SOUTHWEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, 2025 I am a dog but I do not die at the end of this book. Who else could have written it? The woman who saved me offers food, shelter, and affection. But I'm nobody's pet. Because I have the intelligence of a human. And I aim to find out why. Accompanied by Shakespeare, a Pug with the intelligence of a Pug, I strike out into the desert. Cannibal coyotes. Stray humans. A city of sin. The dangers are real. So are my questions: Where did I come from? And is a human life really worth more than mine? Equal parts dark comedy and quixotic quest, The Second-Smartest Dog That Ever Lived delivers sharp humor, unexpected tenderness, and big, unsettling questions-all narrated by a dog who knows our deepest secret: we're animals too. Readers are saying: ★★★★★ "I did not expect the complexity, the humor, the philosophy, and the humanness that exist in these pages! But don't be fooled-this is no boring, philosophical story. While the themes are underlying, the main force of this novel is action and movement." ★★★★★ "By far the best dog story I've ever read." ★★★★★ "A very impressive debut that works on a variety of levels." ★★★★★ "Insanely creative."