There are six puppies in the pet shop window; five posh pedigree puppies, and a scruffy little mongrel with a grand ambition - to be a guard dog. How can such a small, scruffy dog possibly expect to be bought to guard a home? Will the poor little guard dog be doomed to a lonely life in the Dogs' Home - or worse...?

DICK KING-SMITH was a Gloucestershire farmer until the age of 45, when he gave up farming to become a primary school teacher. As a beloved and bestselling full-time author, his work received many awards, including a Bronze Medal for the Smarties Prize of l997 for All Because of Jackson and the Children's Book Award in l995 for Harriet's Hare. In l992, he was voted Children's Author of the Year, and in l995, his top-selling title The Sheep-Pig was developed into a box-office movie, BABE, introducing hundreds of thousands of youngsters to his work.