Dog gone good---Woof woof

Move over Old Yeller, Where the red fern grows and Stone Fox, a new story has entered the shelves that will strike a chord in the hearts of dog lovers of all ages.  I knew I was going to like this book as soon as I read the quotation on the dedication page--All animals dream but only dogs dream of us.
Berkeley Breathed well know cartoonist of the Pulitzer Prize winning Bloom Country, in writing his first novel, Flawed dogs: the novel: the shocking raid on Westminster, touches upon the darker side of the dog world but never falters from his ultimate goal-our dogs love unconditionally.
Sam the Lion, a dachshund of rare and well bred qualities, through no fault of his own but that of the evil jealous poodle, Cassius, endures three years of being in a research lab (which luckily no details are supplied), to The National Last-Ditch Dog Depository, to being hit by a pick-up truck and finding himself facing a killer bull dog in a fight arena. 
It is at that moment surrounded by a wooden fence, scarred, scared, with a soup ladle for one of his legs, that he sees his purpose--a poster with a picture of Cassius which announces the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden.  With the help of his trusty canine commandos from The National Last-Ditch Dog Depository who are flawed in ways that can only help, Sam must pay Cassius back for taking away what he treasures most--Heidy  McCloud, a young heiress in need of love just as much as he is.
Breathed's black and white and colored illustrations throughout this story compliment the quirky adventures, laughter and tears, and an ending which will leave you believing in miracles. 

Highly recommended.  If reading this aloud in your classroom you will be able to hear a pin drop.   Now I'm going to go and hug Xena again.