Oogy Part 4

"The fact that a brutalized, mutilated pup had so immediately and so completely reposed his trust in us made all of us feel that we had been rewarded. He was one of us." (Levin 113).

This line stood out to me at the end of chapter 5. It makes Oogy sound like a patient, caring, and forgiving animal, who does not have a care for the world. The thing I find amazing is, Oogy started his life under horrific abuse. The fact that he can come out of that abuse and start loving a human again is remarkable. Levin describes that having Oogy become apart of their family, was like adopting another baby, this time with even more care and even more love.

When Oogy first came to the house, he would not leave Levin alone. He would follow his owner around and would bark when he went into the bathroom. Oogy was a protector and wouldn't let anything happen to his new owners. During his first night home, Dan (one of the kids in the house) was taking a bath. When Dan went down to rinse off his hair, Oogy started barking trying to get Levin's attention thinking that his new owner had drowned. In the part of the book when this happened, Levin describes it, "Suddenly Oogy began barking, the sound reverberating off the walls of the bathroom like a dinner bell...Dan was submerged, completely out of sight, rinsing off his hair. Oogy had placed his forelegs on the side of the tub and raised himself in alert; the boy he loved had disappeared." (Levin 110). This line from the story, shows the dogs protective instincts and it shows that he cares a lot about other people.

As I continue reading this book, I hope I will find out more about Oogy's personality. I hope to finish the book later this week and will complete it with a book review and summary.

Oogy Part 3

As I read further in the book, Oogy, I get more curious about the dog and how he changed the family's life. In chapter 5, Levin, describes what it was like to adopt Oogy. He says, "'This makes it official,' I said. I kissed his nose, and he licked me..." (Levin 100). This quote is a great example of how Oogy responded to having a new family. He was calm and caring. He was loved and knew he would never have to fear for his safety again. 

Another thing I have wondered about while reading further was, why is Oogy so laid back with his new owner. From what I know about abused animals is that most don't enjoy human company and they are terrified from different actions if their new owner. What interests me, Oogy does not seem worried about anything his new owner does. I am curious of what he will do when Levin does an action that scares him. 

One last thing I want to include about the book so far is that Larry Levin uses a great variety of vocabulary words in the story. He does a great job creating a picture in the reader's mind about what is going on in the house hold. Some of these words include: reintroduce, uniqueness, leathery, whapped, and brutalized. 

Oogy Part 2

As I continued to read further into the book, Oogy, some of my predictions came true. My first prediction was, there would be flashbacks of when they first adopted Oogy. The family first met Oogy when they were putting their cat to sleep. As the cat was put to sleep, Oogy came prancing out of the back room for a walk. When he saw Larry and the twins, the dog ran over to them and started licking their faces. One line in the chapter during this part that really stuck out to me was; "With a sudden explosive force, the pup tore the leash out of the technician's grasp and rocketed into Noah, knocking him over. Noah fell backward and lay stretched out as the dog stood on his chest, licking his face without a pause." (Levin 82). This stuck out to me because it shows how the dog is very lovable and caring.

Another prediction of mine that came true was if the family would ever wonder about the kind of abuse Oogy had received. Larry was so determined to find out what had happened to him, so he went searching for answers. Chapter 2 is about Oogy's story and the abuse he went through. One line from the chapter that embedded an image in my mind was; "They had not bothered to clean off his blood. As soon as Diane walked into the room, the pup lifted his head and his right ear stood at attention; his large, dark eyes looked at her, and she couldn't take her eyes off him...he started to wag his tail." (Levin 34) This part stood out to me so much also because of the incredible determination from Oogy. The quote creates a picture of a dog, beaten and bloody with one bandage on his head, who wags his tail with no care in the world.

This book is a great read so far and I am excited to continue reading. Hopefully, it will include more things about the dogs journey and how it has affected lots of lives.