A story of a great dog wrapped in a mystery

“Dogs make human civilization possible. Their social dexterity allows them to fit seamlessly into human society. They heighten the joy of human play yet dampen human aggressiveness. Their physical abilities amplify human power yet constrain unwarranted human destruction.” ― Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods, “The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think”

People who are dog lovers will not need to be convinced of these assertions. Over thousands of post-domestication years, dogs have adapted their social intelligence to integrate smoothly into human life in a way that enhances our lives and society overall.

Writing this novel was a joyous exercise of creating a compelling mystery – the likes of which you probably haven’t read before. My hope is that it will entertain you, challenge you and make you laugh from time to time. But it is also intended as a tribute to my now 10-year-old dog, Skipper. It’s a story about a great dog (and how wonderful our pet dogs are in general) wrapped in a mystery.

I’ve been around many dogs in my life, but Skipper is by far the most intelligent and emotionally attuned of any of them. The photo above is my all-time favorite of Skipper and me. You’ll learn a lot about him, as much of what you will read portrays him accurately.

A very brief history: When my wife and I lived in Whitehouse, Texas, we adopted Skipper at three months old as a rescue from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of East Texas. We learned that he had been recovered from a home in which he and his litter-mates were discovered closed in a cabinet. One of the other pups in the litter had a noticeable bump on the head which we were told might have resulted from some sort of physical abuse.

Skipper didn’t have any signs like that, but to this day he still is afraid of loud noises and raised voices – even when it’s people just trying to emphasize a discussion point, and not involved in an argument.

I hope you’ll also gain new perspectives from this beloved four-legged protagonist and his favorite humans on what truly matters most in life. For instance, Skipper’s uncanny emotional intelligence and capacity for compassion provide a model of unconditional love. And his perseverance in confronting adversity shows that one’s past need not define one’s future.

Enjoy this journey of mystery, laughter and courage!