JUST DOG

Everyone calls him Dog. Never mind that he is a dog, he just doesn't like that name. ""It's just something that says I'm not a cat,"" he tells a cat. He attempts to make a real name for himself, first as history's greatest digger (""Bad dog"" is the moniker bestowed upon him as he's locked indoors), then as a barker (so they'll ""start calling me Barker""), and finally, as the most obedient dog in town. His owners toy with new names--Honeybuns? Pudding Face? Angel Eyes? Dog quails and decides to be ""Just Dog."" It may be predictable, but it's also exquisitely funny, and the posing and posturing of Flather's visually appealing hound gives the story meat.