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The Last Dogs #1

The Vanishing

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When all the humans in his world disappear, Max, a yellow Labrador Retriever, begins the search for his family. He knows that if he can just find Madame Curie, a wise, old black Lab, she'll be able to help. Madame had a premonition of astonishing events to come -- she might know where Max's family is.

But Max can't make the journey alone. Joined by friends Rocky and Gizmo, Max sets off to find Madame. Along the way, the trio must face a pack of angry wolves, forage for food in a land where kibble is akin to gold, befriend a house full of cats, and outsmart a gang of subway rats. Ultimately, they'll have to escape from the biggest threat of all: the Corporation, a "perfect" society for dogs and by dogs, where nothing is quite as it seems.

The Last Dogs: The Vanishing is a thrilling adventure and a tale of three unlikely friends on an epic quest to find their people -- and bring them home.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2012

90 people are currently reading
1570 people want to read

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Christopher Holt

27 books47 followers

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5 stars
856 (53%)
4 stars
454 (28%)
3 stars
217 (13%)
2 stars
59 (3%)
1 star
24 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
Profile Image for Brian.
Author 1 book1,247 followers
December 27, 2014
This started as a buddy read with my 9-year old daughter but a third of the way in - somewhere around the start of fourth grade, dance classes and Bridge to Terabithia - I was abandoned. She promises to finish it some day, but I'm trying to clear the 2014 "current reading" deck, so I tackled the rest of the book solo.

The story is a fun read, full of action for a young reader - especially dog loving children. Told through the eyes of a pack of dogs thrown together after an untold apocalyptic event takes all of the humans away, Max and his chums encounter all types of travails in their attempt to find their human families. The book presents a great opportunity to talk to young ones about mortality - we all vanish, after all.

Somehow I lost the thread that this was a series, and I just finished this first book with a cliffhanger. Ugh. Come on, Belinda - catch up so we can read Book 2 together!

:)
Profile Image for Cat Carstairs.
325 reviews100 followers
May 25, 2020
I read this a couple years back and I can still recall my intense love for it. The Vanishing is a solid middle-grade novel jam-packed with lovable characters (the majority of whom are animals) and captivating action sequences. This book is ultimately what started my love for the middle grade genre, and I don't think I'll ever forget it. Definitely recommend!
Profile Image for Mary MacKintosh.
962 reviews17 followers
August 18, 2012
I read an advance copy of this book. Max loves his family, and cannot understand why they would leave him at the veterinary clinic and not return for him. This is the story of canine love and perseverance in a bleak world. All the people have vanished. It seems that all the birds have, too. This is a world of dogs, cats, wolves and rats. Max, described as a golden retriever by one character and as a yellow lab on the cover, and his two friends Rocky, a dachshund, and Gizmo, a terrier, don't know where everyone is, but they band together to travel in search of an answer and their people. They battle nature, including wolves and rats, and two odd communities of dogs on their way to the answer to the puzzle. Max is good, strong and brave; Rocky is lazy and smart and provides comic relief; and Gizmo is so, so perky, cute, and charming and smart, too. The story's action starts right away and never flags. Good children's title.
Profile Image for Elizabeth☮ .
1,821 reviews14 followers
December 18, 2012
i found this among the new releases in the children's section of my library. i got it because i love the cover. the story proved itself to be worthy of my attention also.

max is at the vet's office in a kennel when he realizes that the humans are gone. with the help of a dachsund (rocky) with moxy, max breaks free of the kennel and sets out to find where his pack leaders have gone.

on the way, rocky and max encounter wolves; a pack of dogs attempting to create their own utopia without the help of humans; cats that have taken over a town; and the corporation (dogs ruling dogs). they also pick up a tiny companion gizmo.

overall, this is an interesting story that moves at an even pace with excitment around every corner.

it is the beginning of a series, which i try to stay away from, but i am hooked. the next in the series doesn't release until next summer.
Profile Image for Stephen Wallace.
853 reviews104 followers
August 29, 2022
Sorry, just not for me. I don't like it when animals can talk to each other and act in ways unrealistic for a dog in a book that is trying to be serious about the story.
Profile Image for Melissa Guimont.
132 reviews1 follower
February 13, 2014
I was reluctant to start this because I knew it was a series that I have limited time for with all of my other books to read. I am glad I gave it a chance. I actually listened to it and loved the narrator. This book kept me on my toes from the beginning because I wanted to know what happened to the people. In his quest to find out, Max meets some charming and not-so charming creatures along the way. With the help of his friends, he's on his way to finding the answers he seeks and I am on my way to the library's shelf to get the second of this series.
Profile Image for Yapha.
3,288 reviews106 followers
September 8, 2012
A thrilling adventure as Max, Rocky, and Gizmo go in search of their people. All of the people have disappeared, leaving the dogs and other animals alone to fend for themselves. Max does not know where his people have gone, but he knows that he must find them. His journey is complicated by ferocious wolves, territorial cats, and several groups of dogs who think they know what is best now that the people are gone. The first in a trilogy -- I look forward to reading the rest!

ARC provided by publisher.
30 reviews
May 14, 2015
This was a fun and intriguing book. I'm reading a lot of dog books lately;). Nicole read it recently, too I think. Dogs lose their owners and go on a quest to find them. It was fun!! Anyone would like it.
Profile Image for Anna Frohling.
182 reviews3 followers
February 25, 2014
A post-apocalyptic Homeward Bound, and believe it or not this is not the first one I've read. Apparently this is a burgeoning genre where pets try to survive in a world where their owners have left them.
Max, the generic everyman Golden Retriever, is left locked in his cage for a week only to find out all the humans have all dissapeared- and there are wolves poking their heads through the cat door, not a good sign.
Survivors is another book with almost the exact same plot. The main character is also a golden Retriever, bleh. I think post-apocalyptic dog stories should shake it up a little, maybe? (and there is also an evil poodle, what is the deal with poodle-hate?)
If I had to choose which one of these series was better, I would vote for The Last Dogs. The characters had more defined personalities the book was just less clumsy in tone in general. It leaned more on the humorous side, and at times it was not the most realistic, but who cares. I also like the aspect of the uneasy truce between the dogs and the cat society.
This book had dark moments at times, but never seemed to wallow in them sadistically. So where did all the humans go? Are the dogs carrying some sort of bubonic plague? Then why didn't the humans just wipe them out? Unfortunately you have to stay tuned for the next volume.
Although this book is somewhat long, it was not challenging and I read it in a day in addition to three classes. There were cases where the author told us how the characters felt instead of just showing us naturally. It also introduced so many characters and never developed them. What was the deal with that Chihuahua who thought he was a cat?
Profile Image for Sandy Thorup : ).
10 reviews2 followers
November 24, 2014
The Last Dogs: The Vanishing is the first book in a series of fantasy books, and i loved it. The book is about a Lab, Max,who has been locked up in a cage for several days. With the help of a Dachshund named Rocky, he realizes that the people have gone missing, and he goes on an amazing adventure to find them. In the process of finding his humans, he encounters starving wolves, an evil poodle, mad dogs, and plenty of other things against him. Driven by the need to find his people and to find his Black Lab friend, Madame, he pushes through these challenges and continues to find clues as to where the people have gone.
The theme of this book is to continue to try and to never give up on your goal. Max is continually trying to reach his goal, and that is a personality trait that I think everyone should try to have. The only thing I would change in this book is all the traveling that Max and his friends do. It can get boring when they are just walking for days and days. Other than that, I think this is a great book for anyone that like’s dogs or is a person who likes to read fantasy books about animals. GO MAX!
Profile Image for Michelle Elizabeth.
773 reviews65 followers
August 1, 2017
Nothing special in terms of writing or plot, it's not a series I'll re-read in the years to come; that said it is more entertaining than some of the better written, more literary books I've read, and its simplicity makes it a pretty easy read (a good thing for someone like me, as someone who deals with fibro fog and needs occasional breaks from the 1000+ page fantasy epics I like). I have the next two books in the series already lined up and hope to start them soon(ish), so I obviously don't regret reading this, even if it's not a favorite.
21 reviews1 follower
November 15, 2018
This book itself did not particularly grab my attention compared to a lot of other fictional books, but it did interest me in some ways. The adventure that Max takes keeps me interested, but in some ways, this book got a little bit bland. If you are interested in fiction and animal adventures, I think you could enjoy this book, but me personally, I would not recommend this book.
Profile Image for Sharon Bodnar.
435 reviews3 followers
November 10, 2014
Yes, it's a kids book but I loved it. Dear Max, the labrador leads a perilous journey to find his family after allthe dogs are left behind by their humans. Good dogs, pompous dogs, and really bad dogs plus wolf battles, cats, and legions of sewer rats. Can't wait to continue the series.
Profile Image for navin.
98 reviews
January 12, 2023
3.5 :)
totally get why past me liked it!
very charming, lots of action, silly and very obviously written for children consumption. even so, there were a few funny jokes and characters i enjoy. still don’t exactly get the mystery and i might finish the series in the future
1 review
October 8, 2020
I remember reading this book back in middle school. I was a big fan of animal books so this was right up my alley. I was immediately stuck in to this book series. It has a whole mystery in the story that keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more. There's good and exciting action scenes, cute and likeable characters. There are only four books in the series, but I think it works for these books, there pretty long and they all play out like a movie. Definitely a must read for anybody of any age.
Profile Image for Kirsti.
2,498 reviews104 followers
January 29, 2017
One thing for sure, I do love me a dog story, especially one about humans vanishing and leaving dogs to fend for themselves. This is the third such series I've started (The other two, Survivors by Erin Hunter, and The Dogs of the Drowned City, by Dayna Lorentz, if you want to check them out) and all of them I've enjoyed. This series is particularly touching, sine it seems that a Labrador and two much smaller dogs, a Yorkie and a Dachshund will be the main characters. Fair warning though, this is as brutal as some of the other animal series for children/young adults out there, and some pets won't be making it home to their owners!

I had to special order this in form Dymock's, and definitely plan on getting the rest of the series the same way. The cover is bright and appealing, and I'm not sure why bookstores don't stock this kind of book. I'm sure if more kids knew about these awesome dog books they would get into it, I know I would have at that age! Definitely a new favorite, five stars!
Profile Image for Heather Shembarger.
164 reviews3 followers
January 21, 2019
This book will keep you reading from the very start. The reader quickly becomes attached to the main character Max who is a yellow lab. His owners have mysteriously disappeared, and the book revolves around his desire to find them. During the search, he ends up making two special canine friends who join him in his endeavor. They must face many challenges and often find themselves fighting to survive. As a reader, I had a hard time putting this book down as I wanted to know what happened to the people owners as well. There are some very sad moments in the book which end up being a bit shocking to the reader. The only reason I am giving it a 4 star rating instead of a 5 star is because after reading 369 pages, there are still many unanswered questions that I have. This, of course, is a great strategy to get the reader to pick up the second book in the series, but it also left me a bit disappointed to not have all the answers I was wanting to know to the many questions that I had.
12 reviews
October 24, 2016
The Vanishing is a good book for those that love dogs, mystery, and adventure. This book is entirely made out of characters that are all dogs no people are involved in this book. It is about all the dogs not having owners trying to build up their own groups trying to survive without their owners. The main dog in this book is a yellow lab determined to find his people even if the other dogs say that he won't find them. I suggest this book for kids in middle school and fifth grade.
Profile Image for Marcie Cumberland.
51 reviews1 follower
September 29, 2019
Totally Engrossing and Entertaining

The Last Dogs:The Vanishing by Christopher Holt is one of the most unexpected books I've ever read. Normally I don't care for anthropomorphic tales but Max ,Gizmo, and Rocky have such well written personalities that you'll have no problem suspending disbelief. This book is a great twist on dystopian novels. Ending was just about too abrupt for 5 stars but I've already ordered the next book!
Profile Image for Sally.
2,316 reviews12 followers
July 2, 2014
Novels about the end of time, or epidemic outbreaks are exciting reads, but have you ever wondered what happens to the pets that are left behind? Christopher Holt covers that concern in "The Vanishing." Who'd have thought? Read or listen to this story of a different kind of survival, told from the point of view of a dog.
Profile Image for Stacey.
647 reviews11 followers
July 8, 2014
The humans has disappeared. Was it an earthquake? What happened? Follow along with Max and his friends as they woke up in a world where all the humans disappeared. How will these pets deal with the trauma? What a nice change to see the world in a perspective of a beloved pet.
Profile Image for Shelley.
81 reviews
February 4, 2017
Hooked by page 3, totally immersed by the end of chapter 1!
Profile Image for Sara .
22 reviews4 followers
December 16, 2022
I know it’s just fantasy that dogs can communicate with each other and work together to create new societies, I can accept that in this type of book. However there were a couple of things that really irritated me throughout the book and will stop me from reading the follow up books in the series. The author clearly does not understand dogs. The first issue was the constant referral to the humans as “the pack leaders”. Dogs do not see humans as pack leaders for we are a different species. The pack leader theory comes from outdated training methods that have long been abandoned by decent modern day trainers, in favour of positive reinforcement methods. The book is nowhere near old enough that the author can be forgiven for still adhering to such outdated nonsense. The second was the obsession with kibble throughout the book. I’ve never in my life seen a dog get excited about kibble. Dogs given a choice will always choose fresh meat over kibble. Why did the dogs not opt for fresh meat that they could have taken from the freezers in the abandoned stores? It appeared that only the humans had disappeared and it made no sense to me that wolves, who are carnivorous hunters would be wanting to eat kibble. What about all the packets of wet food in the stores? Nobody seemed interested in them 🤷‍♀️ Maybe it’s because the book was US based where it seems kibble feeding is more popular than here in the UK. As a raw feeder, I just found this kibble obsession throughout the book extremely irritating. Dogs need meat not dry food one step away from plant based. My dogs will not touch kibble.
Profile Image for Danielle.
2 reviews
August 9, 2025
I read this book in 3rd grade when I was 8 years old and followed until book 3 over the two years after until my dad refused to buy me the final book and at one point I kind of just forgot about the series until recently. I can say with full confidence I was absolutely obsessed with this series. This book is what got me into my love of reading, especially with it being such an interesting genre/style of book, I mean a it's a post apocalyptic world following three dogs trying to figure out what happened to the humans and find their people, while facing so many challenges along the way including a LOT of murderous wolves, and even some dictator dog cults. These three dogs are traveling purely on gut instinct, determination, and hope trying to find the people who matter most in the world to them. I turn 17 in a month and I've just recently re bought the entire series myself for when I decide to pick it back up where I left off (considering my dad forced me to end on a massive cliffhanger In book three.) When I was 8 years old I found my first copy on a Goodwill shelf and the only reason I even got it was because my dad told me I had to find a book to read for school, and since then I haven't ever been found without a book in my hands or in my bag. (Bet you regret making me grab that book now, don't you dad?) These books are my Roman empire. I may not remember much about them because it's been almost ten years since I picked the first one up but These books are my life and I will defend them until the day I die.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Shazza Maddog.
1,371 reviews2 followers
September 18, 2022
Well this book made me sad.

Max is trapped in a kennel at a veterinary office when the humans disappear - he's been there a week and is dying of thirst when a dachshund, Rocky, appears in the room looking for kibble. Rocky doesn't stop to help but he does tell Max how to escape the kennel. After escaping, Max helps Rocky with a pack of wolves whom Rocky tricked into believing he'd feed for protection (still seriously trying to figure out why wolves are so interested in kibble - why? They know how to hunt).

After escaping there, Max leads Rocky to his own home which is also deserted, but they decide to keep going, loading a kids' wagon with food to take with them. On their way to town, they run into the Enclave, lead by Daintyclaw the Standard Poodle. Daintyclaw wants Max - and the wagon - so gangpresses him into helping out, at least until Max, Rocky, and a Yorkie, Gizmo, decide to leave.

Only to wind up in a city, where the wolves are still trailing them, where rats are huge and intelligent, and where a Doberman going by the name of The Chairman wants all dogs to follow his rule.

Anyway, so the idea of me leaving behind my pets is something I think about rather a lot - what might happen to them? They're old, they couldn't hunt, something would probably eat them if they didn't starve to death first...and that's what kept running through my mind reading this book which is absolutely not what the writer intended, I'm sure.
Profile Image for Emery Bell.
171 reviews5 followers
March 6, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded down

Man, this book was a lot darker than I remembered. I really have a different perspective on Madame Curie after my Rita

It was one of my favorites as a kid and I’m in a big reading slump right now, so I wanted to visit some oldie favorites

A really fun dystopian-esque book about a group of dogs trying to find their way home! It’s not going to revolutionize middle grade novels or anything, but it was a good read for me as a kid blossoming into my dystopian obsession and who loved any kind of book from an animal perspective

It’s also not milking every last drop out of the story like Survivors. Erin Hunter let’s be real. Your series do not need to be so long

Anyways, can’t say I love the way the wolves were portrayed, but the characters need something driving them forward so the author used what they had I guess. I just found stuff like the Cooperation way more interesting

The plot/character development isn’t super in-depth, but, again, it’s just kind of a fun read. I’ll probably re-read the whole series and get back to this review to see if I want it to go up or down!
Profile Image for P.K.Eason.
28 reviews
January 17, 2018
OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS BOOK SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT HAS SUCH A GOOD STORYLINE AND EVEN THOUGH MAX IS QUITE SERIOUS, THE BOOK ALWAYS HAS FUN SLIPPED INTO EVERY LITTLE CORNER! GIZMO IS MY FAVORITE DOG AND ROCKY LOVES KIBBLE! I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS BOOK AND AS LONG AS I KEEP READING THE BOOKS I AM SURE THAT THE STORY WILL JUST PROGRESS ONWARDS IN AN AMAZING WAY!
READ
THIS
BOOK
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205 reviews8 followers
May 26, 2019
This was an unexpected great book. I kept think Clifford, Cleo and T-Bone as I read but the writer did a great job of getting inside the dogs mind.Full of action and tears . This was no small book yet I read it all within a few hours.Just couldn't put it down. While its geared towards the younger reader I know older readers would find it just as great. Getting ready to read the 2nd book in the series.
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