The tale reveals the various fascinating ways he intersected the lives of people he “adopted” along the way. Red Dog’s adventures are recounted in a short book that makes you want more. He learned to catch rides by car and bus and expanded his range until he became known and supported over a large region. Red Dog was a kelpie (medium-sized herding breed) who abandoned his first owner for the pleasures of multiple “homes” and travel. This is a piquant fictional account of a real dog in Western Australia who achieved a vibrant independent life and captured the hearts of a broad community of people. ‘If you love Australia it will have you aching for the scent of gums and sight of the Southern Cross, while if you love dogs it is sure to make you highly indulgent towards the one you love’ Observer I hope my cat never finds out that I have written a story to celebrate the life of a dog.’ Louis de Bernières. A few months later I returned to Western Australia and spent two glorious weeks driving around collecting Red Dog stories and visiting the places that he knew, writing up the text as I went along. I felt straight away that I had to find out more about this splendid dog. I went exploring and discovered the bronze statue to Red Dog outside the town of Dampier. I imagine that Mars must have a similar feel to it. The landscape is extraordinary, being composed of vast heaps of dark red earth and rock poking out of the never-ending bush. Karratha is a mining town a long way further north. ‘In early 1998 I went to Perth in Western Australia in order to attend the literature festival, and part of the arrangement was that I should go to Karratha to do their first ever literary dinner. The enchanting story of a very remarkable dog from the author of the bestselling Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

Red Dog by Louis de BerniŠres