Oscar – The Qualities Of A Friend

From the age of around 10 to 13yrs I live in Hampshire on a housing estate for military families in a place with the memorable name of Middle Wallop. Although my parents didn't much care for living on a modern housing estate, I was happy there. I loved being able to step outside and knock the doors of friends nearby. I loved being able to wander down to the park, the cinema or up to the NAFFI shop and find plenty of other kids hanging around playing or getting into mischief. And when I think back on those groups of kids, despite having an excellent memory I can hardly put a name or a face to any of them. But there was one character who was nearly always there. Oscar. I will never forget him. He was all the things you could want a friend to be.

Most of all, Oscar was reliable – always available when you were looking for a friend to play with. He was sensible, loyal to us all, highly intelligent, patient, kind, calm, amusing, selfless and undemanding. Most of all he managed to join in the fun but to behave with maturity. Consequently Oscar was popular with everyone and was always included in whatever game or adventure was happening on any given day. Parents did not worry about their children if Oscar was with us.

Now I'm sure most people would agree that there is hardly anyone they knew as a kid who was good to be with ALL of the time. Everyone is annoying, unkind or boring sometimes, no? That is true, but this case is an exception, because Oscar was a dog.

I don't think anyone actually knew who Oscar belonged to. He wore no collar or dog-tag. Mostly a brown Labrador with a slightly pink nose, he was always there or somewhere nearby. Oscar was not like most dogs we knew. He would share our food but he never pestered us. We even believed he was unable to growl or bark until one day he needed to defend us from an aggressive guard dog we encountered when wading across a river.

The estate we lived on was large, nearly a circular mile in diameter, but if Oscar wasn't there you only needed to call his name and he'd be there as quick as a flash. Nobody saw where he had come from or where he went back to at the end of the fun. And no owner ever came looking for him, not even when he accompanied us miles away on long, whole day expeditions. Oscar was a mystery, an enigma, but one we never questioned.

If you like dogs, or your dog likes dog stories, check out   Stories To Tell Your Dog   It is available as a paperback from Amazon or Createspace, and as an e-book from:

Amazon UK
Amazon.com (or by entering the title and author into your local Amazon website)
Smashwords (all formats)
N.B. You do not need an e-reader. You can download a Kindle App for your computer or download the book from Smashwords as a PDF or plain text file.

Other books by the same author are available on these sites and the paperback travel book Long Road Hard Lessons is available from Waterstones Bookshops in the UK.

Book For Dogs Launched

Stories To Tell Your Dog
Tinderbox Publishing in the UK, are pleased to announce the first book published for dogs.
Yes that's right, do not adjust your computer – for dogs!

Research Methods
It was back in 2010 that the author Mark Swain was editing his first book - Long Road Hard Lessons (a non-fiction book about Mark and his son's 10,000 mile cycle expedition from Ireland to Japan). Like many writers, Mark finds it more effective to edit a book by reading it aloud. Having waiting for a moment when he was alone in the house, he was reading through the book and came to a passage that mentioned what he and his son had eaten during a particular day's cycling in Turkey. At a certain point he was disturbed by his Jack Russell Terrier, Jim, who became very excited and attentive all of a sudden. Having overcome his initial annoyance at being disturbed from his work, Mark began to notice what it was that was captivating his dog. The mere mention of the word "biscuits" or "pies" sent Jim wild. The dog would not leave the room and from then on sat in anticipation every time anyone picked up the book.

Busy with his travel book, Mark registered the phenomenon mentally and told his wife about it later, but it was not until early 2013 that he found the time to begin more thorough investigation. The dogs of various friends and acquaintances were drafted in to listen to the first experimental stories. The results were surprising even with those early prototype canine tales. Mark and his friends were surprised to find a great deal of common trigger words that most dogs (dogs in English speaking households) responded to. A list was made and these words were then written into the stories. Eventually after hours of amusing experimentation, the stories were honed to a point that they had the power to captivate most dogs.

Secondary Benefits
What came as a surprise, was the fact that the stories had such a powerful effect upon the humans. Obviously the dogs could not read the stories themselves. It required owners, families and friends to read the stories to the dogs. Owners were enthralled by the stories being written from a dog's perspective and they showed themselves to be especially keen to participate. They loved the dogs' sense of humour. Most encouraging has been the reports of children and teenagers who had been reluctant readers, being transformed by a desire to read to the family dog. Of equal importance, however, must be the reports that badly behaved dogs and those suffering from boredom and depression (yes of course), became much happier and developed better relationships with their owners. This is hardly so surprising is it?

CONTENTS
Stories To Tell Your Dog is an illustrated book of 18 short stories. The stories are suitable for dogs and humans of all ages. Here are a few examples:

His Master's Voice
Tyler the Staffordshire Bull Terrier loves to sing. A family argument over when he first learned to do so is solved when Tyler steps in to clear up the dispute.

Dog Corner
A group of characterful stray dogs are a neighbourhood attraction until something tempts them away. A posse is sent out to find them and tempt them back.

Flash
A Whippet amuses himself each day chasing seagulls at the beach. After he disappears, the gulls terrorise the tourists. Desperate, the local Council pay the owner to let him return on official duty.

A Short Walk In The Park
Bored and lacking exercise, Nero the Doberman escapes from home. The adventure ends with surprising consequences and reassurance about human compassion.

Sausages
Boris the overweight Bulldog is obsessed with sausages. He will risk life and limb to steal them if necessary. On one particular raid his passion leads him further afield than anyone expects.

A Racing Certainty
Scrivener is a deaf mute with an ability to communicate with animals. When he gets a job at a greyhound stables he uses this ability to his advantage. Fortune, however, has a sting in the tail.

Stories To Tell Your Dog is available as a paperback from Amazon or Createspace, and as an e-book from:

Amazon UK
Amazon.com (or by entering the title and author into your local Amazon website)
Smashwords (all formats)
N.B. You do not need an e-reader. You can download a Kindle App for your computer or download the book from Smashwords as a PDF or plain text file.

Other books by the same author are available on these sites and the bestselling paperback book Long Road Hard Lessons is available from Waterstones Bookshops in the UK.