A funny, heartwarming story of unconditional love--for everyone who ever loved a dog. Virginia just wants to make ALL the dogs happy. She loves fluffy dogs and scruffy dogs, squeaky clean dogs and doggone dirty dogs. She loves dogs so much she'll do whatever she can to make them happy. Her good intentions don't always go over so well with the grownups in her life, but no amount of scolding dims the sheer joy she feels in the company of canines--until the day she meets a dog who doesn't love her and learns an important lesson about "doggie manners" and loving some dogs from a safe distance. A sweet story with whimsical illustrations that will have the littles poring over every page. "...Virginia Loves Dogs will be a great addition to your family's book collection. Even if you prefer cats, consider checking out this book for the purpose of manners and lessons to be learned. But if you love dogs, you have a winner here." -Reedsy Discovery Reviews reedsy.com/discovery/book/virginia-loves-dogs-barbara-leary "...Virginia Loves Dogs will be a great addition to your family's book collection. Even if you prefer cats, consider checking out this book for the purpose of manners and lessons to be learned. But if you love dogs, you have a winner here." -Reedsy Discovery Reviews reedsy.com/discovery/book/virginia-loves-dogs-barbara-leary Hi Readers!Thank you for stopping by! I wrote this story for my granddaughter Virginia, who is every bit as high-spirited and happy as the protagonist and just as crazy about dogs. The appearance of any dog in her line of sight would cause her to veer off in its direction. So in creating the character Virginia, I just took my granddaughter's irrepressible, cheerful quality and exaggerated it. Not by much, actually; the child is a force of nature! The three dogs named in this story are no longer with us, sadly. MacKenzie, a Husky and German Shepherd mix, was indeed the family's dog. He adored Virginia from birth and showered her with sloppy dog affection. Danny was a purebred Sheltie, a handsome, gentlemanly fellow whose people were my brother and sister-in-law. On more than one occasion, Danny herded the garbage truck so skillfully my sister-in-law had to rush out to take him in hand so the truck could proceed along its route.  Samantha was my mother's beloved Dachshund, a sweet and faithful companion who is dearly missed.Finally, when I was reading an early draft to Virginia, I asked her how the story should end. She didn't miss a beat: "Happy happy after!" she exclaimed. I thought it would make a fitting title for my collection of stories.Thank you for reading!-Barbara Born and raised in Virginia, Barbara Leary first started telling stories as a kid desperate for a little peace and quiet on long car trips with her parents and nine siblings. She works and writes from her 100-year-old farmhouse with views of the hills, four massive oak trees, and a small flock of doggish chickens. Virginia Loves Dog s is the second of her "Happy Happy After Story" collection. The others are The Climbing Tree and the forthcoming Caroline and the Not-Mamma.