Parents' Guide to

Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster

By Abby Aldrich, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Sweet story about the healing power of love.

Book Berkeley Breathed Animals 2009
Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 2 parent reviews

treat02
treat02 Parent
March 2, 2012
age 5+

great for kids. may need help understanding

Great touching story. I love how the twists were. The author made you think something good would happen and then something bad would happen. Sam is the main character and he is a good role model SPOILER* (except when he wanted to kill casuis) he was very brave and nice.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Too much violence
Cool dude 360
Cool dude 360 Parent of 6 and 9-year-old
November 23, 2010
age 9+

Scarey but worth it

This story is a bit scarey, but otherwise it is a good read.

This title has:

Too much violence
Great role models
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The story follows Sam, a $180,000 dachsund bred for excellence, as he discovers the love that is shared between a pet and a human. His human of choice, Heidy McCloud, is a 14-year-old girl with a \ rebellious streak, who thinks she doesn’t like dogs ever since her parents’ dog-related death. Sam and Heidy find each other unexpectedly and love each other instantly. All is right in their world until they are separated by a jealous and scheming poodle and his owner. Over the course of a few years, Sam is maimed and heartbroken with revenge on his mind. He recruits a pack of “flawed” dogs to help him sabotage the Westminster Dog Show, but his revenge scheme turns into \ something quite different when he and Heidy find each other again.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (5 ):

FLAWED DOGS is hilarious and sweet with a message of friendship and faithfulness that anyone (even cat lovers) will find uplifting. Each animal in the book is an unforgettable character, drawn and written with Berkeley Breathed’s signature brand of wit. His illustrations add an extra measure of emotion to the already lovely book.

Berkeley Breathed's illustrations are amazing and they impart the message of the story with humor and poignancy.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about jealousy. Why were Cassius and Mrs. Beaglehole so jealous of Heidy and Sam? How could they have handled their feelings in a better way? Have you ever been jealous of somebody? What did it feel like and what could you do to overcome those feelings?

  • Why didn’t Sam’s physical imperfections matter to Heidy? Why did Cassius think the imperfections would matter?

  • Why do you think the dogs at the Last-Ditch Dog Depository loved watching Lassie Come Home?

Book Details

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