DOG owners will love this book.

The reason is that it is a celebration of just about everything that is great about owning a dog.

PetRescue's Amazing Dog Stories: True Tales of Second-Chance Dogs and the Lives They Changed, foreword by Dr Katrina Warren. Viking, rrp $29.95

Still, what makes this book all the more poignant is that the dogs who bark in these pages were on dog death row.

They were in pounds waiting to be put down.

This is what gives the title its meaning.

These are dogs that have been given a second chance by the group PetRescue.

The stories grateful owners tell are reason enough to agree that dogs change lives. The stories are all short.

Some are a bare page and a half long, while others are a little more extensive.

There are 100 doggie yarns in all. Each is different and all present dogs in a wide range of contexts.

Be they as an explosive detecting dog in Afghanistan, to a dog that contributes hugely to someone getting well, these are restorative, hopeful stories.

Many are very funny as well. Take the description of Eggnog the Excavator, for example, about a well-named Beagle who adored digging.

Others are deeply touching, such as the animals paraded in the section "When it's just meant to be".

Each dog here is a star to its owner.

While this book has immediate appeal to readers with dogs, the book is also likely to be a source of comfort to those who have recently been parted from a dog.

It is worth noting that the proceeds of the book will go directly to PetRescue to assist relocating dogs.