Dog Not in Charge

By: Candy Rae / Narrated By: Elliott Crossley

Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins

I wanted to love this, but…

I know, I know! I couldn’t recommend Cat in Charge highly enough, but whilst I found the first Listen of Dog Not in Charge mildly amusing, by the second Listen I found it a bit tedious. Yup, I was listening cuz I was all, like, was that reeeeeally as pleasant as I thought?

Uhm, no.

Not that this is UNpleasant, but it’s soooo not as clever as the first two in the “Sammy the Cat” series. Here in Book 3, negotiations have been going on between Mummy Candy Rae and Alex the Dog and Sammy the Cat. Mummy is thinking Alex might be feeling left out what with Sammy having TWO books out, so Mummy and Alex are gung-ho to get Alex in on the deal, even tho’ he doesn’t quiiiiiite know what a book is.

Sammy, who will NOT be left out, is serving as co-editor and as commentator on Alex’s words.

All sounding very cute and whatnot, but when it comes down to it? This is kinda sorta just a book of lists. We get a looooong list of Alex’s dog friends, and it’s as tho’ Mummy Candy Rae is looking things up in an Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds or Wikipedia cuz we’re “treated” to leeeeengthy dissertations on various breeds with a bit tacked on about Alex’s experiences with each individual dog. Along the way, we’re also “treated” to little words of wisdom such as: NEVER let your dog roam loose, and there are good dogs to be adopted rather than sought from breeders and pet shops.

Because you see, Alex is a rescue. He has vague memories of living a life constantly cooped up with little to eat before he was rescued by the people in green. He’s introduced to all sorts of things such as grass, once he’s been rescued, and chicken, once Mummy brings him home to live with her and her two cats, Sammy and Delilah. Alex has some words to say about his life before, but for the most part, we’re told, dogs live in the here and now and those days are fleeting memories. Nope, it’s onto his life now with all his dog friends of various breeds.

We do have Sammy’s patented catlike demeanor and comments, and that makes Dog in Charge a bit of a tennis match with Alex lobbying a statement and then Sammy batting it back with cleverness.

And then it’s on to another list.

There’s a looooong exchange between the two of whether Dogs are in Charge or Cats are. It’s a Dogs vs. Cats Showdown with treatises on dog abilities as opposed to those of cats. Their vision, their strength, their endurance (Which dogs win since they’ll drag sleighs for miiiiiles whereas cats would NEVER stoop to be harnessed to everything, leaving trails of blood in the snow should ANY attempts be made). This goes on for what felt like ages, and again I felt Mummy Candy Rae had her trusty Wikipedia pages open on her laptop for the entire section. Aside from some shrewd insights from Sammy? Nope, it was pretty boring, and I fell asleep through it the second time around, not bothering to back up to note what I’d missed as it was PLENty enough the first time around.

Elliott Crossley is still a magnificent narrator, but even he falters a bit as he sometimes switches too slowly between cat and dog, doing Sammy’s bored tones as he starts in on Alex’s words. But for the most part, nope, he’s spot-on and immensely enjoyable. He tries to jazz up the Dog v. Cat Showdown, but no matter what, it was still a tedious scientific documentary on dog/cat senses and abilities.

>yawn<

Still, I s’pose it’s nice that Alex has gotten his day in the sun, but can we go back to Sammy’s life now…?