If you’re the kind of person who thinks dogs are just OK — you’re not allergic to them and you’ve never had a traumatic confrontation with one on the sidewalk — you’ll probably find yourself vaguely charmed by the family film “Because of Winn-Dixie.”

But if you’re a dog person — wow. Forget it. Bring Kleenex. You’ll be a blubbering puddle within the first 10, 15 minutes or so. And several more times after that.

(Note to readers: This review is being written by the proud human companion of two Boston terriers, someone who TiVos the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. So, you know, keep that in mind as you continue.)

Is “Winn-Dixie” an instant classic, right up there with “Lassie Come Home” and “My Dog Skip”? Probably not. It’s both a bit too long and a bit too facile. And despite her bright eyes and sunny disposition, the film’s young star, AnnaSophia Robb, hasn’t quite developed the emotional depth to carry some of the more dramatic scenes.

But it is undeniably touching and totally appropriate for the entire family, with its themes of unexpected friendship and unconditional love.

That’s what 10-year-old Opal (Robb) experiences when she inadvertently adopts a mixed-breed dog (we wouldn’t want to call him a mutt; that’s so rude) whom she names Winn-Dixie, after the grocery store where she finds him.

It’s a very “Annie” moment: Opal has gone to the market to buy a few things and finds the stray dog wreaking havoc in the produce section. When the manager threatens to have the big, scruffy pup hauled off to the pound, Opal cries out, “That’s my dog!” then proceeds to name him on the spot — and naturally, he comes right to her when she calls.

The little, blond tomboy is desperate for a friend — it’s summer and she’s just moved with her preacher father (Jeff Daniels) to this small Florida town. (Director Wayne Wang vividly evokes the long, slow simmer of a Southern summer.) Opal’s mother left her when she was 3, which her father refuses to discuss. This is a girl who plays baseball by herself, functioning as pitcher, runner, catcher and umpire — it’s that bad.

Opal (AnnaSophia Robb) and Winn-Dixie prepare to transform a sad Southern town in Because

Winn-Dixie becomes her buddy, playmate, confidant and more: He helps her make other friends around town, disparate people who were lonely, too, and didn’t know how to reach out to anyone.

“I didn’t find him. He found me,” she explains in one of the film’s many voiceovers. “Winn-Dixie was a dog who knew how to be a friend.”

Among the people he introduces Opal to in the formidable, eclectic cast are Eva Marie Saint as the shy, withering librarian; Cicely Tyson as a nearly blind woman named Gloria Dump, whom all the kids in town assume is a witch because she lives alone in a dark, rambling house; and singer Dave Matthews as a drifter who runs the pet store where Opal helps out.

(Matthews lets all the birds and piggies and ducks out of their cages, then sits on the ground and plays the acoustic guitar and sings for them. It’s as if an episode of “MTV Unplugged” were being shot in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe.)

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There is, of course, the obligatory threat that Winn-Dixie will be taken away from Opal or that he’ll dash off on his own. Rest assured that nothing truly horrible ever happens. (Joan Singleton’s script is based on the children’s book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo.) In the Wang filmography, this is closer to the sentimental “Anywhere But Here” than, say, the erotic “The Center of the World.”

One look at Winn-Dixie’s furry face — and as they say in the movie’s ads, it really does look as if the dog is smiling — tells you exactly what you’re getting leashed into. And you won’t mind sitting and staying.