The Plague Dogs

A Novel

By: Richard Adams

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Richard Adams, the author of Watership Down, creates a lyrical and engrossing tale, a remarkable journey into the hearts and minds of two canine heroes, Snitter and Rowf.

After being horribly mistreated at a government animal-research facility, Snitter and Rowf escape into the isolation—and terror—of the wilderness. Aided only by a fox they call “the tod,” the two dogs must struggle to survive in their new environment. When the starving dogs attack some sheep, they are labeled ferocious man-eating monsters, setting off a great dog hunt that is later intensified by the fear that the dogs could be carriers of the bubonic plague.

©1977 Richard Adams (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Gripping…A compelling tale of emotional force and high suspense.” ( Wall Street Journal)

Loved it!

This story, I laughed. I cried. I was enraged. This story was great. Some of the language was difficult for me to keep up with (v. authentic though), so I ended up slowing it down for most of the book. The dogs, they were heartwarming! The descriptions of their personality weren't childish as is often the case in other novels. They highlighted some deep ethical issues. I am sure I'll end up reading this one again and sharing with my kid when he's a bit older.

Great story, difficult narration

This was a great novel, very sad topics tackled but written quite well. I almost returned this book twice because the narration was dry and flat. Only the todd character had any life, but was overkill, too good. I didn’t understand what was being said due to the strong accent. I listened to Watership Down and that narration was very good. The story was eye opening.

Emotional Damage

Narrator was awesome, story was amazing and heartbreaking in the best way possible. I read this because I loved Watership Down and I was not disappointed.

Beware!

The Plague Dogs

I honestly do not know if I should recommend this book or warn people off of it.
It is a good book but any violence towards dogs, pets in general rubs me the wrong way and this degree of neglect, torture in the name of science etc is extreme.

Note, the true message is awesome. The writing is superb, I have seldom disliked so many characters so violently!
The plot line is intricate and flawless.
But....the poor puppies. Even the rats got to me and trust me, rats, spiders, mice etc should according to my life philosophy not enter my domain as I try to avoid theirs.

If however your easily distressed, then stay clear. If you need a reminder why people turn into tree huggers then by all means, have a listen.

The narrator in this book is part of why this was so hard for me. He made every character unique with a voice all it's own. Brilliant.

WaAr

Author of Watership Down has more

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

How the author has to get in "dog mind" instead of human mind. Those of us who have had dogs can relate to why the author wanted to do it.

What does Ralph Cosham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's my favorite reader for relaxation, tone, and style. Without him, I wouldn't have tried it at all.

If you could rename The Plague Dogs, what would you call it?

Escape From Experiment: Two Dogs Go Rogue

Great book

I teared up and cried during this book at points. it is not as good as Watership Down and is a bit wordy, having a tendency to drone on on occasion, but a classic book and great story. Just be warned that you'll likely be saying "get on with it!!!" at times lol.

Great author, great story

The narrator does all the accents great! The story is very descriptive and although it is hard to listen to at times, it is worth it in the end.

Not as good as Watership Down

This book was originally published in 1977, in part to counteract the horrible animal experiments done in the name of progress at an infamous laboratory in England. The lab in the book is based on a real lab, Lawsen Park -- a converted farm, also known by the acronym ARSE (Animal Research, Scientific Aand Experimental), aka "Buttocks" (hehe).

The story is good but not great (grim and so sad at times, with tortured animals, mauled sheep, etc). Only one decent human character. A fairly promising ending, though.

Basically, this is the story of two dogs, Rowf and Snitter, who escape that torturous laboratory and flee across country. Starving, and terrified of "the white coats" they go feral. Become cynical. Bitter. A sly red fox (the tod) helps them for a while. Digby Diver, a journalist, exploits their suffering for a headline. He writes that they are carrying bubonic plague. Everyone hunts them. Snitter's kind owner looks for him.

Cosham's narration, while flawless, is difficult to understand at times, because the fox speaks in a dialect like cockney. Also, I didn't care for the rhyming passages. For me, this book is best read, rather than heard.

I do love Richard Adams. Watership Down is a big fave, superbly narrated by Ralph Cosham.

Good, but not as good as Watership Down...

I really enjoyed Watership Down and was looking forward to this production. Narration was excellent, however the narrative while engaging was somewhat 'preachy' and idealistic. Nevertheless, the development of the characters was strong, and use of descriptive text engaging, if somewhat verbose occasionally. I think the book would have been better if it was a third or so shorter. Still, all in all, I was pleased I stuck with it to the end. Ralf. Ralf.

Richard Adams gave a voice to oppressed animals everywhere!

"The Plague Dogs" is another wonderful, heart breaking and enlightening story by Richard Adams. It stands up beautifully with "Watership Down" and "Shardik".

A tale of two dogs escape from a laboratory where they were test animals.

Glossary tip.
The Todd: A Red Fox

I can not strongly recommend this amazing book enough. It will play your emotions though, bringing you to the lowest sadness to the height of joy!