Central Kansas Library System

Humor and heart come unleashed in this adventure about a boy living with anxiety who must join with his therapy dog to save dogkind from a dog-hating secret agent. Tonio is not, allowed to let anyone know that he can communicate fluently with his therapy dog, Buster. But when, dogkind requires that Tonio make friends with a bully, are Tonio and Buster going to go through a ruff patch... or learn some new tricks to keep the dogs in their town safe?...

"Nicki Fleming is a natural with animals. When the chance to train a service dog comes up, she just can't say "No," even if it means taking on more responsibility and having to give up some of the things she loves doiong. When Sprocket the pupppy turns out to be a handful, it takes all Nicki's compassion to keep on with his training. She knows that one day Sprocket will make someone else's life better--and that makes all the difference!"--

After a busy summer training Sprocket, the service dog she has been raising, Nicki's school year gets off to a rough start as she works on reconciling her two best friends, accepting that Sprocket will soon leave for placement with someone who needs him, and awaiting the birth of the twins her mother is expecting. Includes essay on service dogs.

Describes the training of and work performed by service dogs and shows the many ways dogs help partners who are in wheelchairs, cannot hear, have epilepsy, or cope with various other physical issues. Includes a list of further resources.