I grew up reading those magnificent dog stories by Jack London, Jim Kjelgaard, Fred Gipson, Sheila Burnford, Armstrong Sperry, and Eric Knight – legendary dogs like Big Red, Savage Sam, Old Yeller, Uri, Buck, Lassie, and Lad.
These were dogs any kid would be proud to roam with. They’d fight bears, wolves, and the wilderness to protect their people. The wonderful Labrador and bull terrier in The Incredible Journey crossed the vast Canadian forest to be reunited with their loved ones. Lassie rescued a basket of kittens from a burning barn. Uri in Call It Courage boarded an outrigger and traveled halfway across the Pacific with his boy. Heck, Superman’s dog Krypto managed to save the entire Earth when it was shrunk to the size of a Cocoa Puff.
All of these dogs had deep wells of common sense, an innate understanding of behavior, and jaw-dropping courage.
But they’re not real, are they? None of those exemplary canines displayed the essential goofiness – or barely contained exuberance for life’s everyday surprises and delights – that’s a dog’s birthright.
Henry Ward Beecher got it right nearly 200 years ago when he wrote, “The dog is the god of frolic.” We forget: dogs don’t just play – they embody play. They’re joy in motion, the antidote to our tendency to overthink everything.
That’s why I shivered with delight when my friends Deena Bouknight (Laurel’s Deena!) and Dan Finnerty penned Dog Days with Dingo: A True Travel Tail, a snappy travelogue narrated by their irrepressible canine companion, Dingo.
Over months, Deena, Dan, and Dingo made their way through the majestic, tilted terrain of western Colorado and the dusty national and state parks of eastern Utah and central Nevada. This is territory rich in natural beauty and, for a canine like Dingo, almost overwhelming in delights: a rushing mountain stream; the sudden appearance of a stealthy cougar; snow popping up in the strangest places; and encounters with giant rabbits.
And it’s all recounted in Dingo’s exuberant voice:
“As soon as I got to the sand at the base of the dunes, I tugged on my leash. My Traveling Friends unleashed me, and I kind of went bonkers! I ran, spun, dug, flipped, and rolled. The sand at the base of the dunes was spread out like a long desert – a sand-loving dog’s paradise. I enjoy snow more, of course, but sand runs a close second.”
You can bet Lassie never experienced that level of doggy joy!
Dog Days with Dingo: A True Travel Tail is a slender book laced with photos of Dingo (and his TFs) on their Western adventure. It can be read by a child looking for a true-life adventure or by any adult who’s shared life with a Good Dog.
If you know a child or an adult who could use a good frolic, look for Dog Days with Dingo on Amazon or visit deenabouknightwriting.com.
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