The Little Dog in the Big Plague

by C.C. Alma

The humans have no idea that a pandemic is on its way, but Ringo, the little dog, can smell the growing rot. It is everywhere: in their new neighborhood, in their old apartment complex, and in the bodies of Ringo’s beloved family. What should a dog do when he survives a plague? Scared and confused, Ringo sets out on his journey.

Genres: Fiction, Dogs

47 pages, ebook

First published August 24, 2015

About the author

Hello to anyone in the universe who might be reading my bio! I was born in San Francisco, California, an American city on a small blue planet on the edge of the Milky Way. My people came to the United States from the Philippines, who came to the Philippines from China and Spain — before that, it's a complicated mystery with too many ancestors involved.

Like most people, I must work to eat. I am an assistant at a foundation. I write fiction in my spare time because my life dream is to tell stories that entertain and inspire others. I see lots of weird, wacky, and wonderful things going on in all our lives — and I want to do what I can, with whatever talent I have, to explore these in story form.

I am the author of the novel The Earth Girl and Queen Eliza and several short stories that are collected in the anthology Stories in the Okay Future.

I grew up in Virginia, but I now live in Northern California.

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 1 out of 5]

" I received this via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. All my opinions are my own. "
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Nice premise and as a DogMom, I leaped at the chance to read about something like this from a dog's perspective. I wanted to scoop Ringo up and take him home with me.

The writing I found awkward from the beginning but I pressed on, giving it a chance. More telling than showing it seemed to me and I didn't care for Tobey's perspective *shrugs* He wasn't interesting to me. Just couldn't connect to the story the way I wanted to.

Sadly, a dud for this reader.
On to the next.

[Myra · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an interesting short story, that I was lucky enough to win in a GoodReads Giveaway!!
I do wish much more of the story had come through from the perspective of Ringo.
Interesting premise, that felt a bit rushed at the end, yet I could see this as a prequel to a book/series.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diego da dog does daring deeds in dire disaster ditty.

A charming simple story that could be easily read in full on one of those rainy afternoons or a short-haul plane trip. The title tells the story. I so sympathized with poor Diego, the bald weird looking dog, and Tobey, the huge, lumbering human. In the midst of adversity they find each other and become friends who can face the plague-ravaged world together. As Alma writes, They could be losers together - the big, awkward guy and the small, rat-faced dog. In fact Diego becomes adept at sniffing out humans who are unaffected by the deadly virus...a talent big Tobey will find useful, or is it? Read and find out.

[Pauline Ennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting, as a massive dog person that's what drew me to it,
I really enjoyed it and there were some quite beautiful descriptions throughout.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a goodreads giveaway winner of this book. A little dog names Ringo could use his sense of smell to know something was wrong with his elderly owners. Both women died the same day. Meanwhile a 20 year old Tobey lives with is family they too are sick except Tobey within 24 hours Tobey's family dies as well. Ringo is combing the streets and finds Tobey. The two scour the city trying to find survivors of what has become a Plague. Only few are left and they must find each other to survive. a pretty good story of tragedy bringing strangers together.

[Melissa Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a teeny tiny story with lots of feels. There was love, sadness, anger, anxiety, happiness and many more. All bundled together in these minimal pages.
The story takes place in the midst of a plague going through the world. Ringo is a dog who had a good life and loves his family. When he starts to smell that his family was getting sick, he starts to worry. Then they were gone. He set off to find others that didn't get sick but he goes through many trials to get there. Finally, he finds someone. Then someone else and so on. Before long, Ringo has his self-made family. The story revolves around them and their individual personalities.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I'm a sucker for a story that features a dog and this short read had a really interesting one. Ringo's not cute and heroic but he does have the ability to determine who carries the plague and he seems to be able to judge the innate kindness of people. Along with Tobey, a bumbling 20 year old, the few remaining humans bond into a new family and seek a way to continue with life. Dystopian novels are usually bleak but this one was warm and hopeful. I enjoyed it.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Tracey A. Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog saves the day!!

I first thought this was going to be a really sad story. But in the end I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the ending I thought would happen. I would definitely recommend this book. It was a good come of age story!!

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting little story. I really wanted to scoop up Ringo and take him home. Tobey not so much.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If a short story/novella is bad, you're happy it's not longer. If a short story/novella is good, you want more. I did want more of this one. I think a full-length novel would have fleshed out the relationships between the characters and provided more information on the plague, like where it came from. I also felt like the transition from "a boy and a his dog" to this whole group, and the trip to Florida, seemed very rushed. This story just needed more story!

Additionally, I was disappointed the story was not entirely from Ringo's view, which was what I was expecting.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

My week(s) of the dog continue with this book, The Little Dog in the Big Plague. Ringo, a dog who might be some kind of Chinese Crested mix from the description in the story, pulls together a small family of survivors after a plague kills 95% of the human population. It sounds like animals are not immune either. The was just a short feel good story that seemed like a set-up for a longer novel, although I checked the authors page and she has not published additional books a series.

Nothing too heavy in this one just a nice little short story to enjoy.

[Cookie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly simplistic story about a pandemic that wipes out 95% of the world's population told from the point of view of a dog. All the really disgusting parts are left out. I read more horrifying plague stories when I was a kid, so I think this novella is safe for older kids and young teens.

I received this book free for an honest review on Goodreads.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, short, appropriate.

It's very short. I loved it. I told my young adult daughter how the surviving dog and the surviving young man meet in the story and made her cry cause it's so sweet. I'm glad the 'book' is so short 'coz even longer, I would have read it all and I dont really have time for that right now. Also really apt at the moment, being for the second time this year (2020) in lockdown in France due to a world-wide pandemic.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

This book found me at just the right time. It is just long enough with a good flow about a hopeless situation that can become hopeful. I enjoyed the characters and loved Ringo most of all.

[RaChelle Holmberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful

Don't listen to the haters in the reviews, this was a wonderful, heartfelt, well written story that i love EVER so much.

[Reba A Walker Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Short Story

Great plot. A feel good story from a genre that is usually quite dark. Really enjoyed this change of pace.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story

This is the delightful story of a dog named Ringo who finds he can smell the rapidly developing demise of humanity. Consequently, Ringo is forced to grow stronger and smarter to survive. Likewise, the story's main human character, a young man Ringo joins up with, is also forced to grow stronger and smarter to survive. These two have important jobs to do as the rest of the world slowly rots away around them.

My preferred genre is post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction and, although the apocalypse isn't really the main point of the story, this book does contain many elements of a good post-apocalyptic (PA) novel. I've found that the best PA novels tell the story of the apocalypse from a unique point-of-view, such as that of a child or lone survivor. The Little Dog in the Big Plague certainly accomplishes this with Ringo. In that regard, I would encourage the author to venture further into PA/dystopian writing in the future.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's interesting to me that I picked this precise moment, smack dab in the middle of our own growing pandemic, to read this book. Perhaps that is why I enjoyed it so much...because I can relate to it a lot more now than I could have a couple of months ago. I fell in love with the precious dog Ringo, and I enjoyed reading from his perspective. This book also includes the perspective of Tobey, Ringo's new human friend. I would have liked the ending to go on a little longer, but I think that a second book could easily be made. There's really no better time to read this book than right now.

[Diann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short story fell into my "skim/DNF" category.

The story line has great potential, but none of the characters or scenes were well developed.
I sincerely hope the author finds the inspiration to bring more depth and breadth to the characters and storyline. If so, I would attempt a re-read.

[Theresa Wade · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute little short story that has potential but could have been written better.

[MrXDG · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to A Little Dog in a Big Plague while cutting the grass, and it was the perfect companion for an hour of solitude. It’s a short, post-apocalyptic audiobook about Tobey, a boy who lost his family, and Ringo, a dog who also lost his people. What follows is a quiet, emotional journey about how they find each other—and what it means to keep going when the world has already ended.

Along the way, they run into Joni, one of the few other survivors, a sixteen-year-old girl with her own baggage. There’s a bit of tension in her dynamic with Tobey that made me feel uneasy at first, especially given their age difference, but thankfully that’s addressed and resolved by the end. Tobey sets clear boundaries, and the story focuses more on themes of trust, survival, and found family.

That said, the ending felt a bit rushed. The story starts off slow and reflective, but everything ramps up quickly in the last stretch, which felt a little jarring given how much care was put into the early pacing. I also found myself wishing we had more of Ringo’s perspective. With a title like A Little Dog in a Big Plague, I expected more insight into his thoughts and emotions. What we get from him is good, but there was definitely room to explore his voice more deeply.

Still, it’s a solid novella that delivers a meaningful, quiet story in a short amount of time. I could easily see myself re-listening during a short trip or on a lazy afternoon. It’s not flashy, but it’s got heart—and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a dog person, I am quite partial to books about them, especially those that give their point of view. I found Diego very convincing, as dogs are known to sense (or sniff out) cancers, low blood sugar, epileptic seizures, earthquakes etc. I also tend to imagine that dogs think as written here, though we humans can never really know. I would have preferred more of Diego's perspective and less of the humans'. The story seemed to end too soon, and I wonder if this was meant to be the basis of a longer work. I received a Kindle edition from a Goodreads giveaway.

[Bill Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of The Little Dog in the Big Plague by C. C. Alma in a Goodreads giveaway. The short story starts out about a dog that can smell the sickness in people. It's an interesting premise and as the story continues Ringo finds some survivors who band together. It was here that I lost interest. The characters were not interesting and the fact that power and water kept working was far fetched. Great idea average short story

[Lisa Schulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet little dog

Enjoyed this book immensely. Written mainly in the perspective of a little dog during a present time plague, it gently held my rapt attention. I don't like to read gore or horror, and there is none in this story. I have read of dogs actually sniffing out specific diseases and the author uses that in this story.

[Chrystal Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice

This is a very different apocalyptic story. It doesn't focus as much on the death and fear. This one focuses on much nicer things as folks begin to recover and find each other. It's mostly from the point of view of little dog who helps the people as best he can. Quite a lovely story.

[Betsey's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book review! The Little Dog In The Big Plague, by CC Alma. Three stars! 🌟🌟🌟
A plague has killed off 95% of the population, and Ringo the dog is looking for a new family. He finds one person, then another, and another, and then two more. As the survivors try to figure what to do next, Ringo is just content that he formed a new pack. Very cute short story.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay short story that would benefit from stronger overall writing and storytelling as it read somewhat awkward.
3 star book.

My thanks to goodreads and the book's giveaway sponsors for the opportunity to obtain and read a copy of this book.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sweetest, gentlest post-apocalyptic story you will ever read. It is kindly told, with simply-drawn characters who are nonetheless real enough for us to care. TLDITBP is well worth the time it takes to read. You'll feel better for doing so.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ringo’s Family

This is a short novel about a big plague and a little dog who brings together some survivors. It’s a sweet story and it ended too soon. There is great potential for a sequel. I wish the author would consider a continuation.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to a little dog, who could smell out disease and good people, a group survives a plague that has almost totally destroyed everything they know. The dog got them all together, they learn to live as a family and as the weather gets colder move to Florida hoping to they survive.