UP TO NEW TRICKS

Fenway, Hattie’s exuberant Jack Russell terrier, is back for another (mis)adventure. This time the pup gets a bee sting on the paw.

Somewhat improbably, Fenway then is hauled to the veterinary clinic, where the vet, who reeks of cinnamon and animals’ fear, anesthetizes him. When Fenway awakens, he’s wearing the ever so annoying Cone of Doom, an oversized, rigid plastic collar that keeps him from licking his stung and very itchy paw. Meanwhile, Hattie is working hard on learning some magic tricks before her grandmother comes for a visit, a slight secondary storyline. After the two previous Fenway and Hattie tales, the trope is well-worn, if not a bit frayed. Fenway’s narrative point of view is very, very doggy, and that’s the running joke. In spite of veterinary attention, his paw becomes infected, and that necessitates yet another visit to the scary doctor and orders to “Soke-it,” which turns out to be almost worse than the dreaded bath, one of Fenway’s lurking background fears. Perhaps even more unfortunate is the fact that beloved Hattie (whom Fenway never describes) is the one who turns Fenway over to the vet and who keeps torturing him with paw soaks. Naturally, though, Fenway and Hattie sort things out and all ends well.

Those who have enjoyed Fenway’s necessarily narrow doggy point of view will no doubt savor another outing.