A Home for Laika and Other Tails

Available from Big Table Publishing and Amazon.com:

A Home for Laika and Other Tails is a chapbook collection of thirteen stories featuring mankind’s faithful, but often-times annoying four-legged canine companions.

Some of these stories have appeared in: Boston Literary Magazine; Ariel Chart: International Literary Journal; and Potluck.

Laika Soviet Space Dog

“From a wild story about the rescue by a “Glyxonian” space ship of the Russian dog, Laika—the first earth animal launched into space— to a tale about an otherworldly “retired couple” whose unusual breed of pet mates with an earthly Chihuahua, Temples’ imaginative vignettes and inspired short stories, ingeniously explore the canine universe. Although rooted in earthly reality, the inventive tales in A Home for Laika & Other Tails are “out of this world.” -Brad Rose, Momentary Turbulance

“There are a million tails in the canine city. These are just a few of them… and you’ll love every one of these wildly imaginative stories range from the fantastic fate of the Russian dog cosmonaut Laika to the hopes, dreams, desires, jealousies, and indignities experienced by common household mutts that every dog lover can relate to.” –Rob Dinsmoor, Toxic Cookout

“The thirteen charming and funny stories in Phillip Temples’ collection show us that we humans have much in common with our best friend,the dog. We find stories of canine treachery, jealousy and prejudice as well as cunning and bravery. This timeless collection follows the history of man/dog relations from the days of cave-dwellers to space travel and teaches us important lessons about our pets and ourselves. I highly recommend this book for anyone from 6 to 100 years old (and for dogs of all ages).” -John Cuetara, Mixed Messages and Away with Words