I knew this one would get to me as soon as I realized that the protagonist, a 12-year-old boy named Sam, was only trying to save his dog Pogo from euthanasia.

Damn. The author -- Craig Moodie, writing as John Macfarlane -- knows how to get under my skin. I am all too familiar with the desperate desire to save a beloved pet at all costs, even if that pet is old, sick and beyond medical care.

In this case, Sam lives in coastal Maine, and he overhears his parents discussing Pogo's fate. Sam loves his dog, and he's bound by a promise to his older brother -- who died while serving in the military overseas -- to take good care of Pogo, so he does what any reasonable pre-teen would do: He packs Pogo and minimal supplies onto his 14-foot catboat and sets sail for an island where they will -- okay, let's be honest, Sam doesn't really think his plan through very well.

But his intentions are good. He just wants Pogo to live.

But the weather doesn't cooperate, and anything that can go wrong on his voyage does go wrong. Storms, fog and uncooperative wind, a poorly tied knot, supplies overboard, a persistent shark, a fragile wreck, an ill-timed swell -- so much goes badly, you can't help but feel bad for Sam. Pogo, meanwhile, takes it all with canine good humor and grace, although the aged pup suffers the lack of food, water and a stable deck as much as Sam, if not more.

Fortunately, Sam has an old ornithologist and a one-eyed cormorant on his side.

The book has a lot of heart and, for all Sam's bad luck, his experiences at sea seem very realistic. Since the book is aimed at younger readers, it's safe to note that the story comes to a satisfying close, with a reasonably happy ending -- although Pogo's ultimate fate remains uncertain.

[ visit Craig Moodie's website ]