Star - An Irish Wolfhound (1959)

Star - An Irish Wolfhound
Janet Rogers Howe
1959, The Westminster Press

"Remember 'way back last summer Pop promised me I could have a big dog if Dr. Bob should get a stray that isn't claimed or one somebody wants to find a home for. I don't care what kind it is as long as it's really huge"

Pete's humorless obsession is rewarded with an Irish Wolfhound through the usual auspices of children's book coincidence. Dr. Bob, the local vet, delivers an unwanted runt from a nearby kennel's prize litter, so choosy little Pete gets his wish for The Very Biggest Dog There Is. Unfortunately for the size-preoccupied boy, the kennel's owned by the mother of a disagreeable classmate, Chuck, who also ends up with a puppy from that litter. And his puppy, a male, is larger. Poor Pete!

... ten energetic young wolfhounds raced and wrestled together. One, a light honey-tan, was taller, longer and more mature-looking than the others. That was Gellert. Pete realized, with a real twinge of regret, that he was bigger than Star.

Pete and his best buddy, Bill, are annoyed by the arrogant and prickly Chuck, who wouldn't be their pal even if he didn't own a larger dog than Pete's. But Dr. Bob wisely sees that the problem is Chuck's overbearing mother, and encourages the boys to bond. Over their wolfhounds.

The writing is fine, the action smooth if not wonderful, and the overall quality is better than average. But there are just a few too many aggravating things. The yawningly familiar plot that a controlling mother is ruining her son, the insistence on reminding us at every turn that these are wolfhounds (she never calls them dogs), the female friend who gets backburnered consistently so that the effect is of an author trying to eliminate every female presence in the book - Pete's mother is dead, Bill's is never seen, Chuck's is an ogre, and Pete's aunt is a crank. The awkwardness of the author trying to have her hunter plot and eat it too by having a father quickly comment that a near-tragic shooting was a natural mistake on the part of a hunter. God forbid she criticize a hunter.


Other Books
Curly (1956)
Benjamin Big (1958, Saint Bernard dog)
The Mystery Of The Marmalade Cat (1969)
The Secret Of Castle Balou (1967)
Thunder And Jerry (1949, horse?)
Trinket (1961, Shetland pony)
Samuel Small's Secret Society (1960)

Going On Sixteen
Betty Cavanna, il. unknown
19__, The Westminster Press

Julie's an awkward, shy 13-year-old agonizing over her unpopularity when she's given three orphaned collie puppies to raise. Her father, long widowed, is a gruff farmer but the puppies are all the comfort a motherless girl could want after a hard day in the freshman class. As Julie sorts out her social problems, the puppies grow to leggy adolescence and are reclaimed by their owner, a famous breeder who'd left them with the farmer to grow up. But by now, Julie loves one of the puppies, Sonny - and as the breeder and his show handler will find out, Sonny loves her.

Deliriously he flung himself on Julie - barking, writhing, panting. She stumbled back from the force with which he hurled himself against her. He was a vibrant mass of ectasy, trying to lick her face, moaning and sobbing with joy.

and the comment by the breeder's kennel man:

I've seen 'em like that. All fire and flame for one person. For the rest, nothing.

There is the continuing story of Julie's struggle with self-consciousness and making friends, which is worthy in its own right, but the heart of the story is right there.

Nice if simple drawings for illustrations - can't find the illustrator.

Setting
suburban Philadelphia

Themes
Show dog
Shy girl

Other Books by Author
Puppy Stakes
The Black Spaniel Mystery

About the Author
1909–2001
Also wrote as Betsy Allen and Elizabeth Headley


Other Editions

Lad, A Dog
Albert Payson Terhune
1919, E.P. Dutton

Lad was an eighty-pound collie, thoroughbred in spirit as well as blood. He had the benign dignity that was a heritage from endless generations of high-strain ancestors. He had, too, the gay courage of a d'Artagnan, and an uncanny wisdom. Also - who could doubt it, after a look into his mournful brown eyes - he had a Soul.

Having thrilled to that typical Terhune introduction, I have to plunge into the negatives first. This book - this whole series - is old. Very old. By today's standards, the Master is abusive to his adored dogs. He uses a 'dog whip' on Lady and Lad in the first chapter. He's also abusive toward other people. He lets Lad, slumped miserably on guard at the Mistress's sick bed, snarl at the nurse every time she passes. He relentlessly lectures anyone who objects to being constantly supervised by an 80lb dog with a mild case of resentment toward outsiders that Lad is a perfect gentleman. He seems to see no contradiction in this view of the dog, and his many tales of Lad trying to kill people - not just bite, but actually rip their throats out.

In one of the many jolly recollections of Lad's defense of The Place, the collie, having bitten and driven off a would-be burglar, pursues the man. As the Master arrives on the scene:

On the ground below, stunned by striking against a stone jardiniere in his fall, the burglar sprawled senseless upon his back. Above him was Lad, his searching teeth at last having found their coveted throat-hold. Steadily, the great dog was grinding his way through toward the jugular.

These 'boy's own adventure' meets Hemingway action scenes are thrilling. I saw nothing wrong with them as a child. As an adult, I'm forced to admit that Terhune was a jerk, and his dogs were scary.

Now for the good. Terhune's ruthless description of breeding trends, voiced by a show-ring expert in "For A Bit Of Ribbon," rings true:

"The up-to-date collie - this year's style, at least - is bred with a borzoi (wolfhound) head and with graceful, small bones. What's the use of his having brain and scenting power? He's used for exhibition or kept as a pet nowadays - not to herd sheep. Long nose, narrow head.."

Lad's Lassie Come Home-style travails lost in New York City are wildly over the top (though they seemed absolutely real and perfectly acceptable when I was a child who just loved to read dog books) but the chapter "Lost!" contains a passionate cry of compassion at the plight of a lost dog.

A dog, at some turn in the street, misses his master - doubles back to where the human demigod was last seen - darts ahead once more to find him, through the press of other human folk - halts, hesitates, begins the same maneuvers all over again; then stands, shaking in panic at his utter aloneness.

But it is in "The Gold Hat" that Terhune presents a scene that encapsulates the unique bond between dogs and humans. The Mistress is trying to get Lad to go through an intricate set of maneuvers generally known only to trained sheepdogs. The willing collie, utterly puzzled, does his best to obey her.

Her pointing hand waved him ahead and, as before, he follower its guidance. Walking heavily, his brain more and more befogged, Lad obeyed... Head and tail down, he went. But, as he passed the third of those silly posts, she recalled him. Gleeful to know he was no longer in disgrace, he galloped toward the Mistress; only to be halted again...Utterly bewildered at his usually moodless Mistress' crazy mood and spurred by the sharp reprimand in her voice, Lad moved away at a crestfallen walk. Four times he stopped and looked back at her, in piteous appeal, asking forgiveness of the unknown fault for which she was ordering him away; but always he was met by the same fierce "Go on!"

What other animal has both the intelligence and the patience to attempt the incomprehensible with us? Lad, of course, completes the course and wins the day.

Editions
Anniversary edition illustrated by Sam Savitt (pictured)

Dogs and other animals
Lad - sable and white Rough Collie
Lady - gold and white Rough Collie
Wolf - gold and white Rough Collie
Knave - red/gold Rough Collie with black 'saddle'
Ch. Coldstream Guard - gold and white Rough Collie
Melisande - Prussian Sheep Dog (maybe)
Ch. Lochnivar III - blue merle Rough Collie
Mac - gold and white Rough Collie
Rex - mixed breed of Rough Collie and bull terrier
Peter Grimm - cat
Tipperary - gray Persian cat
Tenebris - Holstein bull

Other Books by Author
Lad, A Dog
Lad Of Sunnybank
Wolf
Further Adventures of Lad
My Friend The Dog
Buff, A Collie
The Critter - And Other Dogs
A Dog Named Chips
A Highland Collie
Gray Dawn
Lochinvar Luck
Treve
The Way Of A Dog
Dog Of The High Sierras
Collie To The Rescue

Other editions:
Paperback, Signet