Dog Walker

by Karen Spafford-Fitz

Turk needs cash, but he's allergic to his own sweat so getting a job is out of the question. Then he makes a discovery: Girls love dogs. Turk's friends will do anything to meet girls. Turk starts a dog walking business. His friends walk the dogs and Turk collects half the money. In an attempt to impress dog-loving Carly, Turk brags about his business in front of the school tough guy, Chuck. When Chuck learns the true nature of Turk's business and wants in on the action, Turk worries that he will lose his business and Carly's respect.

Genres: Young Adult

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Karen Spafford-Fitz grew up in an old limestone farmhouse that she suspects was haunted. “My childhood home near Kingston, Ontario expressed itself through an alarming range of squeaks, creaks, moans, groans, bumps and thumps—especially on dark, stormy nights. It was perfect for fuelling the imagination of a young writer-to-be!”

Karen’s early training as a writer involved reading thousands of books. “As a child, I had mounds of books on my nightstand that frequently avalanched onto the floor. These mounds included the Anne of Green Gables stories, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden. I was horse-crazy too, so Black Beauty, The Black Stallion, and my dad’s old Lone Ranger books were also favorites. At one point, I went through a horror-story phase where I read the creepiest books I could find—even though they scared me to death.”

Karen later went to Queen’s University, where she received degrees in English and in Education. For the next eight years, she taught elementary and junior high students in Toronto and in Edmonton. Although Karen enjoyed teaching, she wanted a home-based career after her daughters were born, and so she turned to freelance writing. One of her projects involved writing educational software for students, which helped Karen discover her love of writing for young people. She soon began creating her own stories for children and teenagers, and Dog Walker, Karen’s first book, was released in March 2006.

When Karen is not writing, she is often reading, gardening, running, skiing or enjoying Edmonton’s river valley with her husband, her two daughters and her two enormous dogs. Karen also enjoys visiting schools and libraries in the Edmonton area where she speaks to students about the inspiration for her stories, the creative process, and the writing life.

Reviews

[Sam Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book on the recommendation of a librarian who was trying to help me find age-appropriate books for students reading at a significantly lower level than their peers. This Canadian publisher, Orca, has tons of books like this one in our library, but they're not part of a series. This particular book is rated RL 2.6 by the publisher.

What drove me crazy about this book was the fact that every time I felt like we were coming to a point in the narrative where it was about to get interesting, where character development was about to happen, it seemed like the author just skipped over the actual story. You know that rule about showing rather than telling? In all the places where showing would have made sense, I feel the author ended up telling. But I get it. Adding all of that extra narrative and character development would have made the book longer, and therefore less accessible to students who are still working on reading fluently.

I do appreciate the discreteness of this book. It's not stamped all over with "Easy Read" stickers and the cover looks like any normal YA book. The type is slightly larger than in other books, probably to fill out the page count, but I think that could also help older readers who for one reason or another are not reading at grade level. The one thing it was missing was pictures. When beginning to read, students often rely on pictures as contextual cues to help them bring meaning to the words that they're reading. Pictures can offer a way for readers who are having difficulty following the story to get feedback on their comprehension. They also provide a little bit of a break from the narrative. I know that pictures are not the norm in YA books, but even a little sketch at the beginning of each chapter may have been useful.

I am also a little perturbed at the way that girls are described in this book- even more one dimensional than other characters. Girls really do function as objects for the protagonist to pursue. Even his friend Carly only becomes a more developed character as she becomes an attainable love interest. I get it- teenage boys are into girls, or so the thinking goes, and aren't interested in reading books unless they mirror the way that they understand themselves in the world, especially those who are "reluctant" to read anyway. I just think that this simplified understanding of the ability of boys to think about girls does them a great disservice, and really underestimates their potential for critical thinking and the consideration of the perspectives of others.

Despite all of these criticisms, I'm really OK with this book. I'd probably suggest it to someone looking for books for high school students of lower reading levels, but I don't think I'd assign it for a class or anything.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was really just about how a boy stared a dog walking buisness just so he could get girls

[Heav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an ok book. It's a really easy and quick read if your looking for something short and simple.
Turk learns a valuable lesson after his plans for an undercover dating service covered by a dog walking business goes wrong. Turk starts a dog walking business to meet girls, but the only girl for him is right under his nose.
I recommend this book for anyone that is looking for a cute,simple and short read.

[Modesto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very interesting to me because I like to learn about dogs. When I started reading this book I realized that this book is verily about dogs. Even thou this book is verily about dogs I founded very interesting.This book is about a kid that likes to have money but his mom wouldn't give him an allowance any more because of all the money he waste in a day.

[Javon Whitehead]

Turk is allergic to sweat which means its hard to find a job so he decides to make a dog business , and have his friends work it, but the bully at school finds out and wants to join he has to make a decision if he should employ him. If he does he will loser carlys respect. I Like this book because it proves that you're never too young to make money.

[P5nickd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was really good because I gave it five out of five stars and also that it was on some things that i really liked like for example dogs, also about a boy and his friends that make money and I also happen to love money like any other person, thats why i like this book so much.

[Dalton Berkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. It was an easy read. The plot was exciting and moved at a good pace. This book would be good for people that are not enthusiastic about reading. With only 110 pages it moves along really fast and I did not have to force myself to read it.

[Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute younger YA novel about Turk, a grade 9 student who starts a dogwalking business because his parents have cut off his allowance and his friends see it as an opportunity to meet girls. Full disclosure, Spafford-Fitz was my grade 8 teacher once upon a time, but I loved that this book subverts the "girls are boy crazy" trope by making boys the ones who are so desperate to meet girls that they'll get a side hustle to do so. And I also loved that Turk's budding love interest, Carly, was an avid competitive runner while he was so adverse to physical activity that he claims to be allergic to his own sweat.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun story told at a really easy-to-follow reading level. The story follows Turk, a lazy, yet ingenious kid who comes up with a dog walking venture so he can rake in the money while his awkward friends use the adorable pooches to break the ice with girls.

Funny and poignant, this is a great story for someone who wants to read at their own interest level, but doesn't necessarily have the reading level for that. I really enjoyed it.

[Joanne Davenport · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great HILV books for reluctant readers.

[Ellison Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not a fit for me. This book was very short and more on the kids side, although the plot is ok. Their mission was funny. He was failing and not being to walk the dogs.

[Jurioz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very first novel I read in 4th/5th grade and I remember being so proud 🥲

[Keshona Mcgaughy]

The dog walker is abou a guy that wants a dog and he gets one and I think someone stole the dog and now he is trying to get the dog and there was a robbery at his house.

[Rose]

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