Dogs are supposedly man's best friend, but that adage always rubbed me the wrong way. There are all those schmaltzy flicks about a boy and his scraggly pooch, and how they go fishing and cause a ruckus at the county fairgrounds, but where do we girls fit into that formula? Dogs are woman's best friend, too, so where's our canine-centric coming-of-age tale?

It's here! Jump for joy. Because of Winn-Dixie may be just another maudlin yarn about a kid living and learning with the help of a loveable mutt, but hey, that kid is finally a chick, and hey, the flick's actually quite delightful.

It doesn't deviate from dog-as-a-sidekick-and-life-coach genre, but the genre's been working fine for years, so really, there's no need to amend it.

Newcomer AnnaSophia Robb plays India Opal Buloni (like the deli meat), the lonely preacher's daughter new to town. Opal hails from the Scout school of Southern tomboy charm, and come to think of it, all of Naomi, Fla., stays true to that To Kill a Mockingbird tradition, where all the folks have a dusty past and a heart of gold, and every action has some sweet metaphorical meaning.

So here's the story: When Opal meets up with a wolf-sized, trouble-making dog she names Winn-Dixie, the impish pup does what impish pups do and changes her life.

The Picardy shepherd passing as a mutt leads Opal on a summer-long journey of forging bonds with her distant dad (tenderly played by Jeff Daniels), a blind recluse who claims to see with her heart (Cicely Tyson), an aging genteel librarian (Eva Marie Saint) and Otis, the soft-spoken, thin-skinned pet shop clerk with a criminal record and an acoustic guitar slung across his back.

Dave Matthews (yup, that Dave Matthews) plays the singing drifter, and to be honest, Dave's weird and subtle portrayal is the film's second best character -- I say second because it's hard to beat out a tail-wagging furball with big brown eyes and a mischievous, if digitally enhanced, grin.

The whole movie's set to a wildly appropriate soundtrack of female-voiced folk and alt-country tunes, including Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and The Be Good Tanyas, who penned the lovely, rustic "Opal's Blues" just for Because of Winn-Dixie. Nice touches like these don't go unnoticed.

The Wayne Wang-directed movie's based on the Newbury-winning Kate DiCamillo book by the same name.

Wang's known for more "serious" stuff like Smoke and The Joy Luck Club, so that's probably why this film is tinged with such palpable sorrow and regret like the others.

It's temping to label Because of Winn-Dixie a "kiddie flick," as my viewing partner so succinctly did on our way to the theater. But after it was all over -- after the story of a lonesome, motherless daughter winning over her dilapidated Southern town unfolded -- that same quick-to-judge dude admitted there were some tear-jerking moments and enough irreverent humor to validate his $5 ticket.

Now, he may not have cried, but I dabbed at my eyes at least four or five times. If you call your dog your "baby" and relate to feeding him peanut butter and spiking his hair into a Mohawk mid-bath, you might find Because of Winn-Dixie more moving than even that last hour of Thon.

And if your dog happens to look like Winn-Dixie (only way cuter), you might find yourself bawling, as well as turning to your neighbor and fervently whispering, "My dog hates thunder storms, too."

Because of Winn-Dixie is strong enough to entertain any theater-goer, even those weird cat people, but this film's truly destined to touch the hearts of all us obsessive dog aficionadas sick of boys having all the fun.