Walking Ollie: Or Winning the Love of a Difficult Dog - Softcover

Foster, Stephen; FOSTER, THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN

Softcover

ISBN 10: 190497788X ISBN 13: 9781904977889

Publisher: Short Books, 2007

Synopsis

One winter's afternoon, Stephen Foster walked into a dog re-homing centre with the intention of picking up a retired greyhound. Instead, he acquired an abandoned lurcher pup. Foster's knowledge of dogs was so vague that he had to look up 'lurcher' in key reference work "The Giant Book of the Dog", to find out what sort of animal was coming to join the family. His research counted for little: the new arrival did not conform to any known breed standard, or indeed any standard whatsoever that might be considered dog-normal. "Walking Ollie" is a hilarious - and often heartrending - account of one man's attempt to turn a psychotic wild animal into something resembling a domestic pet.

About this title

Review:

"Foster's wryly perceptive book perfectly illustrates the truism that the only thing wrong with dogs is their owners."
-- Times Literary Supplement, June, 2006

An intriguing meditation on fame and posterity. A thoughtful novel that stands out in a world of identikit publishing. -- New Statesman, August 30, 2007

Ollie is a joy. So is reading about him. Walking Ollie is the best book about a dog for years. -- Guardian, April 22, 2006

About the Author:

Stephen Foster is the author of the short story collection, It Cracks Like Breaking Skin, and the novel Strides, about love and trousers. She Stood There Laughing, his account of a season following Stoke City, was one of the bestselling sports books of 2004, topping charts in the press and online at Amazon.

About this edition

• Publisher: Short Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 190497788X
• ISBN 13: 9781904977889
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192