Rescue dogs are the best dogs.
You’ll hear that a lot, and I think there’s some truth in it (although dog breeders might disagree).
My first rescue was a Doberman called Lady. She’d been found tied up to another dog and abandoned in a cage without food or water.
Within two days of taking her home, she’d crapped in my Mercedes, bitten my friend Jo (twice) and bailed up the meter reader for over an hour.
As a result, she was renamed Luci (short for Lucifer).
But over time, Luci mellowed. She became the gentlest and most loyal doggo I’d ever owned. It’s almost as if she knew she’d been saved from a bleak and uncertain future.

This isn’t a book about Luci. It’s about a dog named Della, who’s found her forever home in the Noosa Hinterland.
I’ve met Della, the Catahoula Leopard Dog who is the star of this book.
Don’t let the name deceive you – the Catahoula has never been used to hunt Leopards. They just have spots, sort of like a leopard. Sort of.

They were bred as working dogs in the US deep south, and aren’t that common in Australia.

So, it’s a mystery how Della ended up lost on the Old Telegraph Track near Cape York in 2017.
She was lucky to be alive. She’d been lost in the bush for some time and was suffering terribly from a broken hindleg.
That’s all behind her now. She’s happy, healthy, and loved.
This is the story of Della being lost, then found, and her encounters with all sorts of bush animals. She comes across angry ants, hungry crocodiles, and even a bored bat.
Your kids will love it. You will too.
The Leopard Dog is written and illustrated by Carole Alldis, and suited to dog loving kids of all ages. If you own a Catahoula Leopard Dog (or any rescue dog really), then it’s a book you should have in your home.
The Leopard Dog is available at good bookstores including Lost in cooran, The Village Bookstore and bookaholic.com.au

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REVIEW BY TOM ELLISON