Kinoko Inu

After the death of his beloved dog Hanako, picture-book author Hotaru Yuuyami loses the desire to draw and sinks into a grief he cannot shake. Then a strange pink mushroom in his garden begins to move and takes the form of a doglike creature. Hotaru names it Kinoko Inu and, almost without thinking, invites it into his home, replacing his quiet isolation with a very unusual housemate.

Kinoko Inu is curious, mischievous, and surprisingly direct about Hotaru's sorrow, often causing trouble while trying to help in its own peculiar way. As old friends and new routines return to Hotaru's life, caring for the mysterious creature slowly changes the way he carries his memories of Hanako. Moving forward does not mean forgetting what he lost; it means finding room to live beside that love again.