SOLVED. Two Dog Books- One about "Meathead" the other from the dogs POV. [s]

[drowningmermaid]

The books are both quite old. I'd say from about the 50s. They were given to me by my grandmother.


***SPOILERS***
Anyway-- the first is about a girl getting breeding stock for show dogs. I remember her rejecting some miserable, emaciated specimens from a puppy mill because "pity is not a good reason to get a dog." Ouch. Words of wisdom from the father. She gets her dogs, gives away most of the puppies except for one beautiful female dog and one ugly one-- with a huge head and paws that they named "Meathead." Meathead grows into his orange-on-a-toothpick head and gets a fancy show dog name and wins a fancy show dog show. 50s book fare. I think he was a golden retriever.

In this decades-old kid's book told from the dog's POV, I remember little-- except that the dog referred to smiling as "showing their teeth" and it confused him why people did that when they were happy, instead of angry. He is dognapped and the story is mostly about him making his way back home. I think he was a black dog. Maybe a lab.

Edit: They're 60s books. Not 50s.

[Dylan]

The dog in my life: Thumper of Walden by Kurt Unkelbach

Some Amazon review:
"The Dog in My Life" is based on the true story of the prize-winning Thumper of Walden, a yellow Labrador who is part of a litter born to an amateur dog-breeding family. Their youngest daughter, fifteen year old Cary, longs for a dog of her own, and it is the rather ugly puppy called "Meathead" (due to his oversized head) who wins her heart. Renaming him Thumper, the book chronicles their experiences together, from Thumper's unexpected birth to his beginnings in junior showmanship, from his duck hunting training to his disappearance at the hands of dog-thieves, as well as plenty of other amusing anecdotes in between.

[drowningmermaid]

You guys are AMAZING!!

[Lisa]

Masamune's Song wrote: "You guys are AMAZING!!"

Which book is it? Thanks.

[drowningmermaid]

@Lisa. It's both. Sorry, I listed two books on here that were bothering me. Should I split them.

@Dylan. Thanks! I have no idea how you found it so fast, but that's definitely the one! A yellow lab, not a golden retriever-- makes sense because my grandmother loved her labs.

@Gaeta. Creepy indeed. I considered both of these books to be QUITE obscure, and I did not expect anyone to recognize them. "That Dog Tarr" is unquestionably the one I had in mind-- I remember the thieves sold him to a hunter and he panicked at the first duckward shot. How is it possible that you read this?

[Rebecca]

@Masamune's Song: Normally we recommend you have a separate thread per book description, as it's easier to keep track of which ones have been solved and which have not. However, since both of your books have been solved (and fast too!), there's really no need to separate them into different threads now.

I've added both books to our shelves. :)

[drowningmermaid]

@Gaeta: Nonsense. I've been trying to catalog all my books since I found goodreads. Some 2.5 years now. At least, all the books I can remember (I know I'm not counting swarming hordes of picture books.) What is goodreads for if not self-imposed book madness?

@Rebecca- I'll keep that in mind if I have any future posts. I guess this one will just count as a two-fer-one.