Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

This was an adorably dark book that made me tear up more than once. A little dachshund with a ladle for a leg is being put in a dog fighting ring. He sees what he's up against and just lays down to die.

This is how we start the book!

We flashback to how Sam the Lion wiener dog is actually bought and paid for by Mrs. Nutbush for the sole purpose of winning the Westminster Dog Show. Fortunately for Sam, he spies an girl, Heidy, who looks like she should be his human. Heidy is an orphan, going to live with her uncle. Sam escapes Nutbush and ends up chasing down Heidy, who keeps him. Because, who wouldn't?

In Heidy's new home, there is Cassius, a French Poodle who is evil (aren't they all?) and Cassius wants Sam gone so he can have Heidy's love for himself. Cassius actually crafts a plan to be rid of Sam, that results in Sam being shot and left for dead.

Sam survives and ends up at the National Last-Ditch Dog Depository with other flawed and misfit dogs. Sam is scarred up, missing a leg, and has been through hell. We come back to the dog fight and Sam's story continues from there.

Sam and his misfit friends are adorable, sad, and awesome. The drawings in the book just emphasize the crazy that this book is but they are heartbreaking too. Sam comes out on top, flawed as he is.

Perfection is overrated.