I, Louis. Autobiography of a Dog.

by Teresa Elliott

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Book One
I, Louis is the story in his own words of a portly, elitist English Setter dog who is adopted by a Woman in Oregon and, soon after, taken to Austin, Texas where he observes and reports on the goings-on in and around their home on Annie Street. Louis has a brother, a Gordon Setter named Jones, who is the source of much envy owing to his great beauty and his near-mon
Book One
I, Louis is the story in his own words of a portly, elitist English Setter dog who is adopted by a Woman in Oregon and, soon after, taken to Austin, Texas where he observes and reports on the goings-on in and around their home on Annie Street. Louis has a brother, a Gordon Setter named Jones, who is the source of much envy owing to his great beauty and his near-monopoly on the affections of the Woman. Soon after they arrive in Texas, they are joined by the Old Woman, the Woman’s mother; she is an amusing, foul-mouthed, semi-bitter octogenarian who has become infirm and needs to be closer to family. She takes up residence in a little cottage in the Woman’s back yard. Several botched romantic encounters ensue, until the Woman meets Detective Dooley who is investigating the murder of a man the Woman dated. They fall in love, he meets her brother Marc, who is a pot grower in Hawaii, they break up, the Woman acquires a parakeet named Gomez, and Louis falls deeply in love with the bird. Jones misses Dooley and is laid low by despair. Book One ends with fire sweeping through the Annie Street compound; the Old Woman lives, Gomez lives but disappears; Dooley appears and rescues Jones, but is it too late?

Book Two
We meet Cruz Pardo, ex-con, ex-junkie, male nurse. He has been called upon to care for the Old Woman, whose abilities have waned since the fire, though her wit and attitude remain intact. They spend their days discussing prison, figure skating and collective nouns, among other things. Dooley is now living at the rebuilt compound, in a fancy tree house, his reward for saving the life (yes, he lives!) of the beloved Jones. Louis believes that Gomez is lost and living with a group of wild parrots in a nearby softball field; he is correct. He runs away to find him. Gomez is rescued but both Louis and the Woman are injured in the process. Brother Marc meets Cruz Pardo, who pegs him as a phony. Marc robs a tourist train; Louis gets Horner’s Syndrome; Dooley gets cancer of the esophagus. The family decamps to Houston, Texas to do battle with a dreadful disease.

Book Three
Louis passes from the earth, but in no way does it affect his reportage. Not long after, Dooley loses his battle with cancer. Now they are together in the hereafter, which turns out to be a pretty nice place. They have plenty of amusements, and plenty of ways to comfort the Woman. She deals with her loss by trying to contact Dooley through a medium, and by getting another dog – Homer, also English. Gomez deals with his loss by sitting atop the brass urn that holds Louis, and gazing out the window. Jones, as Louis might say, isn’t evolved enough to have grief – besides, he and Homer have become good friends. The Old Woman and Cruz Pardo carry on, as odd and devoted a couple as ever there was. After much grief-fueled flailing, The Woman has an aha moment and volunteers to work with hospice patients, thinking it’s as close to Dooley as she can get, for the time being anyway. It is here she meets Dennis, who encourages her to write her story. And so she does – in the voice of her old dog Louis. “And the way our woman tells the story,” says Louis, “well, it never really has to end.” And indeed, it does not.

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Kindle Edition

Published July 4th 2009

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