MEGAN Anderson’s slightly wonky, cartoonish dogs are endearing and instantly recognisable.

And now they’re talking in her debut book Word of Dog.

“We all anthropomorphise our dogs and imagine if they could talk, what they would say?” Anderson says.

“I wanted to take that to the extreme and give them human attributes.”

The Fremantle artist is a former journo and uses her old skills to bring everyday, often mundane conversations to life in her book.

The colourful list of characters includes a nudist, an Uber driver and doomsday preppers.

Seen from a dog’s perspective, some conversations are poignant while others are laugh-out-loud funny, including a dignified mutt who used to work as a singing telegram: “I’m a family law court judge now. There are worse ways to launch your career.”

Another nervous-looking pooch is unprepared for retirement.

“I’m worried about the future.

“I’m afraid I’m going to turn into that nut bag who knits cardigans from plastic bags and takes in a lot of stray cats.

“I need to sort out my superannuation.”

Anderson taught herself to paint after chucking in her job as a journalist and editor.

“I was writing about people doing interesting things with their lives and thought there was something else I could do with mine.”

Renting a beach shack in Albany in 2002 she planned to write “the great Australian novel”, which didn’t quite come off.

Instead, her hobby painting led to a new career as an artist and now an author.

Her book launch/exhibition Word of Dog is at Early Work gallery in South Fremantle from November 16-24.