square 12mo. pp. 112. photo illustrations, mostly by Jim Dratfield. bds. dw. New York: Clarkson Potter, [2002].
First Edition, third printing.
The charming Chihuahua and the pugnacious pug. The graceful greyhound, the shaggy sheepdog, and the brazen bulldog. The miraculously mesmerizing mutt. These are not the dogs that are typically celebrated in dog books—those focus on the most popular purebreds: Labrador retrievers, Jack Russells, German shepherds Dalmatians. But where are the other breeds? And where are the non-breeds that make up more than half of the U.S. dog population, the mutts? Where is their book?
If Americans love anything, it’s the underdog—every kind of underdog, whether it’s a dog or not. We recognize that beauty is more than skin deep—or fur deep. We appreciate dogs of indeterminate lineage, with mottled fur, too-large ears, or strange little bodies; we love dogs who look like impish little children or grumpy old men.
Underdogs is their book—a celebration of funny faces and singular shapes, of uncommon breeds and unrecognized mixed-breeds. Underdogs is a charming, touching, and occasionally hilarious look at what we really love about dogs—the true companionship that comes from great character.