a pocketable volume of correspondence in which various people write about, to or even through our canine friends. It will make you laugh, cry and ponder our ever-evolving relationship with this magnificent creature, and maybe, should you not already be owned by a dog, convince you to make the leap.

Fetch a drink, sit and let me lead you through this epistolary canine treasury.

Shaun Usher

2020