Flawed Dogs: The Novel
The Shocking Raid on Westminster
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Bloom County and Opus delivers a humorous and heartwarming illustrated novel for kids and dog-lovers of any age!
"Breathed, through words and lush illustrations, tells a story that will charm many readers."--The New York Times
Sam the Lion is actually a priceless dachshund, bred to be a show dog. More important, he is Heidy's best friend and she needs one like never before. Living with her reclusive uncle is hard, but Sam has a way of making her feel soft and whole. Until the day Sam is framed by the jealous poodle Cassius, and is cast out by Heidy's uncle, alone on the wild streets, where he is roughed up by a world he was not bred for. Sporting a soup ladle for a leg, Sam befriends other abandoned dogs and journeys all the way to the Westminster Dog Show, where his plan for revenge on Cassius takes an unexpected turn when he and Heidy spot each other after years of being apart.
Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Berkeley Breathed's first illustrated novel is a heartwarming and humorous ode to the unconditional and lasting love we and our pets share.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this outwardly glib paper-over-board catalogue of homeless dogs, Breathed (Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big) comments on people's mistreatment of animals. Trouble is, Breathed's flippant satire and visual hyperbole make an odd fit with his devotion to a worthy cause the book may be best suited to adult dog lovers. According to the introduction, Piddleton, Vt., "Pop. 327 (People: 243)," is home to activist Heidy Str delberg, who once named a "shivering three-legged streetdog" best in show at Westminster and then founded the Last Chance Dog Pound, to give "the doomed and most desperate... a final try at getting adopted into a world that worships perfection." But that's all in the fine print. To a casual browser, the book is a rogue's gallery of unlovely pets. Barney, a tattooed hound, sits sadly at the grave of his departed owner, "Leo 'Nardo' Davinski, 1922 2003, Tattooer to the Angels Now." Pepe, a cross-eyed Chihuahua, thinks he's as handsome as Richard Gere. Other charmers are flatulent or stick their heads up their owner's nostrils. Every spread includes a full-page color portrait, opposite which is a black-and-white mug shot picturing the lonely animal in a gray cement cell. The sentimental concluding image, a glowing Pi ta holding a bandaged dog, laments that "Some live without love.../ That's how they're flawed." Despite this pro-adoption plea, none of the unfortunates finds a home, and the vaunted Piddleton shelter (if indeed it is the one pictured) looks as lifeless as a tomb. All ages.
Customer Reviews
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Awesome! I almost cried!
Loved it
Very good book but it made me cry once or twice
Good book.
I like this book mostly because it's about dogs. It was a good book. The only thing I didn't like about it was that half of the whole book was a flashback and book doesnt really "start" until halfway through the book. But otherwise, it was a good.