Duffy's World - Seeing the World through a Dog's Eyes

Duffy's World is part memoir, part dog owner's manual, and narrated primarily from a dog's point of view. As Duffy's owner chimes in with her own perspective, readers will recognize their own joys and challenges that mark the territory of the human/canine relationship. From eating anything and everything, to a profound fear of needles and bee stings, to being "released" from dog training school, Duffy's never-ending zest for new experiences is the source of his owner's greatest frustration and most profound life lessons.

List of contents

Introduction

The Beginning

Chapter 1 My New Home
Chapter 2 Puppy Training
Chapter 3 Necessary Evils
Chapter 4 Learning the Rules
Chapter 5 First Friends
Chapter 6 Holidays and Social Events
Chapter 7 Yard Duty
Chapter 8 Home Deliveries
Chapter 9 Wildlife
Chapter 10 Boarding
Chapter 11 Grandmothers
Chapter 12 Car Trouble
Chapter 13 Katie
Chapter 14 Moving
Chapter 15 Breaking the Sound Barrier
Chapter 16 Homeland Security
Chapter 17 My New Sister
Chapter 18 Farewell

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the author

Faith McCune’s beloved father passed away when she was eight. Her first dog, Prince—a gift from her mother—helped her cope with the loss and brought joy into her heart again. Many years later, Duffy came into her life and reawakened her passion for dogs.

Summary

Have you ever wondered what your dog was thinking, especially as he’s trying to make every neighborhood dog his own personal squeaky toy or wailing in panic on a car trip? In Duffy’s World, curious humans finally have the chance to find out.

Duffy is an Australian Shepherd with an unquenchable thirst for new experiences—that often get him into trouble. In this quirky memoir, Duffy reveals his thoughts about his most significant life events: finding “treats” in the yard, gaining a cat for a sister, braving a sadistic vet, losing loved ones, and more.

Co-narrated by his owner, Faith McCune, Duffy’s account identifies the joys and challenges that mark the territory of the human/canine relationship. As frustrating as dog ownership can be, readers will discover, as Duffy’s owner did, that dogs’ apparent failure to learn from the past is actually their relentless ability to live in the moment, and what seems to be their greatest challenge is actually their greatest gift.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering “why does my dog do that?” Duffy’s World will help you better understand your pet—and maybe even learn from him as well.

Additional text

"I think every dog owner talks to his pet, and I mean real talking, not the "oogy woogy uggams" kild of talking that just embarrasses the dog and makes him
think his human is an idiot. And I think that at one time or another, every dog owner has wondered about, perhaps even speculated on what goes on behind
those alert and compassionate eyes, maybe even interpreted one action or another for the benefit of human friends, but I think that few owners have
actually gone as far as to speak for their dog. And if they did, I bet they got it wrong, trying to wrap canine intelligence with an ill-fitting wrapper of
human sensibilities...neither accurate nor eloquent.

In "Duffy's World," author Faith McCune speaks for Duffy, her black and white Australian Shepherd. She does so by constructing parallel narratives, one in
which she tells us what she and her husband Bernard did and what events happened around them; in the other narrative, Duffy tells us what really happened.
No one can truly evaluate Faith's accuracy in giving voice to Duffy (dogs will forever understand us better than we do them), but her eloquence in
expressing Duffy's hopes, joys and fears is undeniable.

If the author's primary goal were to shine a light on human foibles through Duffy's pithy observations we could easily call this satire, but I don't feel
satirical commentary upon the human condition was the story's purpose, even though it does serve satire in equal portions. I think the main purpose of the
book was to show how our lives become better when we share them with dogs, but to illustrate it by coming at it from the dog's point of view.

The story works because Faith gives Duffy a unique point of view and a very distinctive voice, and does so without being condescending to either Duffy or
the reader. After a while, the reader begins to accept Duffy's viewpoints and explanations over those of the human narrator. He just seems to make more
sense most of the time.

This book is the story of Duffy's life, beginning to end, and more. He is ever optimistic that he will one day teach his owners to be good dogs, even
though at times they seem rather dim, if good intentioned. Much of the humor in Duffy's story derives from his inability to make total sense of human
speech and manners. He is perpetually confused by homophones (Why do they take him to the vet to get his weight when he can wait anywhere?), as well as
concepts of time and space (five minutes is forever, and Hawaii is really far away, probably more than ten blocks). Human vocabulary also throws Duffy for
a loop -- the human call the house grass a car pet; they say there is also carpet in the Car (which Duffy names Trouble), but the Car Pet never speaks, and
why does the Car need a Pet anyway? Duffy lives in a world of yard spoons, Broom Monsters, string toys, mail both bad and good, his stupid sister (a cat),
big brown two-toed dogs (deer) who never come close, stinky dogs (coyotes), and a host of human and animal characters who don't seem to realize he is the
king of his estate and will do anything to protect it.

"Duffy's World" is a story that grips the reader intellectually and emotionally. Though it often descends into a morass or sentimentality, there is never
anything mawkish about it. It is not the author who grips our emotions, but Duffy, and the sentimentality we feel is due to our affection for this affable
and lovable character, and that affection swells the more we learn about Duffy. By the time you reach the end of the book, you find yourself so emotionally
invested in Duffy you don't want to let go -- be sure to have a box of tissues handy.

The book does serve a practical side to it. In taking Duffy into their home, his owners made just about every mistake possible, and the author includes
numerous sidebars about the right way to choose a puppy, the best ways to raise and train a dog, as well as numerous health and safety tips. But the real
reason to get this book is to meet Duffy...like all the dogs you have ever owned, he will never leave you."

-Ralph E. Vaughan, goodreads.com

Product details

• Authors: Faith McCune
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.12.2013
• EAN: 9781614487197
• ISBN: 978-1-61448-719-7
• No. of pages: 225
• Subjects: Fiction > Comic, cartoon, humour, satire; Guides > Nature; HUMOR / Topic / Animals, PETS / Dogs / General