Dogs serve as powerful influences in our lives — sometimes even, metaphorically speaking. A couple recent titles, When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan, and Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt, are two such examples.

Conaghan’s Dog Bites features a main character who is burdened by the stress of living with Tourette’s Syndrome — in which he barks out foul-mouthed comments at inappropriate times while Chartwell uses the black dog as a symbol of depression roaming the grounds of Winston Churchill’s household.

So, I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover — even if it has a dog on it!