Book review: ‘This Dog Will Change Your Life’
This Dog Will Change Your Life by Elias Weiss Friedman. Ballantine Books, 2025. Hardcover, 304 pages.
Elias Weiss Friedman, the author of the joyful This Dog Will Change Your Life, is no stranger to the world of canines. Known as The Dogist on social media, Elias has been photographing dogs for decades and posting those photos online, often with the dogs’ stories. So it isn’t too surprising to discover in his new book just how much he loves dogs and wants to help share some of that love with others.
Elias has a deep understanding of the bond between dogs and their people. His main premise is that dogs make our lives better and, as a result, make us better individuals. Dogs help us become more dependable, patient, and purposeful as their lives entwine with ours.
To any dog lover, this isn’t rocket science, but This Dog Will Change Your Life isn’t a compendium of scientific or psychological facts. It is, quite simply, a celebration of the human-animal bond through chapters about Elias’ own dogs throughout his life and the ways dogs have changed others’ lives, such as people in prison involved in raising service dogs.
In addition to many examples of how dogs make our lives richer, the author also incorporates canine lore and history in an approachable manner. Elias’ engaging writing style and his choice of canine stories make This Dog Will Change Your Life an enjoyable read for all dog lovers.
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