If you haven't read any dog books by Jon Katz, you're missing out -- but you can get a taste of his work in his latest piece for Slate, in which he describes an inter-species love affair taking place at his upstate New York farm.

"Though I've lived for some years with sheep, cows, steers, goats, barn cats, chickens — and dogs — on a farm in upstate New York, I'd never encountered a situation where animals of different species have fallen in love, or even had much of a friendship.

"But here it is: Lenore, a highly affectionate creature, is utterly smitten with Brutus ..."

Yes, it seems the writer's black Labrador puppy has a thing for one of the farm's neutered rams.

"Each day," Katz writes, "the pair seems more companionable. Lenore looks for Brutus, and when she finds him, she sometimes challenges him to romp, occasionally rolling over and flirtatiously showing her belly. She isn't above giving his nose or ear a lick. Some days, they just graze side by side, Lenore also chomping down the grass."

Katz has posted photographic evidence of the relationship on his Web site, where a few commenters have urged him not to interfere with the relationship, mixed as it may be.

"Please, please don't separate them," a woman named Heather e-mailed from London. "They belong together. Give them a chance to work it out."

"Obviously, Brutus is unhappy and lonely," wrote a farmer from Nebraska. "Make sure to give them support. Nothing wrong with it."

If reading his Slate piece leaves you wanting more, here are some books by Katz: Katz on Dogs; The Dogs of Bedlam Farm; The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family; Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm; A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me.

His newest book comes out in September, Izzy and Lenore. In it, Katz writes about his new pup, Lenore, and delves deeper into his relationship with Izzy, his rescued border collie turned therapy dog, as they visit hospices and nursing homes.

(Photo by, and courtesy of, Jon Katz)