 |
Genre: Memoir Main characters: Kopek the dog and his owners Phil and Ronnie Time and place: contemporary UK Summary: Both Phil and his wife have always been animals lovers and owners. When they move into a new house they decide it’s pretty empty without a dog so they get one, despite their already having two rabbits. They don’t stop here either, later on they get another rabit, a cat and a Guinea pig. In the author’s own words, “It was starting to feel like the ark“. Unfortunately their dog died of old age and, missing a dog in their lives, they get another one, this time a puppy. Enters Kopek, and the couple’s quiet life will never be the same again. The book narrates the joys and troubles of living with a boundlessly energetic paper-lowing pillow-chewing dog (up until he’s about 18 months old, his age at the time the book has been written). |
Kopek is a British Inuit, quite a large dog, playful and, despite his antics, with quite a friendly temperament. I was amused by him, of course, but I was even more interested in his “parents”. What can I say, I love animals, so I am kinda subjective when it comes to them. Which means I was bound to like the couple in the book — the author and his wife, Ronnie. I have absolutely loved them actually. They were both dedicated animals lovers and could hardly say no to an animal in need of a home (and lucky for them they did have a home large enough for that). They both appreciated all their pets and felt gratitude for the time they got to spend together — their feelings for their dog Tim after he passed away almost made me cry. Another thing I liked very much about them was that their love for animals was unbounded, completely disregarding the race (given that they had rabits, a guinea pig, a cat, a dog, almost ended up buying a goat once) — just my kind of people, as I never could understand the whole “I’m a dog person but I hate cats” thing, in my mind one either cares about all furry creatures or doesn’t, nothing in between. Oh, and they love to read! Need I say more? :)
Speaking of the author, the moment when he went to the pet store and bought a rabbit simply because it “was all on his own, with no friends to play with or keep him company” melted my heart (I know just the feeling, I have it too every now and then when I see a sad-looking pet at a pet store). Same goes for the way he got his cat, Gucci. So “aaaaaaw” :)
The book is subtitled “Causes of Indigestion for a Wolfy Puppy“, and once I started it it drew me in and had a hard time putting it down. I actually read the first a hundred-odd pages in one sitting. Here and there there are a few pictures of Kopek in various stages of his life, plus lots of events I was amused by and related to at once. Such as, for example, the first nights spent by Kopek in his new house, his howling and his owners’ desperation (but also their not wanting to give in and go to him because he might get the idea that howling will get him things). That is precisely what happened with me and my cat, and still happens every now and then actually — of course my cat is not howling but meowing loudly. Also, I was amused to find out that Kopek’s name means “dog” in Turkish — I was always fond of this quirky way of naming animals (to this day I own an old plush horse whose name is “Horse” :P )
What I liked most: I absolutely loved Ronnie’s imagination :)
Ronnie has made up for her rabbits’ lack of personality by inventing a fantasy life along with a language for her rodents. [...] In her mind, when she was out at work, she could quite happily picture her rabbits playing poker, watching the television and getting up to all sorts of mischievous things.
Not to mention the Rodent Council (“an imaginary group of animals that looked after the interests of all rodents, and according to Ronnie, they also enforced rodent law“), plus all the references to animal personalities all throughout the book (such as when Tim the dog chewed off the years of Joey the wooden rabbit the author muses that perhaps “Joey was a better poker player than him [Tim], and after losing a whole week supply of Bonios, he [Tim] took it out on his years“), and more.
There are no words to say how charmed I was by all this :)
What I liked least: The book is self published and at times it shows in the odd turns of phrase (i.e. “The other dog was fairly large, which we since learned was called Missy“), sort of understandable since the author did not have the privilege of an experienced editor. Nevertheless, these bits do not detract very much from the overall funny (and at times fuzzy) feeling of the book.
Recommend it? If you are a dog lover then it’s a must read. Even if you’re not the book is pretty funny at times plus a fast read, and I have enjoyed it despite my being a cat person (which isn’t to say I don’t like dogs, I just like cats more :) ).
See also
The author’s site (including a blog and publishing advice)
Flickr set with more pictures of Kopek (including his 1-year birthday cake I was a bit curious about :) )
Amazon Affiliate. If you click an Amazon link and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.
Popularity: 6% [?]
