Twelve-year-old Timothy Malt ends up running away from his home in London, flying to a small country called Stanislavia, and trying to rescue a brother and sister who are being held in prison by an evil dictator — all because a dog named Grk finds him on the street on his way home from school.

Max and Natascha Raffifi are the children of Stanislavia’s ambassador to England. When Colonel Zinfandel arrests the president of the country and takes control of the tiny nation, he orders the Raffifis to be taken from their home in London and imprisoned. Their dog, Grk, manages to stay behind in London, where he finds Tim. Since Tim’s parents have made very clear they ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want a dog, he decides to find out whose dog Grk is, and to return him. Little does he know that he will end up in a strange country, doing very strange things for a family he doesn’t even know.

Grk is by Tim’s side during the whole adventure, sometimes helping courageously, other times not necessarily being of much help. But the plucky dog and the initially unwilling hero Tim manage to succeed in their mission, with lots of unlikely adventures on the way.

A Dog Called Grk is a cute, fun story for dog lovers, and just the first in a series of adventures.

Rated: None. There are a couple of uses of the Lord’s name in vain, however.