Really good, in that heart wrenching, tear-inducing way that all books in which you know The Dog Dies At The End are.
As a dog obsessed, aspiring animal trainer who is (at the time of this review) pursuing a bachelor of science in animal behavior, I appreciated all of his references to modern experts' work and empirically based research on dog behavior. There were a few factual things that irked me, but hey, we can't all be perfect. Also, as someone who can be very by-the-book and scientifically minded about, well, most things, Kerasote's conjectures on the freedom we maybe should, and often don't, give dogs really made me think and re-think some of my own pretty strongly-held beliefs.
I can safely say that I would recommend this to anyone who has ever loved a dog. If you already hold a lot of dog-related knowledge, you will find many references to familiar authors and researchers. If you don't know a lot about dogs, then you'll find many new resources to explore. Either way, you'll likely find a very touching story about the human-dog bond. And for those of us who currently have a dog, it will make us want to hug them and thank them. A lot. Especially at the end.