How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
In January of 1980 I was running a seventy-five-mile line, trapping beaver. […] I was alone when I made a mistake that nearly killed me. (1.7)
Paulsen often paints himself as a bumbling amateur, but in this instance, he makes a near-fatal mistake.
Quote #2
The truth is I shouldn't have lived. I have had several friends killed in just this manner—dropping through the ice while running dogs—and there wasn't much of a chance for me. (1.14)
Be careful out there, beaver trappers. Shmoop wants you to live. It's interesting that Paulsen begins his book with a story about almost dying. Does it affect how you read the rest of the book?
Quote #3
I would have died if not for Cookie. (1.16)
Not only did this scary experience make Paulsen appreciate Cookie forever, but it seemed to make him appreciate life more, too.
Quote #4
It was about to strike when a flash of black fur passed my leg and Snowball grabbed the snake just in back of the head and with a quick flick broke its neck. (2.37)
Snowball was the first, but not the last, dog to save Paulsen's life. Paulsen doesn't really dwell on it, but he lived a dangerous life in many ways.
Quote #5
Not two weeks before we were due to leave, a military truck swerved and hit her while she was walking next to me. She was killed instantly. (2.41)
Since Paulsen had adopted Snowball to keep her from being killed for food, you can imagine how her death affected him.
Quote #6
He is gone now, gone some years from a combination of dysplasia and cancer that was impossible to cure or fix but I still have the drawing [of the dog] in a box somewhere. It shows up from time to time when I am moving or straightening things, and I think of him […]. (6.59)
Paulsen looks back on his memories of Caesar with fondness. Other dogs, like Snowball, are more painful for him to remember. This passage points out that sometimes you can't save your pet no matter how much you love them or try to cure them.
Quote #7
I had just lost a friend to cancer. His name had been Fred and I thought it would be nice to hear his name now and then, so I looked down into the box while I drove and I said, "Your name is Fred." (7.20)
Paulsen loves dogs so much that sometimes he names one after a friend who's died. It's another demonstration of the connection that Paulsen sees between dogs and people.
Quote #8
We wound up with a nearly quarter-ton pet named Pig who lived to be a ripe old age and died with his head in the trough, eating potato peelings. (7.25)
Pig was supposed to be bacon, but he ended up as a beloved family pet. What a way to go, right?
Quote #9
Quincy just passed on last year at the ripe old age […] of eighteen or twenty years […]. (8.41)
Paulsen doesn't often dwell on the deaths of these dogs (who had all passed away except for Josh). That said, each chapter works as a sort of eulogy, or tribute to their memories. Quincy dies like Paulsen wishes all his dogs would—after a long and happy life.