Pants, Trips, and Automobiles: A Dog About Town

Hi!

     This is the life! Days like these make me happy happy HAPPY to be a dog. Today Allison and Rachel took me on another adventure in the car. I don't understand it, but Rachel turned on something called the "air conditioning" - and cold air blew at me from all sides! I stayed on Allison's lap until we stopped for a little while. Rachel got out of the car and stuck what looked like a snake in a hole in the car.


      "Gas," Allison explained. "The car needs gas for food."
    
      Gas? How strange. I've heard that word before, mainly when my tummy is a bit upset and my humans say things like "silent but deadly" and "cute smelly puppy." Cars are strange animals I guess. Also, the car has a big wheel that my humans use to tell the car where to go; with Rachel outside, I hopped into her spot and decided to give it a try.


       "Woof," I muttered under my breath. Go on, Car. Take me to somewhere that has bacon-flavored cookies and no gates.


      The silly thing just sat there. Fine, I thought. At least I have a good view of everything from up on this wheel.

Hmmm...how does it work?

Rachel was laughing at my attempts to make the car go. Like her hat?

     After that my humans took me to meet more of their human and animal friends. Ana, Aurora, and their mama fussed over me and lent me a couple of toys to play with. Not so long ago two dogs named George and Pepper lived with them, but now both of them are in Doggy Heaven. That's what Allison says.This family was so nice that my tail was going happy-wild!

Ana and I have an outside snuggle!

     I also got to meet Fritz, a cat (who unkindly puffed up to a scary size when I barked a play-challenge at him), some chickens (the rooster made a funny jump when I leaped toward him to say hi), and some BIG beasts Allison calls "horses." I got along with Corey the horse the best, bouncing up on my hind legs to sniff hello. 

Hi Corey the Horse!

Bounce! Got to sniff, got to say hi!

     In between I chased a few bugs, watched Ana and my humans drink something called tea, snuggled up to Ana and Aurora's mama, and explored. To my my surprise, the adventure wasn't over! After saying good-byes (good-bye for now, that is), my humans brought me to The LIBRARY. Know what's in The LIBRARY? BOOKS!


    Because of another silly rule, dogs aren't allowed inside The Library, but I wandered around with Rachel while Allison went to find us some more fun books to read. I even got to see Cristina (Jacob-Baby's mama and one of Jesse's humans). She's always ready to give me a good pet! 


   Now I am, as my humans put it, "zonka-puppy." Very tired from my wonderful day. But of course never too tired for a story. This one may just turn out to be one of my favorites...its hero is almost as adventurous as I am! 

In The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Sal and Debra Barracca, illustrated by Mark Buehner, a dog named Maxi tells his own story in rhyme. I loved this book! Maxi is a stray before Jim the taxi driver (he rides in a special kind of car and helps people get to places) rescues him. I never had to roam around the streets avoiding the dog catcher, but I was rescued just like Maxi! Thank goodness for humans like Jim and my family! Never too late to help an animal in need - we appreciate it! Woof!

Throughout the rest of the story, Maxi has adventures with Jim in the taxi. From clowns and opera singers to airplanes and hotdogs, Maxi encounters a lot of interesting things! Most of all though, this story is about friendship and teamwork between a dog and his human. Friends are important - otherwise who would you go on adventures with? Who would help you when you're sad and lonely? A pup needs friends in life!

Two paws up and a tail-wag for this book! Allison adds that the attention to detail, the vibrant colors of the illustrations, and the keen-eyed portrayal of life in a big city like New York make this a winner. Featured as a Reading Rainbow pick, The Adventures of Taxi Dog will have the human-pups laughing and barking praise for hero Maxi. Be sure to check out Maxi's other adventures: Maxi, the Hero and Maxi, the Star.  

Allison says I should also post some of my pictures from the Art Festival this weekend. Libraries, art, horses, tea, cars, roosters, gas! What a whirl of new things to dream about! So I'll let her put the pictures up if she feels like it. Off to snuggle up with my squeaky duck - right after I give my humans a last kiss to show how much their friendship means to me.

               Yours in Friendship and Exploring,
Sam I Am