THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

Three animals -- Tao, a Siamese cat, Luath, a young Labrador retriever, and Bodger, an old English bull terrier -- take off from a spot in northwest Ontario, Canada, and head for home some 300 miles due west. Boarded with a bachelor when the Hunter family is called to England, the trio of pets -- through a misunderstanding about their host's departure -- (and through the young dog's ""lodestone of longing"") heads out and, in spite of hunger, the empty wilderness, some human kindness and assorted hazards, makes its way to a comforting reunion. Bodger's near collapse which Tao averts, the help of Objibway Indians, a hermit whose friendship does not include food, Tao's rescue from drowning by a Finnish farmer, chicken killing and Bodger's saving Luath from a collie, Luath's encounter with a porcupine, the threat of a lynx -- are some of the incidents that confront these nomads -- and some of the markers that farmers, hunters, foresters, mink breeders and others produce when the Hunters on their return begin the search. These three decided personalities (with a future in animal loving circles) should fourfoot their way most satisfactorily.