Rescue

The “Charlie Campbell’s Qualifications for Volunteering at Dr. Anderton’s Vet Clinic” provides the reader with a quick introduction to Charlie. He loves animals, especially dogs, and would dearly love to have one of his own. The list also underlines one of the main themes of the novel. Charlie is going through a rough patch. His parents have decided to get a divorce, and his dad is moving out. This monumental change has knocked Charlie off-balance. He feels “like he’d fallen into a giant pit of elephant poo.” As he explains to his best friend, Samir, “It’s complicated.” So, he decided to drop soccer this year, even though he loves the game, and is focused on using his newly acquired free time to volunteer at the vet clinic close to his house.

Charlie meets Buster, a Chocolate Labrador Retriever, during his first shift at the clinic. Due to the death of his elderly companion, Buster arrives at the clinic the same day that Charlie starts. Interesting coincidence. Their first walk together on that first day evolves into a rescue mission, setting the pattern to be followed for the rest of the novel. During the walk, Charlie finds himself the unwilling passenger of a runaway dog as Buster drags him toward a ravine that runs along the Salmon River. When a fall finally causes Charlie to drop the leash, Buster comes back immediately. He seems to be encouraging Charlie to follow him. Since Charlie doesn’t think he can wrestle the dog into returning to the clinic, he agrees to follow Buster into the woods where they find a young child sleeping perilously close to the edge of the river. Charlie picks up the child and carries him to safety. This is the most credible of the rescues in the novel.

The plot reminds me of the television series, The Littlest Hobo. Like the series, Buster finds a human partner to assist him in helping someone in need. By the end of the episode, the human partner’s situation is also improved because, as they helped someone else, they were able to see their own problem in a clearer light. Unlike the Littlest Hobo, however, author Marie Etchell imbued her canine hero with magic.

In subsequent chapters, the reader learns that Buster can fly, fight bullies, move a bike several miles, and perhaps even plant suggestions into the mind of a veterinarian who originally did not want a volunteer working for him. Buster may have superpowers, but he is not the frontman of this duo. Buster pushes Charlie to take an active role in their rescues. By the final rescue, Buster shows Charlie the problem, but Charlie is the problem-solver. The rescues also become increasingly more complicated, which, more than the magic, may stretch the reader’s suspension of disbelief.

Buster plays the part of the supportive sidekick encouraging Charlie to see the reality of other families, something which helps him to put his own family problems into perspective. A touch of magical realism, a friendly dog, and the willingness to help others are the ingredients for this sweet, though not particularly credible tale.