“My Life in Dog Years” by Gary Paulsen
Book Review
“My Life in Dog Years” is a book about a man named Gary and many of the incredible dogs he has rescued throughout his life. Each chapter is dedicated to the special memories he has for each of his “best friends”.
My favorite story was about a dog named “Josh”, a Border Collie with a black-and-white shiny coat. Josh was very smart and seemed to think like a person. He liked to herd people as well as animals! He was still living out his 18 years at the side of the author as he finished writing this book.
The toughest dog was a mix of just about everything and Gary named him “Dirk”, after a tough guy he saw in a movie. Gary first met Dirk when he was a young man being chased in an alley by bullies. Gary had climbed down a fire escape and heard a mean growl. He was carrying his dinner, so he threw half of his hamburger towards the noise and ran. The bullies caught up with him and, just as they were about to beat him up, Dirk bit the biggest bully and they all ran off. After that day, Dirk followed Gary everywhere they went, although he walked about five feet behind him, and Gary was never bullied again.
The funniest dog was an enormous Great Dane named “Caesar” who was as big as a car! He would play “get the kitty” in the house when Gary’s wife was gone, knocking over furniture and anything in his path. One morning, Gary took him out and, all of a sudden, the kitty ran past! Caesar dragged Gary through his neighbor’s yard and down the street and halfway through town trying to “get the kitty” when Gary realized that he was still in his robe and underwear!
Caesar also had a lack of control around hot dogs. Once, he broke out of a parked car he was in, and hovered over a little, tiny girl holding a hot dog. As Gary watched from far away, fearing the little girls entire arm would be slobbered, Caesar delicately took the hot dog and moved on to the next person. From that moment on, Caesar was loved by the entire neighborhood.
Some of these stories will warm your heart and make you laugh, while others might make you cry with joy or sadness. Either way, you will want to read this book over and over again.
Here is a poster I made to go a long with this book report.
My Life in Dog Years Poster