Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog Goes to the Vet

Have you ever wondered what pets would tell you if they could talk? Well, Jessie “the doo-doo dog” gives readers a convincing glimpse in this brief chapter book. Contrary to the slang meaning of the term “doo-doo”, in this story, Jessie the doo-doo dog refers to her active nature and tendency to always be doing things. In the style of diary writing, Jessie expresses what goes on through her mind during a day in her life—from mealtimes and walks to reactions about human behaviours and discussions. In Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog Goes to the Vet, Jessie becomes anxious and worried when she overhears her Mom saying that it’s time for her to visit the vet to get her booster shots. To make matters even worse, she is warned by her cousin Krissy that she may be turned into a sausage while she’s there!

Each of the animal characters in this story has its own unique personality and quirks, something that all dog owners can testify is true in real-life. The story is well-written in a way that is captivating through use of humour, rhetorical questions, and ideas that seem believable (even though it is clear that this is a fictional story). The questions posed by Jessie are relatable to what she is going through and encourage the audience to make text-to-self connections. The endearing dogs in this story take on human abilities, such as talking, wondering, and feeling emotions. The first person writing from Jessie’s point of view adds an element of charm—readers won’t be able to resist the lovable, sweet personality of the Maltipoo.

A criticism of this book is the lack of twists in the story plot. The storyline is quite predictable and includes many unimportant details. For example, Jessie overhears at the beginning of the story that she will be taken to an upcoming vet appointment, but the appointment takes place near the very end of the story and everything turns out fine. There is hardly any mention of the appointment other than at the beginning and end. Perhaps the authors deliberately gave basic dog routines, such as mealtimes and walks, their own chapters in order to provide a more thorough explanation of Jessie's inner thoughts. The middle chapters do successfully give the reader greater insight into what goes on inside of a dog’s mind which some may consider interesting on its own.

Due to the size of font, amount of words on each page, and text to image ratio, this chapter book is suitable for advanced readers in elementary schools. The content is easy to comprehend, but some of the word choices may be unfamiliar to young readers. This book is a great tool to expose children to new language and expand their vocabulary. Examples of such words include: vigorously, impudent, and strenuous.

Canadian authors Bill and Jocelyn Hutchinson dedicated Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog Goes to the Vet to all dogs for teaching important character qualities, such as love, courage, and loyalty. These three themes are apparent throughout the story. In addition, this is a story of friendship as Jessie has close ties with her sister, Jo-Jo, and gets along well with the two Norwegian Elkhounds, Katcha and Krissy, with whom Jessie lives and calls her cousins.

After reading Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog Goes to the Vet, pet owners are sure to wonder what sorts of thoughts go on in their own animals’ minds (and those without pets will likely wish that they had a dog). An overview of a neighbourhood map is provided at the beginning of the story, and small black-and-white illustrations are scattered throughout the text, both of which help young readers to visualize the story’s setting and characters.

More of Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog’s adventures will be coming soon as the authors provide an excerpt for Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog and the Visitors from Mars at the end of the book.