Olive, Mabel and Me:
Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs

By Andrew Cotter, Black and White Publishing, 2020, 255 pages
Reviewed by Jane Cleaveland, Oct. 22, 2020

It didn’t take long for the world to fall in love with Olive and Mabel.

The two Labrador retrievers became Internet sensations during Covid-19. They sailed into our hearts with YouTube films about an eating competition and a Zoom meeting, thanks to the creativity — and boredom — of their owner, Andrew Cotter. (Columbian pals, remember those APARs? You can relate.)

Cotter, a freelance sports commentator for the BBC, has covered Wimbledon, rugby, golf and other sports, but those gigs have screeched to a halt during the pandemic. What to do but turn to the loyalty and friendship of dogs? (That’s a message for all of us.)

As Olive puts it in the Foreword, “I should be honest here, and say that I initially wanted nothing to do with this book, as I couldn’t see how it would, in any way, benefit me — something which I feel is quite important. But then it was explained that, firstly, I would get top-billing and, secondly, the food we eat (and if you have any spare, that would be great) doesn’t grow on trees.”

So there you have it — typical Labrador attitudes about attention and food. Olive is just lucky she landed with a writer who could tell her story and the younger Mabel’s, too.

When I ordered this book in August, I was dealing with the end days of my rescued chocolate Lab. Abby died Aug. 24. “Olive, Mabel & Me” arrived nearly two months later. As I read the book, I imagined sitting next to my beloved Abby, touching her ears and talking to her about it.

I won’t be writing a book about Abby, but I did write an obit, which helped me sort out my grief. I’ll send it separately this afternoon.

In the past few days, I have seen stories about how dogs add years to their owners’ lives. I have no doubt. Here’s to all our dogs — past and present — who have helped us through thorny decisions and tricky situations. Woof!