So it seems that dog illiteracy is big in the USA and 90% can’t even howl their alphabet. It’s the No.1 cause of K9 homelessness and doggie depression. Take a look at this infographic showing the harsh realities of this situation, courtesy of TheAnimalRescueSite.com. This got me wondering about canine literacy in other countries. The UK? Australia? Germany? Japan? What steps are dog owners taking to get their dogs reading books? I was lucky. Professor Salt spent a lot of time teaching me my alphabet and the meaning of big’un words (big’uns is what we dogs call people). Now I can enjoy Mr Google and send emails, even use Twitter and Facebook, but most important of all I can use the internet to help solve my next case. A good dog detective needs to be able to do his research.

So I say to all dog owners – please read to your dogs. Once they’ve mastered Sit and Fetch, move on to the alphabet and constructing sentences. When you go to work, leave them a book or two to browse through. Dogs have wide tastes in literature. Cookery books rank highly but don’t be surprised if there’s a bit of drool on the pages when you get home. Dog adventure and dog crime-solving mysteries are my favourites.

Please tell me on Facebook or Twitter if you know an illiterate dog that needs help. Does your dog read? What does he or she like to read? Please spread the word. It’s time dogs fulfilled their true potential! Thank you for your help.