A Dog's Life 2

When the young son of the Merrions discovers the puppies, he befriends the puppies, but wants to keep them a secret from his mother. It's an interesting perspective that Martin paints of humans from this first person dog perspective; that there are ulterior motives or the mixed messages that are sent. She cleverly helps the reader to pick up on the "sixth sense" that animals have for humans and their mistrust of them. Martin helps the reader to understand the mistrust that animals have for humans through a variety of interactions, including Squirrel being picked up by humans later on in the story and then dumped because she's not what they wanted.

In the end of the story, Squirrel finds companionship as an elderly dog with a retired woman who enjoys her company and keeps her warm, comfortable, and fed. Susan befriends Squirrel, now named Addie, and enjoys her companionship in the car running errands and in the evenings by the fire. Martin cleverly redeems the sense of mistrust of humans by providing a comforting sweet woman who gives Squirrel the home she's always deserved.