The Yellow Dog

Cinzia Ghigliano

The Yellow Dog is a realistic and humorous short story narrated by a mixed-breed pet dog. The dog tells us about his mistress—whose moist hands embrace him in a soft but suffocating hug—and about her sad husband, who doesn’t seem to care for him and for whom the dog feels pity. But then one day it happens: the man looks at the dog and rolls his eyes! The dog feels so happy. But he is prudent; he smells, learns, obeys, waits.

When, on a snowy day, the master takes him for a walk, the dog guides him inside a cheery-looking saloon to improve his mood.

Coming out of the saloon, the master decides to turn the dog loose, but the dog refuses the offer and follows his master, frolicking free from his leash. They are bound for the Rocky Mountains, where the man gives him the proper name of Pete—and the yellow dog approves.

Freely drawn from Memoirs of a Yellow Dog by O. Henry, this is a book about patience, gaining confidence, and the slow and delicate birth of the truest and most sincere love there is: the love between dog and human.

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