DIEGO THE SMELLY DOG

Sweet book about a dog, who happens to be smelly, and how he finds an unexpected home. Nice, life affirming, gentle book, fun to read, wonderfully written and illustrated.

The art was pretty strange but the story was very sweet and seemed so realistic. So often we try to help animals in need, and end up becoming their new family, even when we didn't intend to be!

I loved this sweet, sweet story. Who doesn't love a story about a dog, even if he is smelly!! It's such a great adoption story about the way he found his forever home. A very uplifting read for kids and the illustrations are so cute.

This was a cute book about a stray dog and a little girl who wants to take care of him. This dog who the little girl names Diego follows her and her grandpa home one day and he's smelly. She gives him a bath and takes him to the dog shelter but no on wants to adopt him because he's an older dog. She goes to visit him every week and he's still there. Finally the people at the shelter tell her they are transferring him somewhere else because no one has shown any interest in him. The girl wants him so much but her mother said they can't afford a pet. She starts drawing pictures of him and putting them up so her mom can see them. Maybe she'll change her mind? This story was a cute one with a happy ending and children who love dogs would enjoy this one!

Based solely on the title, I expected this to be a silly, cute children’s book. It was so much more. In fact, it ended with me in happy tears.

This is a well-worded, child-friendly book about a found dog, a wonderful animal shelter, and a sweet child/Abuelo relationship. I found the pictures cute and colorful, and the story full of kindness.

Big thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for granting me access to a digital ARC, as well as the author, A.G. Russo, for a lovely story.

This is a sad book with a happy ending! The story of an old stray smelly dog who gets taken to the animal shelter and a girl who names the dog Diego and wants the dog to live with her family – although it does have a happy end and the dog gets to come and live with the girl, it takes an unnecessarily long time. Coming from a household with adopted pets, it made my child wonder why, why did it take so many weeks for the girl’s grandpa to agree to take the dog home. I guess what matters is that the story does have a happy ending, and it does get the point across that any stray and shelter animal can be adopted, it just felt kind of cruel to leave the poor dog (not smelly anymore) in the shelter for weeks for no real reason. It could be just me, though. This aside, the book is a beautiful one. the drawings are cute. The story is written in an easy and engaging way.

This book tells the story of a lost dog who follows a little girl home. Even though he is smelly and doesn't seem like the perfect house pet, Ava feels bad for the dog and isn't fully on board with taking him to an animal shelter. She and her grandfather go back to the shelter repeatedly and she is always happy to see Diego, and he is happy to see her too. There is a nice happy ending, but the story shows what it really is like for animal shelters who have senior dogs and limited adopters. It has an important message while also being a heartwarming and feel good story. I think young readers will enjoy this book and would recommend it for animal lovers in the age 5-10 range. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

My granddaughter had no problem giving this book a "5" rating. She is obsessed with animals and loves stories about rescuing dogs. Her family has adopted two shelter dogs, one of which was very smelly when they brought him home. This book seemed custom made for her. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a copy to read and review.

Rescue dogs are the best! Add in the fact that he’s an older fella and it just makes it that much more sweeter. Diego has a resemblance to my rescue, Arnie, with his white stripe between the eyes. My dream is to one day be able to give older dogs a place to live out the rest of their life in a comfortable, loving home.

What I liked:
~ despite his age, and how it’s presumed that he was abandoned, he seems like such a happy dog
~ that although they couldn’t adopt Diego, Ava and Gramps went to the shelter every Saturday to see him and take him on a walk
~ that there were toys in the cages ~ I can’t bare to think they are so lonely with nothing to do while they wait for their furever home
~ the picture of Ava hugging him was so sweet and exactly how my Arnie hugs back
~ how Gramps was sneaky putting the pictures on the refrigerator for Mama to see

About the illustrations by Alona Baulina: (none of which affect my review)
~ the trees looked very realistic
~ the rocking chairs legs looked a little too long and are not scaled properly from picture to picture and one is even missing in some pictures
~ since Diego is a ‘smelly dog’ I liked that some fumes came off of him to really bring that out
~ the cages do not appear to have doors
~ Ava and Gramps have outfit changes, but Dr Jones is wearing the same outfit every time we see her

Side note ~ Ava has a ton of bandaids on her and that’s never addressed and has me curious.

Overall, this was a heartwarming story that was easy to read.

Cute story! I always do a dog unit with my third grade students, so now I have an additional book to add to the classroom library.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Diego the Smelly Dog is an adorable, heartwarming story about an old dig who follows Ava and her grandpa home one day. The dog is very old and unsure of Ava and her grandpa at first, but soon comes to trust them, and Ava names him Diego. They take him to a rescue centre to be adopted (against Avas protests), but when they visit each week, he hasn't been adopted. Ava longs to take Diego home, and after her mother sees how much Ava loves him and the care she puts into visiting him and walking him each week at the shelter, Ava gets a nice surprise. I love a good animal story, and dogs are my weakness for sure. This is a great book to show children that old dogs can be as loveable as puppies and how much care a dog needs.

Diego the Smelly Dog was a heartfelt story about a girls love for a stray dog and how she and her grandfather show they care for him even though they couldn't keep him at the beginning of the book. Diego is an older dog, not a puppy, and it shows children how some dogs are not adopted as quickly as others due to age.

Reading this book opened my own kids eyes to why adopting a puppy may not always be a good option or the right option. It was a great way to show that all dogs need love and care and a good home.

Recommended ages: 5-10yrs old
#DIEGOTHESMELLYDOG #NetGalley #AGRusso

This is a sweet story about Diego and how he found a forever family even though he was a smelly dog. I really enjoyed it.
I received a complimentary copy from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.