Fetching Dylan: A True Tale of Canine Domestication in Leaps and Bounds by Stephen Foster

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Synopsis

Skittish man meets skittish dog- again-in the hilarious and heartwarming sequel to the acclaimed Walking Ollie.

Just when he thought it was safe to walk in the park again, novelist and reluctant dog owner Stephen Foster had the crazy notion that skittish-but-now-functioning puppy Ollie (introduced in Foster's Walking Ollie) could use a playmate. Enter Dylan, another quirky pup with a thing against humans. This delightful and witty story is a treat for dog lovers, fans of literate British humor, and anyone who can relate to the neurotic misanthrope at the end of a difficult dog's leash.

Publishers Weekly

English novelist Foster (and his intractable dog, Ollie) report on their further misadventures in this sequel to Walking Ollie. Ollie has become more manageable, but his continuing aloofness and general misanthropy-he "models himself on Howard Hughes"-lead Foster and his partner, Trezza, to adopt a Saluki named Dylan. The process is anything but smooth: Ollie ignores the new puppy, and Dylan brings his own series of neurosis: he is obsessed with chewing chairs, eating car headrests, rolling in fox excrement and disappearing into the woods to chase rabbits and squirrels. Foster introduces readers to a cast of strange and wonderful characters-both human and canine-and details myriad comic and calamitous anecdotes: Ollie's sudden aggression toward other dogs, Dylan's numerous vanishing acts, the purchase and deployment of Ollie's muzzle and how the two dogs finally forge an affecting brotherhood. Among the humorous high points, the book also strikes more sober chords, allowing for a fully rounded depiction of how heartrending, frequently frustrating and blissful it is to share one's life with a dog. (June)

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Biography

Stephen Foster is the author of the MacMillan PEN shortlisted story collection It Cracks Like Breaking Skin, and the novels Strides and Are You With Me?.