For more than 100 years, the AKC Gazette has been the nation’s premier magazine about dogs. The flagship publication of the American Kennel Club, the Gazette has long been recognized for its photography and top-notch writing about canines.

In celebration of 100 years of the American Kennel Club, Our Dogs – a century of images and words from the AKC Gazette – is being published by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House Publishing Group.

“I come from a dog family. People in our clan just feel a little wrong if there isn’t a dog in the house. When we visit other families that are of the non-dog variety, we secretly wonder how they can stand the quiet – all right, let’s be honest – the loneliness and impersonality of a dogless home.”

– from the foreword by Jane Smiley

More than 75 full-color photographs are accompanied by pieces from writers such as Rick Bass, Breena Clarke, Roger Rosenblatt, Jeri Holloway and Doug Marlette. Along with top dog trainers and breeders, they pay homage to the loyalty, vitality and beauty of all dogs.

“The reason a big dog show like Westminster draws so many spectators is not because there are famous champions competing. No, the big magnet is usually furnished by the dog, big or little, that is pining away at home for his master or mistress. Said master or mistress may or may not – usually the latter – know a Truffle Hound from a Tahltan bear Dog, but he or she has a continual and persistent interest in how good dogs look at their best. The reason? Simply so that he or she may go home, take his or her own pet, Rover, fondly by the ears and confide: ‘You look far better to me than all those champions.’ ”

– Sarah M. Greenhow, March, 1947 “Next To Godliness”

The book is separated into four distinct sections – The Special World of Dogs, Dogs in Our Times, The Sport of Dogs, and For the Love of Dogs. It celebrates so much of what draws people to dogs – the essence and exuberance of puppyhood, the selfless ways dogs act in service to humankind (from courageous search-and-rescue missions to giving comfort to those in hospitals and nursing homes) and the wonderful variety of canine moods and behaviors.