A Dog on His Own

by Mary Jane Auch

I was looking for some light reads, gathering up a handful of J fiction titles that have been on my TBR list for some time. Saw this one just sitting on the library shelf. It's aimed at a young audience- eight to ten-year-olds- but was a nice surprise. I found it a quick, enjoyable read and a pretty good story.

K-10 the dog has had a string of different owners and been in and out of animal shelters several times. He thinks he knows the ropes and is done with humans. He wants to make it on his own and enjoy the freedom of street life. After escaping from his latest encounter with animal control people, he is on the run with a few canine pals. But finds out that his street smarts don't quite cut it, and moreover he needs to learn how to choose his friends. After a series of adventures and mishaps, K-10 figures out who his true friends are, that it's okay to admit you need others, and humans might not be so bad after all. It's a well-told story with believable characters- the animal voices work in this case. It has funny parts, some touching and sad moments, and a lot of good lessons on friendship, loyalty and reserving judgement until you actually know someone. There was only one moment where I frowned at a too-convenient plot device, otherwise pretty darn good.

Rating: 3/5          153 pages, 2008