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Dog
For those who need to hear I do not kill the dog.
Mark Jacobs' life falls apart when a tragic illness takes his wife from him. Looking to rebuild, and with the help of his sister, he adopts the dog they'd been looking to re-home together as a way of completing their family; a young Alsatian named Bobby. Their bond is immediate, growing stronger with each passing day and - finally - Mark starts seeing a glimmer of hope for the future until, that is, there's a knock on his front door. When he goes to see who it is, Mark is confronted by a stranger he's never met before. The man introduces himself as the dog's rightful owner and tells Mark, "I want my dog back."
Despite having the law on his side, given he legally adopted Bobby from a rescue centre, the stranger begins stalking Mark and pressurising him into either releasing the dog or paying a considerable amount of financial compensation. Home visits, parcels sent to Mark's address, phone calls through the night - the stranger is relentless but the police won't get involved until there's enough evidence to prove Mark's claims. Mark just hopes he can get the necessary evidence together before things escalate further.
Psychological thriller.
While Matt Shaw has a name within the extreme horror community, this is not extreme horror and is suitable for all.
Mark Jacobs' life falls apart when a tragic illness takes his wife from him. Looking to rebuild, and with the help of his sister, he adopts the dog they'd been looking to re-home together as a way of completing their family; a young Alsatian named Bobby. Their bond is immediate, growing stronger with each passing day and - finally - Mark starts seeing a glimmer of hope for the future until, that is, there's a knock on his front door. When he goes to see who it is, Mark is confronted by a stranger he's never met before. The man introduces himself as the dog's rightful owner and tells Mark, "I want my dog back."
Despite having the law on his side, given he legally adopted Bobby from a rescue centre, the stranger begins stalking Mark and pressurising him into either releasing the dog or paying a considerable amount of financial compensation. Home visits, parcels sent to Mark's address, phone calls through the night - the stranger is relentless but the police won't get involved until there's enough evidence to prove Mark's claims. Mark just hopes he can get the necessary evidence together before things escalate further.
Psychological thriller.
While Matt Shaw has a name within the extreme horror community, this is not extreme horror and is suitable for all.
90 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2024
46 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Matt Shaw
529 books2,195 followersBiography
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 6, 2024
I would give this 100 ⭐️if I could.
October 21, 2025
3.5 stars. This was ok for me. It really strived to be a powerful story, but kept missing the mark. Came close, but didn't quite get there. Possibly due to the brevity, but I'm not 100% sure. Mark had all of the calling cards of someone that you wanted to care more about. His wife passed, he was being harassed by a stranger about his new dog, all as he was battling depression. One thing that really didn't work for me was the nonstop time jumps every few pages. It made the flow feel off and took away from some of the more pressing matters at a given time, as everything was mashed together. The ending also fell flat for me. Almost made the entire book feel pointless. Nobody found peace and there was no real resolve to anything that had been built up. Not sure I have any helpful suggestions here aside from a continuous timeline and more development for both Steven and Mark. Not a bad read, but also not a great one, either.
July 2, 2024
Matt Shaw was kind enough to give me an arc of his new book, ‘dog’. I read this in an afternoon as I had to find out how it ended. This book really sucks you in but also stomps all over your heart. How far would you go to keep your furry best friend? Although this was emotionally heavy, I really enjoyed this. I’m now going to go and stare at a wall for a few hours.
June 8, 2024
I was given an ARC copy of this from the author, and I am speechless. Matt Shaw is one of my absolute favorite authors, so getting to read an early copy of one of his books was awesome.
I devoured this in 2 days, Dog is the story of an emotionally lost man and what lengths he'll go to for his furry best friend.
This book is psychological grief horror at its finest.
I devoured this in 2 days, Dog is the story of an emotionally lost man and what lengths he'll go to for his furry best friend.
This book is psychological grief horror at its finest.
July 15, 2024
Not like anything I've read from Matt shaw before what an emotional roller coaster 😢
July 4, 2024
Absolutely brilliant work from Matt. I absolutely love his work and this book was amazing. I even teared up at the end which is hard to find anything that makes me do. I love the way the book was written along with the characters and of course dog. Excellent read
July 8, 2024
Crying now!
Although this is a psychological thriller, it also speaks to the love between a dog and his "father". At 74 years, I have had many dogs and other animals, and have loved them all. Some will always be extra special like Bobby. I love all the books I have read by Matt Shaw, but this is one I'll never forget! Thank you, Matt!
Although this is a psychological thriller, it also speaks to the love between a dog and his "father". At 74 years, I have had many dogs and other animals, and have loved them all. Some will always be extra special like Bobby. I love all the books I have read by Matt Shaw, but this is one I'll never forget! Thank you, Matt!
July 6, 2024
Took its time getting to the point
When I started reading this I thought to myself , where the hell is this book going ? I didn't quite get into till the end , honestly I was going to give it two stars but being a dog lover the ending got to me in a good way .
When I started reading this I thought to myself , where the hell is this book going ? I didn't quite get into till the end , honestly I was going to give it two stars but being a dog lover the ending got to me in a good way .
July 24, 2024
Review of Dog: a phycological thriller
By Matt Shaw
It was difficult for me to start this review, for after reading the story and epilogue, I could not see through my tears to write. Few books have touched me as this one did. Honestly, I was not expecting a story of this nature from author Matt Shaw. It was, however, a pleasant surprise.
Every book I have read by Matt has heightened my senses. Most of the time, my heart races from the horror that ignites my imagination. Dog did the same, but horror wasn't igniting my imagination or my heart racing. It was—well, every emotion was stirred, and my heart broke.
Dog is a book for everyone. The writing is impeccable, and the story is riveting. Seriously.
My favorite passage from the book:
"' Are you ready to go and see Daddy?' Sophie opened the passenger door of her car. Bobby didn't need asking twice. He jumped out of the car and ran towards the open gate."
You may understand why I love this passage after you read the book.
By Matt Shaw
It was difficult for me to start this review, for after reading the story and epilogue, I could not see through my tears to write. Few books have touched me as this one did. Honestly, I was not expecting a story of this nature from author Matt Shaw. It was, however, a pleasant surprise.
Every book I have read by Matt has heightened my senses. Most of the time, my heart races from the horror that ignites my imagination. Dog did the same, but horror wasn't igniting my imagination or my heart racing. It was—well, every emotion was stirred, and my heart broke.
Dog is a book for everyone. The writing is impeccable, and the story is riveting. Seriously.
My favorite passage from the book:
"' Are you ready to go and see Daddy?' Sophie opened the passenger door of her car. Bobby didn't need asking twice. He jumped out of the car and ran towards the open gate."
You may understand why I love this passage after you read the book.
October 10, 2024
“I’ll keep coming back. I’ll keep coming back until you give me my dog.”
Mark Jacobs has recently adopted Bobby (3), an Alsatian rescue dog.
Carly, Mark’s late wife, had always dreamed of getting a dog. And she’d wanted an Alsatian.
Little does Mark know, he is the fourth family to adopt Bobby.
Steven claims to be Bobby’s “real” owner.
Threats. Harassment. Stalking. The envelope.
But even the money won’t make Steven go away.
Yet another stranger claims Bobby is his.
Another package.
The flashbacks to Carly seem wholly unrelated to this narrative.
The editing is light years ahead of Matt’s usual material. Still some typos, but fewer and much further between.
The break-in. Another phone call. And the path.
WTAF is that ending?!? JF. Matt has written some dreadful endings…and the dog does indeed live…but this is just…no. 👎🏻👎🏻
“Do you know how it feels when someone takes your dog from you?”
“No.”
“It feels like this.”
Mark Jacobs has recently adopted Bobby (3), an Alsatian rescue dog.
Carly, Mark’s late wife, had always dreamed of getting a dog. And she’d wanted an Alsatian.
Little does Mark know, he is the fourth family to adopt Bobby.
Steven claims to be Bobby’s “real” owner.
Threats. Harassment. Stalking. The envelope.
But even the money won’t make Steven go away.
Yet another stranger claims Bobby is his.
Another package.
The flashbacks to Carly seem wholly unrelated to this narrative.
The editing is light years ahead of Matt’s usual material. Still some typos, but fewer and much further between.
The break-in. Another phone call. And the path.
WTAF is that ending?!? JF. Matt has written some dreadful endings…and the dog does indeed live…but this is just…no. 👎🏻👎🏻
“Do you know how it feels when someone takes your dog from you?”
“No.”
“It feels like this.”
December 11, 2024
𝑨𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒕.
Mark's life has been one tragedy after another, and when he loses his wife to cancer, the grief appears insurmountable. He adopts a dog he names Bobby, and their bond is immediate. But then there's a knock on the door. A stranger claims that Bobby rightfully belongs to him, and he wants his dog back. Stunned and confused, Mark refuses and closes the door.
But the stranger persists, and he becomes more aggressive. Mark knows that he can't survive another loss, so he holds fast. The stranger, however, isn't going to go quietly. I was not prepared for the showdown over Bobby, and the epilogue just destroyed me.
Grief horror is quickly becoming a favorite sub-genre. I really enjoyed this one. This book is available now on Kindle Unlimited.
Mark's life has been one tragedy after another, and when he loses his wife to cancer, the grief appears insurmountable. He adopts a dog he names Bobby, and their bond is immediate. But then there's a knock on the door. A stranger claims that Bobby rightfully belongs to him, and he wants his dog back. Stunned and confused, Mark refuses and closes the door.
But the stranger persists, and he becomes more aggressive. Mark knows that he can't survive another loss, so he holds fast. The stranger, however, isn't going to go quietly. I was not prepared for the showdown over Bobby, and the epilogue just destroyed me.
Grief horror is quickly becoming a favorite sub-genre. I really enjoyed this one. This book is available now on Kindle Unlimited.
October 16, 2024
Every dog owner's worst nightmare. Mark's wife passed away after a terminal illness. He adopts a GSD from the shelter named Bobby to help with the loneliness. Soon this dog is his everything, and Bobby helps him deal with the grief. Then a stranger shows up at his door and claims that Bobby is his dog, and that Mark stole him. That he will get him back. He's calling. He's watching. He knows where Mark has been.
The author loves dogs, and writes silly stories about his own Pug from time to time. And no worries, he says right in the synopsis "For those who need to hear it: I do not kill the dog."
The author loves dogs, and writes silly stories about his own Pug from time to time. And no worries, he says right in the synopsis "For those who need to hear it: I do not kill the dog."
September 9, 2025
Firstly, I want to thank the author for a signed copy!
Now that that is out of the way, I just gotta say oof, that was bad. "Dog" has a reallyyyyy great concept, but everything about the execution was terrible. The cover of my version said "a psychological thriller" - it was not that at all. I really expected some sort of twist of mindf*ck to happen, but this left no suspense whatsoever.
It also read like a first draft, like the author read through it once after writing it and said, "this is good". A whole lot more proofing, editing, and development work needed to be done on this to make it a great story.
Spooky season reads are not off to a great start so far 👎
Now that that is out of the way, I just gotta say oof, that was bad. "Dog" has a reallyyyyy great concept, but everything about the execution was terrible. The cover of my version said "a psychological thriller" - it was not that at all. I really expected some sort of twist of mindf*ck to happen, but this left no suspense whatsoever.
It also read like a first draft, like the author read through it once after writing it and said, "this is good". A whole lot more proofing, editing, and development work needed to be done on this to make it a great story.
Spooky season reads are not off to a great start so far 👎
May 12, 2025
Such a great story!
Anyone that loves animals will enjoy this book. It has some sad points but overall it was a really great read. I love Matt Shaw and always enjoy his books. This one is not really scary or extreme like his others but it's still a good story. I love my furry boy so this one touched my heart. It's one of his shorter stories and I finished it in one day. If you're looking for a horror this isn't it but if you love dogs and are looking for a short story that grabs your heart and squeezes "dog" will definitely do it.
Anyone that loves animals will enjoy this book. It has some sad points but overall it was a really great read. I love Matt Shaw and always enjoy his books. This one is not really scary or extreme like his others but it's still a good story. I love my furry boy so this one touched my heart. It's one of his shorter stories and I finished it in one day. If you're looking for a horror this isn't it but if you love dogs and are looking for a short story that grabs your heart and squeezes "dog" will definitely do it.
July 16, 2024
:-(
*SPOILER ALERT* This story, though short, took me a few days to read. At some point, not even halfway through, I had a gut feeling things weren't going to end well. So, I made it a point to drag out the reading process. I love dogs!! This was a very sad story. Just full of pain and heartache. Steven was definitely an evil man!!!!
*SPOILER ALERT* This story, though short, took me a few days to read. At some point, not even halfway through, I had a gut feeling things weren't going to end well. So, I made it a point to drag out the reading process. I love dogs!! This was a very sad story. Just full of pain and heartache. Steven was definitely an evil man!!!!
October 10, 2024
Man's Best Friend
Anyone who has owned and loved a pet will fully understand this story. Sometimes we humans get so wrapped around their dew claws, that we will do anything for them before we will do anything for ourselves. This is a very heartwarming and lovely story. I guarantee you will not look at your pet the same way after reading this.
Anyone who has owned and loved a pet will fully understand this story. Sometimes we humans get so wrapped around their dew claws, that we will do anything for them before we will do anything for ourselves. This is a very heartwarming and lovely story. I guarantee you will not look at your pet the same way after reading this.
July 19, 2024
amazing
A new favourite Matt Shaw book for me.
While not the usual blood guts and pure horror we are mainly used to this story was amazing, thorght provoking and amazingly written.
Man’s (and women’s) best friend will always be the dog
A new favourite Matt Shaw book for me.
While not the usual blood guts and pure horror we are mainly used to this story was amazing, thorght provoking and amazingly written.
Man’s (and women’s) best friend will always be the dog
August 9, 2024
Great story
I just finished the book and definitely have all the feels! It was a captivating story which I enjoyed from start to finish. It had some twists I didn't see coming, and while the ending is tough, its a good one. I absolutely plan to check out more Matt Shaw!
I just finished the book and definitely have all the feels! It was a captivating story which I enjoyed from start to finish. It had some twists I didn't see coming, and while the ending is tough, its a good one. I absolutely plan to check out more Matt Shaw!
August 20, 2024
I wasn’t prepared to write a review through sobs, but here I am. It’s unlike some of the other books I’ve read by him, but still SO good. The anxiety and heartache through this story is true horror. In between all of that, is an emotional and well told story.
Oh sweet, sweet Bobby.
Oh sweet, sweet Bobby.
November 1, 2024
I have many mixed feelings about this book. The love and commitment the main character has for his dog and his wife made me warm and fuzzy. Steven's actions made me feel anxious and creeped out. But then some of the decisions the main character made just made me want to slap him up the side of his head. This was a good book that is really well written. You will end up asking yourself " What would you do for your best friend?"
January 2, 2025
I loved this book. The characters were very believable even though it was an unbelievable situation. My heart went out to Mark as he was driving himself crazy just trying to keep his beloved dog, Bobby. I definitely fell in love with Bobby, such a good, good boy.
July 8, 2024
Dog
Completely different genre from Matt , absolutely loved this . Well written story. I shed a tear , or three !
Highly recommend
Completely different genre from Matt , absolutely loved this . Well written story. I shed a tear , or three !
Highly recommend
July 17, 2024
Yeah.. I teared up at the end. Thanks. 👍🏻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2024
What a good boy
The ending broke my heart. Had me tearing. I want to go home right now and hug and kiss my two dogs
The ending broke my heart. Had me tearing. I want to go home right now and hug and kiss my two dogs
September 16, 2024
Such a good read
Some of the writing was reduntant but the storyline is great. Poor Bobby...I hope he got to be with his Mark and met the rest of the family.
Some of the writing was reduntant but the storyline is great. Poor Bobby...I hope he got to be with his Mark and met the rest of the family.
December 21, 2024
Matt Shaw made me cry. I wasnt expecting that
January 24, 2025
Here goes my heart.
February 12, 2025
This novella really depicts the strong connection us humans can share with our animals and the lengths we would go through to protect them. The end had me in tears!
July 8, 2024
I loved this book. And not just that the killed but because it was something different written by Matt Shaw.
Even though it was a short story I was hooked from the start & no one was gonna take the dog from the main character!!! Love that.
Even though it was a short story I was hooked from the start & no one was gonna take the dog from the main character!!! Love that.
November 20, 2024
Not what I expected from Matt Shaw. He will always keep us guessing. Great writing. Recommend
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews