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Welcome to the Puppy Place--where every puppy finds a home!

Charles and Lizzie Peterson love puppies. Their family fosters dogs that are in need of a permanent home. At first, Muttley the mutt seems wild and untrainable but he quickly becomes a hero when he smells smoke in the Peterson's house and rescues the family.

96 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published February 1, 2011

58 people are currently reading
773 people want to read

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Ellen Miles

175 books219 followers

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5 stars
387 (57%)
4 stars
160 (23%)
3 stars
93 (13%)
2 stars
28 (4%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah Monzon.
Author 27 books754 followers
January 21, 2021
My kids love trying to guess who is going to adopt the dog. They screamed, “I knew it!”
2 reviews
September 10, 2016
Muttley was a great book. It shows that even a tired dog could become a hero. When Muttley saved their lives Lizzie realized that anyone would be lucky to have him.
Profile Image for Jada Jackson.
66 reviews1 follower
February 25, 2022
Muttley may be lazy but he has a big personality.he saved the Petersons from a disasteress fire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
10 reviews
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March 3, 2022
I love how Muttley is lazy but makes up for that by saving the Perstions.
Profile Image for Emily Dudek.
35 reviews
January 2, 2023
Muttley an adorable lazy puppy
ends up saving the day!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Teena in Toronto.
2,464 reviews79 followers
February 4, 2023
Lizzie and her younger brother, Charles, are in elementary school. The Peterson family have a puppy named Buddy plus they foster dogs and help them find homes.

Lizzie volunteers at an animal shelter and there's a lazy puppy named Muttley who just sleeps all the time. The vet has checked him out and there's nothing wrong with him. The Petersons agree to foster him to see if Buddy can liven him up and show him what it's like being a puppy. He sleeps a lot at the Petersons but they also discover his loyalty and awareness when he awakens the household when there is a fire and becomes a local hero.

Though this book is a quick read and directed at elementary-aged children, I found it entertaining. There is a learning experience and a puppy tip at the end. It is written in third person perspective and first person from Muttley, the puppies' points of view. It is the twentieth in the Puppy Place series, which currently has 64 books in the series, and works as a stand alone.

Blog post review: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2023/02...
Profile Image for Mandy.
166 reviews5 followers
June 4, 2020
Miss 6 loves hearing these books since she can't read them herself yet. We've read A LOT of these Puppy Place books during Stay at Home 2020, many more than once. Most of them we drag through, and I dread reading them over and over. This one was much better than most of the other ones we read, though. It was a story focused on Lizzie instead of Charles, which I always like better. There was character development happening and a little bit of action. We didn't have to wait until the middle of the book to meet the dog, and the pacing wasn't wacky. There weren't a lot of times when I thought, "where are the adults???" From a parent or teacher read aloud standpoint, this was one of the more enjoyable books of the series.
Profile Image for lilyy.
72 reviews4 followers
May 1, 2025
Fun story, lovable characters. buddy and muttley get along well. i also love the fact that he saves them all which is what wins the heart of lizzie's mom, who is out of town helping her aunt. my sister made me read this. i don't really regret doing so. ice cream and lizzie's brother plus the bedroom...a mess.
Profile Image for Jeni.
524 reviews6 followers
February 26, 2018
Loved this one. Great lessons and sweet pups.
18 reviews
August 14, 2018
He's a hero! Great dog.( Or is he a puppy? )
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Elisa Wirtschafter.
9 reviews
February 25, 2021
So cute!!

Don't have time today to rite a summery and why I chose this rating but in the story I was crying a little
2 reviews
November 11, 2021
It was very sad it was my first time leaving the puppy place
189 reviews
November 5, 2022
My 9 year old and I took turns reading paragraphs. Very good story. Lots of good topics brought up to discuss with kids.
Profile Image for Catherine.
Author 10 books16 followers
September 17, 2012
I bought this book at my 8-year-old granddaughter's school book fair. She and I both like dogs, and the puppy on the cover caught my attention. When she spent the night at my house I read the little chapter book to her. I thought it started a little slow and I wasn't sure about the attitude of the main character. But as the plot developed with added characters, challenges, and dialogue, there was a lot to enjoy and even some "take-away" value. My granddaughter enjoyed the story and could relate to the main character's love of animals, strong personality characteristics, and the lessons she learned about working with people to help shelter dogs, but learning to not be quite so bossy in the process! A fun read with plenty of action and dialogue. The occasional internal dialogue of Muttley's (the dog's) thoughts delighted both me and my granddaughter. This book is part of a series of Scholastic books. I'll give it to my granddaughter to read to herself next.
Profile Image for Mary Ann.
1,769 reviews
March 1, 2011
Muttley is a mixed breed dog that sleeps the entire time it is at the pound. The little girl who does a lot of the work at the pound talks her dad into taking the dog home to foster it so that it might become more adoptable. But the dog still sleeps, but it does pay attention to where the children sleep and raises an alarm when they aren't in their beds. He raises an alarm when the chili burns and before the fire alarm can go off, rescuing all the family. He is adopted by one of her friends' fathers who saw the dog in action.
Profile Image for Paris.
5 reviews
February 11, 2012
Muttley is a very nice kid book.It speaks about a puppy who is shy and mostly tired.Once Lizzie fosters him she's soon realizes that he's not all that fun to have for company.While she is trying to find a home for him she finds out that her classmate is longing to have a dog. all she needs is to make Muttley a little more fun, convince his parents,and then Muttleys theirs.On one night Lizzie and her family have a fire at her house!!!But who comes to the rescue?If your interested and wondering what happens next find out in this book MUTTLEY!!!!!
Profile Image for Twyla.
1,766 reviews61 followers
January 13, 2013
my favorite part was when muttley barked and woke up the petersons.the worst part was when muttley just about wasn't going to get adopted.the best character was muttley because he was the main character.there was no worst character.Auryn 9 years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Myra.
1,509 reviews10 followers
March 20, 2016
This book was given to me by a friend's daughter. It's a cute little story about a young girl who volunteers with an animal rescue group/shelter. A bit too "perfect" in the end for me, but young children will enjoy it.
Profile Image for Julia.
112 reviews
October 9, 2011
Wow!
This book tells a really good story about heroes!Dogs like Muttley!
134 reviews30 followers
December 2, 2011
This book is good but it's not great. It was a lower reading level so the book was very predictable. This book is perfect for 1st grade or 2nd and is really good for people who love animals.
13 reviews
April 18, 2012
it was a good book it had a good ending and I think the dog is super cute.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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