Among the many forms humanity takes are dog aficionados. Happiness is their common quest, but it's not always as easy to get as a good scratch. Full Body Wag follows two sets of characters whose lives ultimately intersect through devotion to the dog: a group of Santa Fe women, led by the dog-obsessed Ms. Sioux Ashe, who takes charge of a community college creative writing class over protests from their bewildered English instructor, and a scruffy pack of men who are filming an independent B-grade sci-fi horror movie in Cow Springs, Arizona.

The adventure begins after the...