Chris Clarke is a science and nature writer, so his gift for description of the landscapes of the West – both urban and wild – is an unsurprisingly gorgeous element of "Walking With Zeke."



What is surprising is the degree to which Clarke captures the deep love possible between creatures of different species; through sidelong glances and implicit trust, occasional bouts of ferocious play and shared dreaming, daily walks and the painful shifts of aging, the culture of dogs and the people in love with them unfolds as clearly and viscerally as the last years of Zeke's life do.



There is no shying away from the hard parts here - the failures (and their motivating force to do better next time), the impossible choices, the final brutality of loss – but neither is there saccharine in the carefully described dailiness and mutual regard that makes a lifelong bond.



In this portrait of the last years of a beloved dog's life, Clarke illustrates what it is to be human – then reminds us to forget it just enough to be able to love with some small percentage of the devotion our dogs offer us.