Jack Stoneley

Life began in hardship for Scruffy, carried to survival by her mother from a fire in a condemned building, only to be orphaned by a sheepherder's rifle. Soon she is rescued and nursed back to health by some merciful children but leaves them to make her way back to the city. A kindly street performer takes her in and shows her the possibilities of human decency. But in the middle of a cold night, fate decides that Scruffy must once more be alone.

Alone, that is, until a bullterrier named Butch show more accepts her as part of the street pack that beds down each night in an abandoned car and roams the streets and back alleys during the day. Then one terrible day they are all taken to the pound and condemned to death. But by now, Scruffy has a talent for survival. She not only saves the day, but she becomes a national celebrity. show less

This was one of my favorite books from childhood. Scruffy’s mother is left tied up outside the house when her owners move. Ready to give birth, she escapes and seeks shelter in the abandoned house. She has three pups, but the puppies are starving and freezing. When there is fire, Scruffy’s mom saves Scruffy by climbing out the chimney, but she is later shot by a farmer in an act of self-sacrifice to save her remaining puppy. Scruffy is then on her own, were she is pet to a homeless man, show more and she spends time with other unwanted dogs. She and her friends end up in the pound. This story is a total tear-tearjerker. show less

This account was written in the 1970s when awareness of this incident in 1908, when a huge remote area of Siberia was flattened by a mysterious fireball, was rekindled after the incident had been forgotten for decades. It features some of the earliest speculation regarding the possible cause.

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