Let The Dogs Out ~ Book Review

Synopsis

Hugo is one in a million, one in a million who found a loving home and not a dreaded end. Born in a breeding facility, Hugo, along with his beagle brothers finds things confusing. Who are the two-legged creatures who snatch away poor pups from their mums? 

Living in a breeding factory is not easy. Packed with other dogs, ferocious and bloody dog fights are common. Traumatised and neglected, the dogs count their days to doom, the day of their final trip.

And where do these dogs go? Homes, with loving people? No! Labs, where they are injected with drugs, made to inhale toxins and where all the other gruesome predicaments take place. Owned by famous organisations, these places are no less than hell. 

As the story takes up the pace, Hugo meets his life-saver. Pacing up, the plot turns into a chase, a chase to freedom.

But everything’s not so easy! Heart-melting goodbyes, horrifying ordeals and painful procedures are far from over.

This book has a deep message to convey, a message of the gory of the breeding facilities and animal research. It is packed with touching emotions, blood-curdling scenes and soul-stirring illustrations.

Review

Firstly, I would like to thank the author, Violet Plum, to send me a copy of this wonderful book! You can visit her and find interesting vegan stories here.

I have read some books on animal activism before this one, but I can say for sure, that this read, by far, is the most emotional. It is not whimsical, not written just for the sake of writing, but is based on sound evidence and facts. What happens inside a breeding facility is sheer horror.

As this book is written from a dog’s perspective, all humans are referred to by ‘it’ and ‘bipeds’. All dogs refer to themselves by pronouns such as ‘he’ and ‘she’. I loved this usage as the sole purpose of animal activism is to provide equality among the species.

The author makes sure to tell the readers that Hugo is one in a million. It is near impossible for an animal to escape the horrors of these factories in real life. All have to meet a similar gruesome fate.

The book takes you through the stages of production in this factory. As the author says, living, breathing, thinking individuals are its products. In every process, only the best are chosen, the others are simply discarded, stuffed into plastic bags and labelled, “biohazard”.

Once again, the author does not fail to impress the reader with the illustrations. Where there is sadness, the melancholy just stares back into the face. Where there is anger, the images give you goosebumps. Not many joyous sketches are there, but again, it is the truth. The story would lose all its essence without the wonderful visualisation.

For analytic readers (guess I can count myself), would love to read the background and sources given at the very end. It further details the motive behind writing this book. It tells about the author’s research on the topic of vivisection and animal research. Just going through the list of the horrific ordeals that these poor animals face, would make your hair stand on ends! The basic essence of the storyline is that animal research has never helped humanity in any beneficial way. Companies have found animal research as a way to ensure lesser liabilities and more profits.

I would really suggest this book, not only for animal lovers but to all readers. Long have we neglected the horrors of animal testing, but not now. Read this book, and fill your eyes with tears as you grow your bond with a beagle named Hugo…

Read this book online for free here.

Rating – 4.5/5

Pages – 62

Author – Violet Plum

~Arnav Gupta