“Some dogs, like some people, just can’t abide a quiet life,” writes Hal Borland, author of The Dog Who Came to Stay, in this warm and touching memoir. Penny the basset shows up at the Borlands’ Connecticut farmhouse on a cold, snowy day–head held high, tail wagging, as if she were a long-awaited guest. Hal and Barbara Borland were no strangers to strays. Pat, the rabbit hound thousands of … rabbit hound thousands of readers came to know in The Dog Who Came to Stay, had also appeared one winter, staying to become the family’s dear companion. Now, Pat is gone, and Hal and Barbara are bereft without canine company. They fall in love with Penny–and she seems to fit right in.
Penny is a delightful dog–short-legged, flop-eared, full of fun and curiosity. And she loves people, so much so that she leaves the Borlands to go visiting elsewhere, often settling in with a different family for days on end. Indeed, Hal and Barbara admire her for her spirit of individuality and independence.
Though she never truly belonged to them, the Borlands agreed that Penny was a dog well worth loving–and so will readers.
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Penny is a wayward Basset Hound who frustrates a series of potential owners by her antics and misbehavior but loveable nature. This was a good read until the author seemingly didn’t know how to end it. He goes off on fantasy and hypothetical issues that dilute what had been a good read. The ending is quite poor as a result.
I have owned a copy of Penny for many years and reread it once in a while. Hal Borland’s books are old favorites, along with those of Gladys Taber. I have several books from each of them. Very good nonfiction!
The book was great, although it had a sort of disappointing ending.
This book is simply lousy. From the cover, you expect a sweet book about a dog and his people. Well, the dog is introduced almost 1/4 way through the book – and then the putative owners fairly quickly give him away because….he acts like a dog. I sense the book was written to allow the self-absorbed writer to show all his flora and fauna knowledge. Don’t waste your time!
The book was funny in the beginning but the end of the book was horrible. All they had to do was put up a fence. Irresponsible!
Funny and entertaining. Loved it!
Good story line, good characters. Not long enough.
The ending was frustrating, but I would spoil if I explained. The authors and people who owned Penny didn’t seem to know much about dogs or how to treat them. But they did live on a farm, where life is different for dogs. And perhaps the book is older than I assumed.
Hal Borland’s writing is always a joy – a bit too much imagination in this one – enjoyed reading about Penny though – have known a dog like that