The Dog

by Amy Cross

A tale of the zombie apocalypse, told through the eyes of man's best friend...

When Jon takes his dog Harry to a remote cabin for the week, he just wants to get away from the rest of the world. And then one morning, after finding that his phone is dead, Jon looks at the city in the distance and realizes that something seems very wrong.

All the power has gone out. At night, the city is completely dark. There are no planes in the sky, and when Jon drives to the nearest gas station, he finds a desolate and bloody scene. He refuses to believe that something truly awful has happened, however, until he spots a figure stumbling through the forest, heading ever closer.

A figure that smells of death.

Soon Jon is facing a desperate fight for survival. While he and his dog have been up at the cabin, the whole world has been struck by a huge, global catastrophe that has left billions dead. Many are dead, but many more have risen again. Can Jon and his dog survive, or are they doomed to suffer the same fate?

The Dog is a novel about the end of the world, told through the eyes of a dog who finds himself stuck at a remote cabin with only his owner for company.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Fiction, Animals, Apocalyptic

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2016

About the author

Amy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely fantastic! It took the approach of Wayne Smith’s Thor and Jack London’s Call of the Wild, where the entire story is from the dog’s perspective. I’d say that the plot itself was extremely reminiscent of London’s classic as our main canine here, Harry, goes from a privileged life with his owner Jon to a myriad of different trials and tribulations with different people. And to make things more interesting, it’s all happening during a zombie apocalypse and a collapsed society. Now one of the other really unique approaches here was how little the infected population was utilized. There was definitely a fair amount of zombie fare, however, the bulk of the story was focused on the great characters and Harry’s interactions with them all. Some, like Thomas and Melissa, I hated so deeply, and others like Julie, Jon, and Harry, you really rooted for. Now the story had me a little choked up at about the one third mark, as something significant happens to Harry. And it broke my heart for this poor little dog. So the expert writing of Amy Cross elicited every emotion at some point here, and she navigated it all beautifully. And I thought the ending was one of the best, most skillfully constructed finales that I can recall in a long time. I’ve had some ups and downs with Cross’ works, but this was, by far, my favorite book of hers to date. For new and existing fans, this is a must read.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

My initial thought was that I wasn't sure that it would work. Amy Cross has proven herself time and again to be a skillful author, but the idea of reading a story from the dog's perspective, a zombie story, was quirky to say the least. However, this was pretty good. If you're a zombie fan, you might be a little disappointed, because when the zombie apocalypse begins the dog, and his owner are at a cabin.

Here, the dog (a hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier) understands most of what's going on, and in someways is wise to the apocalypse and many of the changes that have happened as a result. Jon (the dog's owner) left the city to vacation in the woods, but he was waiting for his girlfriend, Julie. He notices that the lights have gone out in the city, but he insists he's not worried. Julie is a doctor, and he assumes the reason she hasn't shown up yet is connected to the loss of power.

When days pass without the power returning, Jon decides to drive to the nearest roadside gas station to make some inquiries, but the gas station looks as if it's been vandalized. Also, there appears to be a random dude approaching and Harry (the dog) senses death on the guy. Harry barks up a storm to warn Jon, but Harry realizes that Jon doesn't have the same instincts that he does.

There's a lot of good in this book. There are also horrors that give the novel gut-punch capabilities. My friends that love books about dogs might enjoy this book. There are good, funny parts; along with painful, tearjerking moments, but overall, this is a strong novel written by a very prolific author.

I enjoyed the work, clearly and I most happily recommend it. This is my book #17 of 20 horror books for my All Hallows month goal.

[Nicola Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry had more humanity in his wee body than the remaining 1% of the human race. what a fight for survival. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, wouldn't expect anything less from Amy Cross!

[chucklesthescot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in the idea of reading about the zombie apocalypse from the POV of the dog. The dog, Harry, is a great character and it was interesting to see him react to what was happening-no buzz from the electrical gadgets to annoy his ears, the smell of blood from the city that Jon can't smell and the ability to recognise danger in the area through all his senses. Oh yes I loved brave and intelligent Harry but boy did I get annoyed and frustrated with the idiot humans around him.

Jon is frankly an idiot. He is waiting at his retreat for girlfriend Julie when the power goes out. OK I get that not everyone will think apocalypse when the power goes out but Jon is continually wondering aloud when it will come back on. And at least once a page he is telling Harry that Julie will be here in an hour, later that day, coming that night, be here in the morning, be here for lunch, be there before dinner...he goes on and on about when we can expect Julie and it drove me mad! Jon decides to head to a gas station nearby for news and once there, ignores every warning that Harry tries to give about danger, because Jon can't see anything. Yes a zombie appears but Jon is oblivious. Despite the grey skin, the gaping chest wound, maggots on him and stench of decay, Jon thinks the guy trying to eat him needs transport to the hospital and every time he gets into his car, he gets out again to help the guy, while poor Harry goes nuts! When the second zombie's stomach explodes he leaves, still wondering how he could have helped the sick people and whining on about Julie.

We do finally meet Julie but she is as bad as Jon for stupidity. She stops to help an ungrateful bitch who is rude and aggresive to her and kicks poor Harry! Yet Julie still decides she wants to help the cow! That was it for me with this book! It seems according to reviews on Goodreads that poor Harry continues to be the subject of verbal and physical abuse throughout the book so I'm glad I stopped when I did.

[Susan Arsenault · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Cried!!

I thought of how my dog would react to the situation of a "Zombie Apolocypse", and I actually cried at the end of the book!! I Was working overnight and away from home but wish I was with her my little doggie, Noodles!

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating - 2.5

[Rakesh Chawda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelously written. Each and emotion was relatable and deeply experienced. The premise is of a story with pov of a dog. While it is very easy to get into technicalies as a reader, a writer going through with it for a whole book rather than alternating chapters is appreciated. It was a good book with it's ups and downs and a range of characters. All of them left their impressions on the main character. However, having the dog remember it's first owner or companion was commendable. It can easily be imagined all the pet dogs doing so. Not one skippable paragraph or page. And a perfectly fitting end. Five full stars.

[Randy Harmelink · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first half of the book, but found the 2nd half tedious to read. If you're looking for a gory zombie apocalypse, this isn't the book for you. What drew my attention to the book was that it was coming from the dog's perspective. That's tough to do. In this case, in order to narrate the story, the dog has to be intelligent. Too intelligent for not being able to understand more than several words in English. The book also had a bit too much animal cruelty for me.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hit or miss when I read a book from a dog’s point of view. I’ve read several in this genre. The Dog was a hit.

The funny thing is how we can accept the death of a human during the break down of society, but the author kills a pet, that’s a big no no. I was fretting throughout the book. Can’t tell you how Jon and his dog, Harry, managed, but this was hard to put down and I didn’t throw the book after I read the ending.

[Kateblue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple little novella length book that I think I got for free--it's apocalyptic, so I would not have paid for it, as I am sick of apocalyptic. (You know it is apocalyptic right away, so not a spoiler.)

It's written from the point of view of a dog. I don't know if I will read any more of the author's books or not.

But it was fun. The Walking Dead meets Watership Down meets The Road.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't.. I quit. I can't finish this book. I love Amy Cross' books, but this one is just too much. This book is just super depressing and I can't stand all the animal abuse. I know many of her books can get really gory and I don't mind that, but all this abuse poor Harry has been enduring is just too much. I thought reading a book through the eyes of a dog would be interesting, but it's just depressing. When poor Harry is getting kicked repeatedly and just trying to figure out what he did wrong is just, ugh.. And him hoping that when he wakes up he'll see Jon again is sad. I'm just gonna give this book my own ending.. This is all a dream Harry has one night after watching scary movies with Jon. Yeah, I prefer that ending. (made it to 72% before quitting)

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok

I loved the beginning. Enjoyed it very much until Thomas came into it. The treatment of Harry was a little too violent for me. I couldn't finish it. NOT recommend for Young adults. but ok for others.

[truffle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only read this book because I love dogs and the book seemed promising from the opening. Unfortunately I could not finish this book. The constant and glaring grammatical errors really disrupted the read. The characters were also BARELY developed, including the dog. I found myself struggling to get into the story because everything was so touch-and-go. The environment is also barely painted out... Even with a great imagination, you wouldn't be able to make anything out because there was no effort in anything other than talking about how the characters were trying to progress. Like another reviewer mentioned, this really feels like a story outline more than an actual story itself.

First 20% of the story is just the first protagonist being a complete idiot. While most people may not know how to survive in the wild, Jon is a complete idiot who does nothing productive at all while waiting for Julie. And the story claims he trusts his dog but he has zero understanding of his dog's behaviour. LOL. What a joke. Then Julie comes along and she's better... until she meets a girl on the side of the road trying to save her dying boyfriend. LOL this is where I stopped too. For someone who escaped from ground zero of the zombie apocalypse, she's strangely so invested in helping this pair of nobodys, even subjecting herself to the point of verbal humiliation for no apparent reason at all. Also, she claims to be so in love with Jon and having spent many years together, but doesn't feel much when the dog starts to get kicked and hit for no reason by a complete stranger. If a stranger had hit my pet for no reason, I would either retaliate or, in this case, leave and stop helping them! Julie is a doctor but she has no obligation to help others especially when she's not in a hospital and these people have nothing to offer her.

The last straw was the dog getting hit and kicked for no reason. (If it was a human character, I would still feel the same way too. These actions served no purpose in the story!) At least in the first time it got hit, you could shrug it off as 'he was fighting an assailant'. The subsequent times served no purpose for the dog to be hit at all! Furthermore, the dog appears to be characterised as one who only trusts people it knows so, why does it stand near enough to a stranger to be hit?! And Jack Russell's are pretty small so I don't understand how it still can get hit / not have a fast enough reflex to avoid it since dogs pick up on scents and movements faster than humans.

If I could I would give this 0 stars. Thankfully I got this for free so I'm deleting this from my life and avoiding this author from now on.

[Andrew Troth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to come across this book. I always enjoy reading the works of authors who write in the same genre as myself (from a dog's POV).
This had a good storyline, with interesting characters. However, a lot of the human characters seemed a lot less fleshed out (no pun intended) than the main character.
There were also quite a few glaring typo's and missing words. The biggest downfall I found, however, was the constant repetitiveness of phrases and sentences. Quite often the same sentence was repeated over and over, paragraph after paragraph, as if the author had thought "that's a good turn of phrase" and just used it again and again throughout the page.
The author manages to continue to write from the dog's point-of-view throughout, yet never lets you forget that he's a dog, which can be a difficult thing to achieve realistically.
I hope she writes another novel in a similar vein to this one

[Jeremy Maddux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is far from perfect, but it made me cry. When I say cry, I mean the chest heaving, teeth gritting kind of crying. My main problem with the book is that it seemed to become schizophrenic at times, not knowing whether it wanted to be about the zombies, the survivalists, the dog, the dog's owner, the dog's owner's girlfriend. The dog Harry's final adventure battling the human traffickers along with a farm boy seemed tacked on and unnecessary. But dammit, I was rooting for Harry the whole book as one despotic human after another kicked him in the ribs or threw rocks at him. Harry was a true 'underdog.' Har har har. It just wasn't fair that he was robbed of his owner and best friend Jon so early on in the story.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw, this one is absolutely full of meanies who are cruel to animals, but I knew this before I started. Expecting it didn't help though, because I adore dogs and hate to see one in such pain all the time. BUT it was good to see a zombie apocalypse from a different perspective than just humans. I liked how he could hear humans speaking but not actually understand more than a few words. He understood basic things , but death and human motivation was generally beyond him.

A really different book for zombie lovers, and one that stands out in its genre. It is also on the Kindle Unlimited program, which influenced my decision to read it. Five stars but the Dog dies. Sorry. :( :( :(

[Karen Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Loved this story told not just from a human view but from a dogs view.
How would you react if civilisation as you know it has fallen appart? Would you like Jon cling to what's familiar even though you know you can't stay in your home, you're going to have to move on. His dog knows that they have to go, food is getting harder to find, nasty men are pushing into your territory & you can't fight them.
So begins the journey to find a safe place to stay. To find people who you can settle down with to make a good world again.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof. This book has gone and broke my heart.

I thought I was getting a cute whimsical zombie read akin to Kira Jane Buxton's Hollow Kingdom. How very wrong I was. I've read some reviews saying dog lovers will love this, and I'm not so sure. Harry, a little Jack Russell Terrier, was written incredibly, capturing his huge heart and innocence. But the story of Harry is a terribly sad one, be warned. This wasn’t terrifying for the zombies, but for the horror that lurks in the dark depths of humanity, when all bounds and order are gone.

[Mary Balzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I never thought I would be interested in a dog's journey through a zombie Apocalypse, but I was so wrong. This book had me hooked and I felt everything that the dog felt. Its a story about humans, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Definitely worth the read.
It did have a few editing errors. It was missing commas, and had typo's, but it was still enjoyable. Amy Cross, I have the editing problems in my notes if you would like them.

[Lisa Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshingly different approach to zombies

I almost did not read this book because I am not big on post apocalyptic novels it would have been my loss. For anyone who has shared their life with a dog, this is a must read You will cry, you will feel dread and you will care about these characters. Especially the dog.

[michael joseph paoletti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zombie hack

Characters being killed off just as you get to know them. No heroes, all bad guys
And the violence seems gratuitous. No sensible thoughts by the characters and
No strategy. It was a disgusting orgy of nonsense.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the "zombie apocalypse" and the breakdown of civilisation - told by a dog! Very good, and quite touching in places, as the dog's loyalty is contrasted with the way the humans turn on each other. The best I have read by this author.

[Carolyn Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying if you love dogs

I kept reading to the end even though the torture of the little Jack Russell was sickening. It was also horrifying to be forced to face how badly peop!e treat each other when under "end of the world" conditions.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The BEST story I have ever read! I am a major animal lover and this book, being told by the dog, had me feeling every emotion possible. Good guys. Bad guys. Zombies... 2 thumbs up, 5 stars, and any other high praise there is.

[Rebecca West · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like dogs? Don't read!

If you like reading about a lovable, loyal dog being mistreated, abused, tortured and abandoned with no happy ending, then by all means read this book. Anyone who gave this story a high rating is sick and twisted.

[margaret Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for Dog and Zombie fans!

I loved this book. I like that it's written from the Dogs view.
Outstanding book. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!!

[billy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Might have been a good story

Why do writers think that they have to have profanity to tell a story. Amy uses the LORDS name in vain constantly.

[Denise506 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book

What a unique & original story. So glad I am a fan of Any Cross. I might have passed this book by if it wasn't written by Any Cross. Great read!

[Mary Donegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action. Like a roller coaster ride but with a crash landing at the end.

[Neil Moulding · Rating 4 out of 5]

😭😭😭