Rick and Ruddy: The Story of a Boy and His Dog
Rick and Ruddy: The Story of a Boy and His Dog
For every child who has ever begged for a dog, Rick Dalton's story is a wish fulfilled in the most dramatic way. Rick spends his days longing for a canine companion, dreaming of the adventures they might share. Then a terrible storm hits the coast, and a red setter puppy named Ruddy is swept overboard from a passing ship. Against all odds, the pup paddles to shore, exhausted and seeking shelter. When Rick discovers this frightened animal washed up on the beach, something immediate and unbreakable passes between them. Here is a boy who needed a dog, and a dog who needed a boy, finding each other exactly when both are most vulnerable. This is early twentieth-century children's literature at its simplest and most sincere: a story about the instantaneous, unquestioning love between a child and his first dog. It endures because some bonds need no explanation, only the space to grow.
