Buster

I didn’t realize how short this book was until I held it in my hands. I suppose it was noted in the online summary that it’s a novella, and I just didn’t notice. That would have been okay, except the writing style and some of the content just didn’t work for me. It’s the story of a dog’s life, a boxer. He’s born into a family in D.C., plays with his siblings, learns human language from the people around him and watching television. So from the very beginning in the book, the dog was discussing human concerns and what they did as if he easily understood everything. (Far beyond what I think even a very intelligent dog would grasp). It reminded me a lot of Black Beauty, albeit a lot briefer, rough-around-the-edges and of course, a modern setting- as the dog goes through so many different hands, before finally ending up in a loving home. His first home, where his mother lives, is with a poor family. The mother can barely feed all the kids well, let alone the dogs. A man who comes to the apartment to do some work sees the dogs and immediately cajols the owner into giving him a puppy. So Buster goes to a new home. Here he’s purportedly the son’s pet, but really there as a status symbol for the owner, and because he hopes to make money breeding him. The dog is beaten for wrongdoing, corrected with a pinch collar, and often left tied out in the yard. Eventually the owner gets reported and Buster is taken by animal control officers, but he busts loose and runs free before they reach the shelter. He knows and fears what that is, from having heard people (and his mother) mentioning it. Runs around on the streets for several days, hungry and getting sick from eating garbage. Then he’s taken in by an old man who just lost his beloved elderly dog. Soon it’s apparent the old man can’t take care of him properly, and gives him to his grown son. This man treats him decently, but makes his living as a drug dealer. When he’s caught by law enforcement, the dog ends up in a shelter for real this time. His owner eventually gets freed from jail and comes for the dog, who thinks that life is good again. But that man’s mode of living isn’t stable, more bad things happen, the dog finds himself at loose ends and runs on the streets again. This time he’s picked up by someone who finds him wandering in a park. He’s taken him by a very nice family, and all is good at last. The end.

I received my copy from LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, in exchange for an honest review.