Adventure, Comedy, and Humor for Young Readers
Steve Sharp
March 08, 2009
The book describes the trials-and-tribulations of a lost little dog who leads a champion dogcatcher on a wild goose chase through Skyscraper City´s crowded streets…until she´s caught and thrown into the city pound with a wise-cracking German Shepherd named Burt, who she becomes friends with.
After Burt's adopted, the little dog's health worsens and she fears a confrontation with Dr. Doom.
But an unforgettable sequence of events changes the young dog's life forever.
"Wags and Gags with Hollywood Burt" can be purchased at amazon.com or www.fasthorsesfastmoney.com.
Excerpt from "Wags and Gags with Hollywood Burt"
Along the cold, crowded sidewalk the little black dog walked briskly, her nose low to the ground, legs churning like a little choo-choo train.
Strangers surrounded her. Tall strangers in grey and black suits. Strangers trying to get somewhere in a hurry.
"Hey, get outta´ my way, funny face," growled one grumpy guy in a fancy-schmancy pin-striped suit. "Watch where you´re going, OK mutt?"
No smiling faces. No friendly petting.
She was just a tiny black dot flowing with them, trying her doggiest to keep pace, tangled within a semi-dark forest of legs and swinging briefcases.
Glad I´m not claustrophobic, the dog thought. Or I´d be a little dogicidal by now.
The animal paused for a brief rest, but almost got trampled by shiny black shoes.
"Beat it, midget."
She wondered when the sidewalk would end. How long was it? Would it end in China? Would she meet a Chinese dog pretty soon? What do Chinese dogs smell like? Teriyaki sauce?
She´d been walking for so, so long…since Adam and Eve, it seemed…since the dinosaurs. And the sidewalk had no beginning, no ending.
Who created it? Did the city have a Department of Sidewalks? A Mayor of Sidewalks?
Nothing looked familiar to the little black dog—not the mile-high skyscrapers and gray-and-silver buildings that made her feel so small, the big storefront windows with TV sets and books and mannequins behind them, the yellow cars stopping and starting and honking all the time, or the red fire hydrants with mixed odors that made her nose vibrate.
Her tiny ears constantly twitched, turning this way and that with every stranger's voice, every sudden machine noise.
The one voice she knew, the one voice she loved, could not be heard. Perhaps would never be heard again.
She couldn´t avoid splashing through small puddles and potholes here and there, and now the dampness in her paws and mud-splattered coat was beginning to make her shiver.
Hungry, she envisioned her food bowl at home, with juicy chunks of sirloin piled higher than the Andes or the Pyramids.
Never had she walked so fast for so long…if the Olympic Organizing Committee decided to start a new event—The Walking Dogathon—she was sure she´d win the first canine gold medal.
"She´s walking into the stadium right now," the TV announcer would say. "Just look at the concentration on that little dog´s face. The muscles! What a champion!"
More than 100,000 people in the Olympic stadium would stand up and cheer the little black dog. She´d wear the gold medal around her neck. The other dogs in her old neighborhood would drool with jealousy.
She´d star in the movies, then build a luxurious 2-story doghouse with five rooms and a marble staircase and sleep on satin sheets in the middle of Beverly Hills, where all the fancy dogs—the poodles and the schmoodles—dined on caviar and shrimp.
She´d be so rich that she could hire humans to serve her.
"James, please bring me my bone, dahhhhlinnng."
But the mean streets of the city would not let the little black dog dream for long…
"Hey, you´re gonna get trampled out here, little buddy," a nice person said.
The busy strangers seemed to know where they were going, but she had only a faint picture of home in her mind. She had no idea of how to get there. No GPS. No maps. No cell phone.
Where should she turn? What scents should she follow? Was she even walking in the right direction?
She listened for a kind, friendly voice, but everyone walked very fast, staring straight ahead like zombies. Robots in business suits.
If only a kind person—just one kind person—would pick her up, pet her, and say, "Sweet little puppy, sweet girl. What are you doing all alone on these mean streets? Are you lost? Poor girl."
Product Details for "Wags and Gags with Hollywood Burt"
Paperback: 82 pages (chapter book)
Author: Steve and Lee Sharp
Keywords: Fiction, adventure, comedy, humor, inspirational, books for
young readers, chapter books, animal fiction, dog story
Discounts: Available on multiple purchases; contact slqhracing@yahoo.com
Publisher: CreateSpace (February 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1441494413
ISBN-13: 978-1441494412
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
Available for sale: amazon.com; www.fasthorsesfastmoney.com
Price: $12.99 (US dollars)
Payment Options: Use credit card through PayPal; or send check (add $3
shipping charges) payable to "SLQH Racing Publications," PO Box 2126,
Mission Viejo, CA, 92690. US funds only. Allow 3-5 days for delivery.
Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)