The Dog Who Saved the World
The astounding new novel from the bestselling and Costa-shortlisted author of Time Travelling with a Hamster, this is a story for everyone of 10 and older who loves adventure, laughs and tears.“One of my favourite middle-grade writers” Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink and StarsWhen 12-year-old Georgie makes friends with an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test-subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual reality, 3D version of the future.Then a deadly virus threatens to wipe out every dog in the country, and Georgie’s beloved dog Mr Mash gets sick. Which is bad – but worse is still to come.As the world is thrown into chaos, Georgie embarks on a desperate quest: to save every dog on earth and all of humanity…… without actually leaving the room.An extraordinary quest with the biggest stakes of all, and a huge idea at its heart, this is time travel – but not as you know it.
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019
Published in this ebook edition in 2019
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Text copyright © Ross Welford 2019
Cover design copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Cover illustration copyright © Tom Clohosy Cole
Ross Welford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.
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Source ISBN: 9780008256975
Ebook Edition © January 2019 ISBN: 9780008256982
Version: 2018-12-12
I’ve got this framed poster on my bedroom wall that Dad got me for my birthday. I see it every morning and every night, so I know it off by heart.
THE WISDOM OF THE DOGS
Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like dogs.
If what you want is buried, dig and dig until you find it.
Don’t bite if a growl is enough.
Like people in spite of their faults.
Start each day with a wagging tail.
Whatever your size, be brave.
Whatever your age, learn new tricks.
If someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit near and nuzzle them, gently.
It’s all true. Every single word. As I discovered last summer, when the world nearly ended.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, allow me to introduce (drum roll …):
Mr Mash: The Dog Who Saved the World!
I love him more than anything. I know that sounds harsh on Dad and Clem, but I think they’ll understand, especially after what happened over that summer.
We don’t know exactly how old he is, how he became a stray, or even what sort of dog he might be. He’s got shaggy fur – grey, brown and white – and ears that flop over at the ends. He’s got a cute, inquisitive face like a schnauzer, big soft eyes and a strong, very waggy tail like a Labrador.
In other words, he’s a mishmash. When we got him from the St Woof’s shelter, the vicar said I could name him, and so I said ‘Mishmash’, which sounded like ‘Miss Mash’, but, because he’s a boy dog, he became Mister Mash.
Mr Mash: my very best, very stupid friend. His tongue is far too big for his mouth, so it often just lolls out, making him look even dafter. He’s completely unable to tell if something is food or not, so he just eats it anyway. This, in turn, means he has what the vicar calls ‘a wind problem’.
You can say that again. ‘Silent and violent,’ Dad says.
‘Disgusting,’ says Jessica, but she never liked him much anyway.
Without Mr Mash, the world might have ended.
Really.
It’s six o’clock on a warm summer’s evening and Ramzy Rahman and I are staring at the back entrance of the Spanish City entertainment centre, not daring to knock. Mr Mash has just scoffed a Magnum that someone dropped on the pavement and is licking his chops, ready for another. He even ate the wooden stick.
There’s a massive double-height steel door in the white wall – one of those doors that’s so big that there’s a normal-sized door cut into it. In the middle of the normal door – looking totally out of place – is a knocker like you’d see on the door of a haunted mansion. The metal is green, and in the shape of a snarling wolf’s head.
