For friends of old dogs, stray dogs, all dogs ...

Who doesn't love books about dogs, especially photo books? We admit that we're hooked. Here are a couple worth your look:

Gene Weingarten is a Washington Post columnist and staff writer (a Pulitzer winner, at that) who wrote a wonderful book about the joys of being with old dogs, featuring the photos of two-time Pulitzer winner Michael S. Williamson. Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs pretty well sums up what it's all about, and the way many of us feel, too. Give it a look—you'll be glad you did. (For those of you who are way ahead of the rest of us, it's available on Kindle, too.)

Another of our staff favorites: Traer Scott's touching, beautiful book of photography, Shelter Dogs. Scott is a fabulous photographer who captures an amazing range of emotions in the expressions of dogs who have been thrown away, left for others to deal with in shelters—and in some cases, did not have much longer to live, owing to a persistent problem: shelter overcrowding. Thus, some of these heart-rending photos are the only records that these lovely creatures once walked the earth, and experienced the dark side of human regard for animals.

The good news: Some found forever homes. And a portion of the proceds from the book's sales go to shelter organizations.

Both books are excellent additions to any dog lover's coffee table.

Perhaps you have a favorite dog or cat book you'd love to share with us? Please do so in our Comments section. We love to hear about good books about our beloved animals that we haven't encountered yet, so we'd appreciate hearing from you!