The day my dad said Mister Mosely was ‘just a dog’, my mum punched him.
Not a punch like the one Dad gave Uncle Gavin that that time when Uncle Gavin’s tooth came out and there was all the blood and everything. But not a girl punch or a mucking-around punch either/ Mum really meant it. You could tell by the way she scrunched her face right up and made her eyes go small.
‘Don’t you say that! Don’t you dare say that!’
Misster Mosely is special. He doesn’t have a pedigree, but he is just the right dog for Corey and his family and, from the time Corey chooses him from a litter of his Uncle Gavin’s dog’s puppies, he becomes part of the family. He is loyal and funny and, from time to time, downright silly. Every member of the family – Mum, Dad, Corey, his little sister Amelia and even new baby Grace – has a special bond with Mister Mosely. And sometimes it seems that it is Mister Mosely who holds the whole family together.
Just a Dog is a delightful tale of one dog and his family. On the surface it is a collection of stories from different phases of his life, but it is also the story of a family going through the highs and lows of family life. As Corey watches his parents’ struggle, and wonders whether life will ever be the same again, he has the constant presence of Mister Mosely as a comforting force.
From award-winning author Michael Gerard Bauer, Just a Dog is suitable for middle and upper primary aged readers.
Wonderful.
Just a Dog, by Michael Gerard Bauer
Omnibus, 2010
ISBN 9781862918870
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