Hero

by Walt Morey

When former Coast Guardsman Chris George and his drug-sniffing dog Mike stumble upon a package of heroin, they draw the attention of some sinister characters

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult, Dogs, Animals, Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Walt Morey was an award-winning author of numerous works of children's fiction set in the U.S. Pacific Northwestand Alaska, the places where Morey lived for all of his life. His book Gentle Ben was the basis for the 1967 movie Gentle Giant and the 1967-1969 television show Gentle Ben.

He wrote a total of 17 published books, most of which involve as a central plot element the relationship between man and animals. Many of his works involve survival stories, or people going into the wild to "discover" themselves; redemption through nature is a common theme of Morey's works.

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book and a quick read published in 1980. Paperback book (ew.) No great quotes to share but written well. New Coast Guardsman and new trainee German Shepherd dog has an awkward first day on duty involving lemon meringue pie which causes them to be demoted. Love how the big drug then was heroin. Bad stuff but so much worse stuff today.

Trying to do the best attempt at my GR friend Karen's style-

Will Chris be able to redeem himself in the eyes of his superiors?

Will he be able to keep the 10 acre farm that he bought for $10,000 that has $1,500 in back property taxes?

Who is that girl following them in the dark?

Will he be able to allude the men trying to kill his dog Mike and him?

Who is the real person organizing the drug smuggling?

Entertaining enough book. Loved the descriptions of how he eludes the bad guy. No big surprises but normal fun stuff for a story. I am tempted to give it 3 stars to make others shine more, but solid enough to give it 4 stars in my book.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cleanliness

Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities and Substitutions - 5 Incidents: by golly, shut up, what the devil, heck
Religious Profanity - 1 Incident: gee

Religious & Supernatural - None
Violence - None

Romance Related - 4 Incidents: A man walks a lady home for several nights to help keep her safe. One night he says, proddingly, "Your boyfriend won't like me taking you home every night." She says she doesn't have one. A man realizes that he loves a lady and in an around about way asks her to marry him. "Chris opened the door and she was in his arms sobbing, "Oh, Chris, I was so frightened."' He holds her close until she stops crying. "'He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you." Jennie would have clung to him but he pushed her toward the door. "You'd better get going."'

Attitudes/Disobedience - None

Conversation Topics - 7 Incidents: "We need tough men. The people we're after are vicious Mafia characters who don't hesitate to kill. "A man gets lonely for company and says, "I think I'd be glad to talk to the devil himself." A father tells his adult daughter to stop hanging around a guy (who has only be walking her home at night to keep her safe.) The father is drunk and irrational and lunges at the guy, fighting him. A father beats his daughter for walking home with a man. The dog finds heroin: "A thin film of white powder trickled out the holes Mike's teeth had made. He [the man] shook a little into his palm and looked at it. It was as fine as talcum powder." A man lies about what he's thinking about so that the girl won't worry. A man lies about nothing being wrong when there is. (This is so he can crack the case and not tip anyone off). He does this a few times.

Parent Takeaway
This book is about a dog in the drug-bust program so "foreign drugs," "heroin" and "dope" are mentioned throughout its entirety. Drug references are of course made in a negative light. Any romance sections are not fantasized or lengthy. The father in the story is a bad guy, as well as a bad character, beating his daughter, getting into brawls, drinking and has anger issues.

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[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! Not quite as well-written for smoothness as Death Walk, but a excellent and thrilling book!
I really like Walt Morey; I believe I'd class him with Jim Kjelgaard, (highest praise).
Twenty-year old Chris is standing at the docks, watching a ship come in that is reported to have smuggled drugs on board. His and Mike's mission, (drug sniffing dog, and best friend), is to uncover it. This is their first job, the first time for the Coast Gaurd to even use this program, and when Mike and Chris make a mistake the irate Leutinant gets Chris demoted and Mike put up for sale.
Chris buys Mike, and gets a second job just to keep his only friend in the world-working nights at a Post Office with Mike, to keep things safe and secure. But when certain packages start filtering in and a drug gang takes sudden and terrible interest in Mike's life, Chris has no one to turn to as he battles for his best friend's life in a suspensful and climatic finale.
Gotta say-I didn't like Jennie coming into the story when she was first introduced, because I liked Chris as a loner-I thought-but she was the perfect addition. The romance that budded made a sweet and lovely blending in between all the stressful chapters!

[Naomi McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact-this was originally published under "The Lemon-meringue Dog."

A great thriller involving a stubborn former coast guard and his dog. After Hero messes up a drug check on board, he's given the sack but Chris refuses to lose him and buys him. Taking on a job as a postal inspector on nights to earn the money, he accidentally uncovers a dangerous drug ring in town and has to keep Hero from falling into the hands of the gang.

[SFrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not see the end coming, so maybe this will be a re-read at some point. The author Walt Morey, does a really good job of laying out the clues from start to finish. The book is about a dog named Mike and his owner Chris George who is in a drug bust program for the coast guard. Its a must read!

[Jason Burghart · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first books I ever read, and obe I remember ordering from a book order at school, I still have the copy with my name written in 2nd grade handwriting and yes that would be cursive. I have always loved dogs and stories about them. I read it again as an adult in a couple of hours. This is more memory than review, the book is great fir young and old readers alike.

[Akiva ꙮ]

The bit about the lemon meringue pie that was placed to throw off the scent of cocaine (or whatever) has really stuck with me. No one noticed a random pie on a stack of crates and wondered why?

[Sarah Gallini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was on of my favorites when I was younger. Such a good story! Drug smuggling, intrigue, dogs, sailors, what more could you want!

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story about a Coast Guard rookie, Chris, and his drug-sniffing German Shepherd partner, Mike. Not personally a fan of the name Mike for a dog, but luckily I didn't judge a book solely on its doggy names. The star team of Chris and Mike were put to work on the pilot test of a drug bust aboard an incoming freighter. Lt. Ballard, the mean and unsympathetic, commanding officer was there to witness the whole affair. Just as Chris thought Mike had alerted them to the whereabouts of illicit cargo, Chris finds his partner snout-deep in a lemon meringue pie. The 6 ounces of heroin were nearby, but sadly they were not found by Mike. Thus, begins Lt. Ballard's crazy conspiracy theory that Chris was intentionally sabotaging the search, believing that Chris was being paid off by the drug cartel.

In an attempt to save Mike, Chris needs to get a second job (at the US Post office as a night watchman) and is demoted back to the mail room at the military base. He has a partial ally in the chaplain who helps negotiate some leniency and flexibility with Chris' superiors. Chris and Mike are forced to leave the base and Chris gets a lucky break (via the chaplain) to house-sit a house boat down on the docks. Eventually he makes a friend, Jennie, who lives with her abusive fishing captain father (Capt. Quinlan) a few houseboats down the way.

Some lively and crazy moments occur after Mike (who does safety patrols at the post office with Chris) finds some drugs being mailed at the post office. Chris realizes he's been followed to and from the post office and many tense moments ensue as Chris figures out that it's actually his canine companion that the assailants are after.

With the help of Jennie, the local baker, Bruno, and of course, Mike, Chris eventually reveals that the USPS is being used to traffic drugs and that Bruno's bakery is the center of the drug operation! Moreover, Jennie's father the nasty Capt. Quinlan is part of the drug-smuggling operation, too.

In the end, Mike gets his rank back and his spot on the drug-bust program. He has his girlfriend and his dog and they can all live happily ever after on the little farm out in the middle of nowhere that he will now be able to pay off the years of back taxes, which he inherited from the previous owners.

All in all a good, clean "boy and his dog" mystery tale. Appropriate even for younger elementary readers (it was recommended to me by an 8 year old), as the language is curse-free and the violence of the bad guys is more or less left to the imagination. Some of the chase scenes could be a bit much for those super-sensitive to worries about bad guys being after you. Otherwise, an overall enjoyable book.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was about ten, and it was the first time I had one of those classic "I'll just read one or two chapters before bed" experiences. I had not liked the other book I had read by the author, and was somewhat dubious about this one, but as soon as I started reading, I was sucked in. I stayed up and read by lamplight when I was supposed to be sleeping, unable to put down the book until I was finished. This was one of the first truly suspenseful books I had ever read, and the book made a huge impression on me: years later, I could still remember the storyline, and even precise details.

When I was thinking about it recently, I tried to get it from the library, but their copies had worn out years prior, and there were none remaining in the system, so I had to get a copy through inter-library loan. I was nervous about reading the book again, since I was afraid that it would not live up to my memory, but even though I have read so many other good books and have much higher standards for literature now, I still enjoyed it immensely. The book is well-written, has characters with whom you instantly empathize, and has just the right level of suspense. Even though I already knew exactly what happened, I still could not put the book down!

[Leah Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Chris George and his dope sniffing dog Mike botch a case, they get kicked out the the Cost Guard. Lieutenant Ballard is convinced Chris is involved with the mob and messed up on purpose. When Chris takes a new job as night watchman at a warehouse, he isn’t expecting trouble. Not until Mike finds a package of heroin. Chris doesn’t think he’ll be believed if he brings the heroin to the Cost Guard. What will he do when his life is threatened?

This book has been a favorite of mine for a long time. It’s an intense, high-stakes story, but remains appropriate and clean for younger readers. In my opinion, this is the best of Walt Morey’s books.

[Michelle]

chris george and his dog mike were supposed to be the stars of the coast guard's new drug-dust program. But an impulsive mistake

[16relliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this a good book