Long Dog: Five boys growing up in Southern California during the 1940s, witness the crash of a WWII fighter aircraft into a grove of trees. Over the years the crash site becomes a mystical legend, and a place of reverence for the boys. Fearing the pilot's spirit still haunts the area, the boys avoid going near the grove for years. One day they are compelled to enter the grove. Trees, charred and splintered without limbs, stand guard around a spot on the ground made black and hard from the intense heat of the burning airplane. On that sacred spot where the plane burned, and the pilot died, they discover a mysterious dog, injured and trapped. The dog is unlike any dog they have ever seen or heard of. Eventually they take the dog to a veterinarian, and while the dog is rare, the vet is able to identify the breed. During the vet's examination of the dog's injuries, he discovers the dog has a secret. It turns out he is a courier for two German war criminals--a man and woman team. Once the war criminals discover the whereabouts of their escaped dog, they set out to get it back.
The author is a former educator. He lives with his wife and two Dachshunds in Lincoln, California. Long Dog is his fourth novel. Previous titles by the author include: Jicho, Man Stone, Stone Licker.