Fetching Dylan: A True Tale of Canine Domestication in Leaps and Bounds

by Stephen Foster

Overview

Skittish man meets skittish dog- again-in the hilarious and heartwarming sequel to the acclaimed Walking Ollie.

Just when he thought it was safe to walk in the park again, novelist and reluctant dog owner Stephen Foster had the crazy notion that skittish-but-now-functioning puppy Ollie (introduced in Foster's Walking Ollie) could use a playmate. Enter Dylan, another quirky pup with a thing against humans. This delightful and witty story is a treat for dog lovers, fans of literate British humor, and anyone who can relate to the neurotic misanthrope at the end of a difficult dog's leash.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399535116
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/02/2009
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stephen Foster is a MacMillan PEN shortlisted story writer and novelist, and the author of several books of nonfiction including Walking Ollie and Fetching Dylan, both of which appeared on the London Sunday Times bestseller list. He lives in Norwich, England, with his partner and fellow writer Trezza Azzopardi, and their lurcher puppy Dylan.

Editorial Reviews

English novelist Foster (and his intractable dog, Ollie) report on their further misadventures in this sequel to Walking Ollie. Ollie has become more manageable, but his continuing aloofness and general misanthropy-he "models himself on Howard Hughes"-lead Foster and his partner, Trezza, to adopt a Saluki named Dylan. The process is anything but smooth: Ollie ignores the new puppy, and Dylan brings his own series of neurosis: he is obsessed with chewing chairs, eating car headrests, rolling in fox excrement and disappearing into the woods to chase rabbits and squirrels. Foster introduces readers to a cast of strange and wonderful characters-both human and canine-and details myriad comic and calamitous anecdotes: Ollie's sudden aggression toward other dogs, Dylan's numerous vanishing acts, the purchase and deployment of Ollie's muzzle and how the two dogs finally forge an affecting brotherhood. Among the humorous high points, the book also strikes more sober chords, allowing for a fully rounded depiction of how heartrending, frequently frustrating and blissful it is to share one's life with a dog. (June)

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