A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray is a children's novel written in 2005 by Ann M. Martin and is published by Scholastic Books. The target audience for this book is grades 4–7. It is written from the first-person perspective of a female stray dog named Squirrel. Ann M. Martin bases her books on personal experiences and contemporary problems or events. Martin is a children's author from Princeton, New Jersey. All of the characters in her books are fictional, although some are based on real people. Martin has written many popular children's titles including The Baby-sitters Club series and the California Diaries series. Her book A Corner of the Universe, received a Newbery Honor Award. She had since written a sequel called “Everything For A Dog” that was published in 2011. Plot Part 1 Squirrel is a mixed-breed dog who lives in a shed behind the summer home of a wealthy family, there, she lives with her mother, Stream, and brother, Bone. Squirrel and Bone were the only two puppies to survive out of a litter of five. While living in the shed, Their mother teaches Squirrel and Bone how to hunt and find food, as well as to avoid being seen by humans. When Stream dies suddenly, Squirrel and Bone set out on their own. Bone is very adventurous and Squirrel follows him through the woods and from town to town in search of food and shelter. The puppies are eventually picked up by highway travelers named Marcy and George who consider adopting them. They take them home for the night before George decides not to keep the dogs and throws them out of a car window in a mall parking lot. Squirrel and Bone are injured and Bone is taken away by other shoppers immediately after being tossed from the car, leaving Squirrel alone. Squirrel and Bone never see each other again. Part 2 Alone and hungry, Squirrel meets another female stray, Moon, by the road. The two dogs became fast friends together for warmth and searching for food in garbage cans and trash in the woods. Part 3 'One day, a truck sees Moon and doges her. An animal across the road made them run and scared squirrel. They were trying to get to the other side. Squirrel and Moon are taken to the vet by the family who hit them. There, the veterinarian announces that