Lad: a Dog
"The best dog fiction writer ever." -Psychology Today Like most of the dog stories this book of "Lad" tales is about a real dog. The name of Mr. Terhune's dear old "Sunnybank Lad" is known to every collie lover in the country. These stories will explain why. Lad's blue blood, his beauty, his intelligence and honor, courage and devotion, not only made him celebrated in life, but will continue to gain him lovers and friends now that he has gone the way of all good dogs to the happy hunting-grounds. Never was there a more wonderful example of a dog comrade than Lad. If you are a dog lover, you will find a dog lover's joy in these chronicles of a perfect companionship. If you never owned or loved a dog, all the more read and understand what the fellowship and love of a dog can mean. First published in 1919, Albert Payson Terhune's Lad: A Dog is actually a collection of immensely popular magazine stories. The hero is an extraordinary collie named Lad, "a thoroughbred in spirit as well as in blood." In each tale, Lad exhibits his pure strength of character as he fights off burglars, rescues an invalid child from a poisonous snake, wins ribbons in dog shows, and otherwise leads a dog-hero's life. This is a period piece--a threatened puppy is described, for example, as "a blinking pygmy who gallantly essayed to growl defiance"--and that touch of fustian is all part of Terhune's enduring charm. Because the stories didn't originally appear together, there's considerable repetition: nearly every story with a fight scene has the same authorial mini-lecture on the difference in fighting technique between collies and bulldogs. But Lad is a character who has poked his muzzle into a million hearts, and new generations of dog lovers will also appreciate his loyalty and courage. As Terhune himself wrote, "few... bothered to praise the stories, themselves. But all of them praised Lad, which pleased me far better." Lad, a courageous and dignified 80-pound collie, lived in The Place. The Place was thick with woods, abounding with squirrels to chase, and a cool lake in which to plunge -- a beautiful kingdom -- and Lad was its undisputed king. Lad's loyalty to his chosen Master and Mistress knew no bounds. The stories in this book are all about Lad. Some will make you laugh out loud, some will make you cry. And when the book comes to its conclusion, you will know one thing for sure -- that Lad was a dog with a soul . . . "Terhune was hailed as 'the most famed writer of dog stories who ever lived.' Collies were Terhune's passion. 'Lad: A Dog,' his first and most famous book, is a collection of stories set in bucolic New Jersey, tracing the (highly embellished) adventures of Terhune's own favourite dog. Half a century ago, as a child, my eyes delighted in Lad's exploits.... One of Terhune's recurring fixations is the collie's uniquely close genetic relationship to wolf forebears. Glowing references to Lad's wolf-like appearance and typically slashing style of attack abound. Here Terhune echoes Jack London's obsession with dog-like wolves and wolf-like dogs, and man's yearning for a collaborative relationship with them." -National Post