Hey guys, Spanky here from Austin Pets Alive. Yep, that’s right, I’m a shelter dog in need of a good home. Know anyone who’d like a handsome young sprig of a dog that likes lap-time cuddles and kissies? I’m available! Anyhoo, my “big sister” asked me to stop by her funny little lady blog to say a few words about my new favorite book Flawed Dogs. I didn’t exactly read it on account of me being a dog and all, but she did give me the highlights and showed me all the hilarious illustrations by some hot-shot comic strip author.

It’s weird, I never met this Berkeley Breathed guy, but somehow it’s like he knows me and my kind at some higher level that humans couldn’t possibly grasp. Is it possible that he could be part dog? Let’s think about this for a moment. What is it with these artists? How come some people have this amazing ability to visualize things in their minds and put it all on paper so perfectly? Clearly this is not an easy task because my sissy can barely draw a sad little stick figure. Are these artists on some different cosmic plane? Could they be extraterrestrials? Whoa…all this deep thinking is making me dizzy.

Big sissy told me not to reveal any spoilers, but I can say that this book will take you on a dog’s heart-wrenching journey to his forever home. I can totally relate to Sam the Lion (the hero of the story) because I’ve been through the ringer too. There’s dog fighting, ugly fur-wearing humans and—worst of all—one evil poodle set on destroying Sam’s chance at happiness with the one human he truly loves. Although this looks like a fun book for the tiny humans, I think it’s more for grown ups who can understand Sam’s plight and take away a few deep thoughts about breed bias and the grim reality of shelter dogs.

Speaking of homeless mutts, this book’s full of them! They may be “flawed” but their so-called shortcomings come in handy when they join forces to take down the Westminster Dog Show. Who knew that a funny little dog with digestive issues could launch himself into the air—all through the almighty power of bad gas?! Me thinks that maybe it’s the flaws that make us unique and special—this goes for humans too! If you ask me, those pure-breds with their fancy papers are rather boring. Don’t even get me started on their owners. Why in the world would you want to spend an entire day primping a dog and prancing it around like a perfectly coifed robot? Humans are strange creatures.

But I digress. There’s so much about this book that my big sissy and I love so very very much. We were in awe of the love story of Sam the Lion and his little soul mate, who in some ways is like the human version of a shelter mutt. They were clearly meant to find each other, and I believe this will happen to me too some day…hopefully soon. Is it possible for dogs to imprint on humans? I’d like to think so. Even though Sam lost his way and was at the mercy of other humans—mostly the bad kind—he never let go of his unconditional love for little Heidi. Even when it looked like he found a new home, he never fully trusted his so-called benefactor. It’s like he knew that the man would ultimately betray him in the worst possible way. Even though what he did was despicable, this makes me think that sometimes people come into our lives for a reason. Whether they’re good or bad, they move us along in this strange journey called life.

I’ll stop prattling on to save you from spoilers–also because I have a peanut-butter kong waiting for me in my kennel!  I will say that this little book is going to stick with me and my sissy forever and always. We absolutely loved everything about it—even the really devastating parts. I was so worried about Sam the Lion, but I knew he would find his way back home. That’s because I’m a dog, and me and my kind are nothing if not hopeful. We know when we’re home. We know to have faith in our soul mates. And most importantly, we know that we were put on this earth to do one thing: Love.

I hope you loved my special guest post! Don’t forget to visit me at the shelter. Here’s my website!