Walking Ollie: Or, Winning the Love of a Difficult Dog

Posted on Nov 6, 2008
By Tanya Turgeon

Walking Ollie: Or, Winning the Love of a Difficult Dog

by Stephen Foster

Penguin Group, 177 pages, $12

Strip away the sweet sentiment and polite political correctness of the typical dog story and what's left is this book, a hilarious account of English author Stephen Foster's first years with his adopted dog. Through frustrating adventures and tense moments we witness Foster's varied, and at times desperate, attempts to earn the trust and affection of an abandoned mutt.

Considering his limited experience with dogs (occasional visits from his girlfriend's Dalmatian who is shared by her ex), Foster unknowingly sets himself up for a challenge by adopting a rescued lurcher puppy. His book's first task is to shed light on this rare and unclassified breed which Foster defines as half Greyhound, half something else (in Ollie's case it's Saluki, another little-known breed) ...the typical companions of street dwellers...the poacher's dog of choice." Foster ascertains "The Saluki-greyhound, as it turns out, is a particularly specialized and perverse version of a lurcher."

Ollie's perversions present themselves as paranoias, phobias, and personality disorders that could give Marley a run for his money. Free, uninhibited, and extremely playful with other dogs while outside and off leash, Ollie's indoor personality is preoccupied with fear of flies, aprons, squeaky toys, his own barking, and, for a long time, Foster. Utterly absorbed and affected by his dog's strange behavior, Foster barely notices the similarities with his own temperament. In addition to irrationally strong negative emotions towards musical (though Ollie was named after "Oliver!"), farces, fishermen, pantomime, and yoga, Foster admits to suffering from panic attacks that seem not too far off from Ollie's.

With uncensored accuracy Foster delves into the oft-avoided dirty side of owning a dog. His British vocabulary and slang readily lend themselves to comical descriptions of picking up poop, canine flatulence, and a dog's palate for manure. Yet the occasional photograph straight from the family photo album pops up as much to save the reader's imagination from attempting to conjure a Saluki-greyhound-lurcher as to hint at an inescapable tenderness. Originally published in 2006 in England, this book became available in the U.S. in 2008 and is a welcome addition to America's dog book library.