Fred the dachshund was an important character in E.B. White's essay "Death of a Pig." He stood at White's side during the pig's treatment and burial, serving as a silent witness to suffering and adding, oddly, a grave dash of humanity. But this isn't surprising, since dogs were some of White's most memorable characters.

In this new book, White's granddaughter, Martha White, has pulled together a mixed bag of his writings on dogs — but a delightful mixed bag, including personal letters, New Yorker casuals, essays and silly poems.

Dogs are the common denominator here — the famous Fred, the ill-fated Daisy (she was run over by a taxi), Minnie and Raffles. If you've read much White, you know these guys.

Dogs often served as a prism through which White viewed the world, and yet in his writing they never lost their essential dog-ness: Yes, they were sardonic and wry and occasionally had interior lives, but, like any dog, they also sniffed and dug, they ate vile things, they were deeply indulged.

In one piece, a response to the ASPCA, White notes, "I have received your letter, undated, saying that I am harboring an unlicensed dog in violation of the law. If by 'harboring' you mean getting up two or three times every night to pull Minnie's blanket up over her, I am harboring a dog all right. The blanket keeps slipping off."

Oh, it is nice to hear White's dry voice again, and to have these fine dogs live once more.

"E.B. White on Dogs," edited by Martha White.

LAURIE HERTZEL