T he 1930s and 1940s were a simpler time, and San Rafael, California, was a community bound by the basic values of family, community, country, and love for a rogue of a dog named Sporty Dog. Conversations with My Auntie Margaret about Sporty Dog is a collection of delightful stories that retired schoolteacher and author Linda Champion has lovingly compiled, each detailing the adventures of the friendly but rambunctious fox terrier as told by the woman who knew him best, his owner, Champion's Auntie Margaret. Sporty Dog was a San Rafael fixture. Leash laws were of no concern to him. He was known to follow Auntie Margaret's mother into the most elegant of business establishments, as he made the rounds up and down the streets of the town, enjoying all the sights and sounds of the day. The butchers were his friends, and he could be seen dragging home a bone twice his size, horrifying some and delighting others. All the while, San Rafael's littlest citizen continued on his way, with full confidence, as if he was the mayor of the town! At its heart, Conversations with My Auntie Margaret about Sporty Dog is a glimpse through the looking glass at a time San Rafael, and the world, will never see again. Champion and her Auntie Margaret give readers something they can really use-a little bit of inspiration in the form of a pooch named Sporty Dog.
