Fetching Dylan

April 20, 2009
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.

May 15, 2009
In Walking Ollie (2006), Foster introduced us to the troubled (and troublesome) Ollie, a saluki/greyhound cross with numerous emotional issues. Ollie, who had been afraid of everything, including the author, was beginning to act fed up, bored, and full of ennui, so the author decided that what he needed was a playmate. Enter Dylan, the saluki pup. Ollie was at first not impressedand thumped Dylan repeatedly to show itbut Dylan won Ollie over by sheer persistence and a high pain threshold. In this laugh-out-loud memoir, we are treated to Dylan hitching onto the docked tail of his Doberman friend for a tow, chasing rabbits and squirrels until he comes down from his coursing high, and chirruping, singing, and wailing when riding in the car, when he finds himself on the wrong side of a door, or when confronting a deadly kite. Full of wry, deadpan humor, the story of Ollie and little brother Dylan, along with their human and canine mates, will leave readers begging for more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)