Chance is just one of the dogs at Dogtown, a shelter for dogs. He doesn’t blame his owners for being there as they had entrusted him with a house sitter while they were away. Now he just tries to make the most of things.

Unlike the other dogs at the shelter, three-legged Chance is free to roam the halls between the cages and visit all the dogs all the way down to the basement. In having this freedom, he sorts problems, passes on messages and helps any dogs with the boohoos – feeling sorry for themselves.

There is a rivalry going on in Dogtown between the ‘real’ dogs and the robot dogs made of metal, plastic and computer chips. Many real dogs are left in their cages, in favour of adopting these e-dogs that don’t bark, fart, chew things, or pee on the carpet. This tension between real and fake is high.

But there is one e-dog that is different from his kind. He may need charging up every day, but he’s not sleek and shiny and as well made as the other e-dogs in Dogtown. This robot dog looks like he was a home-made job. A pet project for some human in the past. Chance calls him Metal head, with the same amount of dislike that he has for other fake dogs taking the prospective homes from his real friends.

When children visit as part of reading program, there is one boy who cannot find a dog he likes or is comfortable enough to read to. He just ends up looking unhappy and alone. Until he finds Metal head. This is when Chance realises this robot dog is something special.

Chance, Metal head and Chance’s friend Mouse end up on a mission together. Metal head wants to go home. Chance wants to know if his owners are looking for him, and Mouse is incredibly handy to have along.

Dogtown is told from a dog called Chance’s point of view. This allows animal lovers and readers like myself to see inside the mind of a dog, meet his friends and see their quirks and understand his longing to go home.

Chance is smart, funny and kind and you will see animal shelters in a whole new light after reading Dogtown.

The chapters are short with clear text, and with lots of entertaining illustrations. The aspect of digital or e-dogs in the mix at Dogtown animal shelter brings a modern spin to an animal shelter story, along with a young boy called Quinn on the spectrum who connects with just one dog.

This is a moving story, by multi award winning Katherine Applegate, and perfect for dog lovers in particular.

Author – Katherine Applegate

Illustrator – Gennifer Choldenko

Age – 7+

(2023, Welbeck, Allen & Unwin, Animals, Humour, Adventure, Friendship, Family, Animal Shelter, Dogs, Mouse, Robots, Digital Dogs, e-dogs, Home, Personalities, Missing owners, Adopt-a-dog, Reading program, Read to a dog, Dog’s point of view)