A Dog's Life

A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray (2005) by Ann M. Martin is a middle grade novel told from the perspective of Squirrel, a stray dog. The story chronicles Squirrel’s journey from birth to old age, detailing her experiences with various owners, her struggles for survival, and her adventures with her brother Bone and other companions she meets along the way. The story provides a poignant look at the life of a stray dog, exploring themes of resilience, the impact of human kindness and cruelty, and the quest for a place to call home. Martin’s compassionate storytelling invites readers to view the world through the eyes of a canine, enhancing empathy and understanding for animals. A Dog’s Life won the Young Readers Choice Award in 2008.

This study guide refers to the 2007 Kindle e-book edition published by Scholastic Inc.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain descriptions of loss, abandonment, and cruelty toward animals.

Plot Summary

Squirrel, an old female dog, reminisces about her earlier life. She’s sleeping near a warm fire with her owner, Susan, but she was a stray for many years before she found this comfort.

Squirrel starts her life story with her birth in a tool shed at the Merrion family’s rural summer home. Mother had five puppies, but only Squirrel and her brother Bone survived. They lived in the safety of the tool shed for months, along with cats and mice. Mother taught them to scavenge the Merrion family’s garbage, to hunt, and to avoid danger—like the farm fox and humans.

The Merrion family discovers the fox and soon shoots her dead, leaving her kits orphans. The danger of human hunters makes the dogs more leery. The day after the fox is killed, Mother doesn’t return from hunting. Many days pass. Squirrel is worried, but she and Bone survive on garbage scraps. Mother never comes back.

Matthias, the Merrions’ son, discovers Squirrel and Bone playing by the shed, but he keeps them a secret because his parents don’t approve of pets. He brings the puppies chicken scraps. Matthias is gentle and kind, which makes Squirrel trust him.

The puppies live on their own for a while, but then Bone ventures into the woods. He’s ready for change. Squirrel follows him.

Squirrel and Bone travel through the woods. They explore and hunt, and they drink and bathe in streams. Bone leads them to a highway. They smell food on the other side, but one of the cars stops. The drivers, George and Marcy, take them to their suburban home. Squirrel throws up in the car, which makes George angry. In the house, the puppies pee, whine, and howl. They bite at George and Marcy. They knock over the garbage and eat from it. As strays, they never learned the “rules” of being “good dogs” in a home.

George and Marcy can’t handle the wild puppies. George drives them away and throws them out of his car. Squirrel lands hard in the ditch, breaking her shoulder. Bone is injured too. A woman stops her car and takes Bone home with her, believing someone else will stop for Squirrel. Squirrel runs after Bone but can’t keep up with her broken leg. This incident separates the siblings.

Squirrel lives in the nearby woods. She survives by hunting, finding garbage, sleeping in the trees, and finding water sources like ponds. She lives through her first few seasons.

After winter, she sees a dog who looks just like Bone and rushes toward him. The dog turns out to be another stray, smaller but tan like Bone. Her name is Moon. They become instant friends, hunting and sleeping together and living a nomadic lifestyle.

Squirrel and Moon travel together across fields, woods, neighborhoods, and barns. In the wintertime, they choose a safe place to live, and in the warmer months, they move again. They endure a terrible dog fight over food that leaves them both injured, and Moon cares for Squirrel until she recovers. The two dogs experience both kindness and peril from humans: Some feed them, while others, who work for the pound, try to capture them.

One day, the dogs see a chipmunk across the road near a blind corner, and a truck hits Moon as she runs toward the chipmunk. The truck clips Squirrel, her leg broken. The truck stops. People jump out and save Squirrel. They take her and Moon to a vet, but Squirrel knows Moon is dead.

The vet takes care of Squirrel’s injuries, spays her, and treats her with empathy. The staff at the clinic is caring and sweet.

After Squirrel recovers, the people who hit her, the Beckers, adopt her. They name her Daisy. The family takes her to their summer home, where the children play with “Daisy” every day. Squirrel lives in the garage, but the family feeds and cares for her. Soon, the family neglects her; the kids hardly play with her, and the mother forgets to feed her. After the summer, the Beckers move back to the big city, leaving Squirrel behind.

After the Beckers abandon her, Squirrel lives on her own for many years. She develops a pattern of wandering in the warm months and finding barns to live in the wintertime.

During her travels, she finds Bone’s scent. Squirrel follows her brother’s scent back to the highway and then to the spot where the woman grabbed Bone years ago. She follows his scent through the area but can’t find Bone anywhere.

Squirrel is an old dog with many aches and pains now. During a frigid winter, she lives in the shed of a countryside house. The home’s owner, Susan, spots Squirrel and leaves table scraps and water outside for her daily.

Over a few weeks, Susan coaxes Squirrel inside to lie by her fireplace. Susan is elderly, like Squirrel, and very tender. She talks softly to Squirrel, feeds her, and keeps her warm. Squirrel is grateful for the comfort and safety Susan offers. Susan names her Addie.

Susan takes “Addie” to the vet, where the doctor examines her, gives her all her shots, and clears her of fleas. At the vet, Susan claims Squirrel as her dog. Susan buys “Addie” a plush bed, toys, treats, and anything she needs. She walks her and tells her “good girl” whenever she does something right, like relieving herself outside.

Squirrel and Susan enjoy each other’s company daily. They live in harmony, settling into a routine. Squirrel remembers her hard life as a stray in comparison to now, when she’s happy, healthy, and loved. Squirrel cuddles closer to Susan on the couch, knowing she’s home at last.