Dogged Pursuit: How a Rescue Dog Rescued Me

Read Robert Rodi's posts on the Penguin Blog. "A charming, hilarious look at a little-documented world." -- People In dog years, Robert Rodi is 350.

Age, however, couldn't possibly have prepared him for his experience with canine agility-the athletic cousin to best-of-breed shows.

Rodi, an epicure and urban intellectual, picks up agility with aspirations for blue ribbons.

His dreams of glory quickly fade when faced with the competition: hearty Midwestern handlers and their ferociously fit pups, who annihilate scrawny, scruffy, Dusty, Rodi's rescue dog and would-be champ, in the ring.

The duo is utterly lost in the agility circles, but as in the best human/pet stories, they forge an everlasting bond to carry them through.

Combining the wit of Christopher Guest's Best in Show and the charm of Marley & Me, Dogged Pursuit is an uproarious account of a neophyte's year in the dog show world that abounds in humor and warmth.