My Dog Skip is a rollicking jaunt through Willie Morris’ memories of his adventures with Skip, his boyhood dog and constant companion. Skip is no ordinary dog, nor is the bond that Skip and Willie share. In this playful and beautifully written memoir Willie writes about the years he spent with Skip, each page bursting with hilarious shenanigans, canine loyalty and ferocious exuberance.
Skip and Willie’s adventures are numerous and often outlandish. Skip is a privileged dog who “drives” the family’s green DeSoto, roams the town with Willie, eats as much bologna and raisin bran as he likes and plays football with the boys. Both Willie and Skip are pranksters who delight in all varieties of mischief. Whether it’s mixing in a bit of flea & tick powder and castor oil into a batch of oatmeal cookies and giving them to the society ladies in town or borrowing a cow for a little surprise in the high school auditorium, the mischief is always inventive and incredibly amusing.
Willie and Skip are rarely apart. Whether they’re hunting roaches for a fishing trip or playing a game of football or baseball, Skip is firmly devoted to Willie. Skip even walks with Willie to and from school, curls up with him at night and bites his toes to wake him up in the morning.
Willie’s lively sense of humor is boyish and mischievous, and his attention to everyday ordinariness is beguiling. Each exuberant escapade will leave you mesmerized and delighted. You will be right there in the story, throwing chinaberries on a fall evening, squirrel hunting with an enthusiastic Skip and wandering the streets of a small town in Mississippi. During an amusing description of kudzo Willie states that a cow who tarries too long in a field of kudzo will soon disappear. Reading My Dog Skip is a little like that old wives tale. Willie’s memories and lush storytelling will reach out and ensnare you until you all but disappear into the story.
If you've already read My Dog Skip and cannot get enough of stories about furry best friends, check out Rascal, Jim the Wonder Dog (available at Mid-Continent or interlibrary loan), Homer's Odyssey or Comet's Tale.