Girl meets dog . . . and it’s love at first sight.

Thirteen-year-old Tori is the lonely new kid in town. Nick, her adopted shelter dog, fills the void in Tori’s life created by her distant, distracted father and absent mother. But when Nick misbehaves, Tori’s father tells her to train him .  .  . or else.

Tori enters the world of dog agility and dreams of impressing her father and honoring her mother by winning competitions. Nick teaches Tori about trust and the joy of living, and because of him she experiences true friendships for the first time in her life. When Tori investigates a danger to the dogs in her community, she finds herself and Nick facing challenges she didn’t imagine. Can Tori find the confidence and courage to investigate and confront the culprit? Can Nick depend on Tori to keep him safe? Has she taught Nick the skills he needs to escape danger?

By turns heartbreaking, heartwarming, and heart-pounding, this absorbing coming-of-age story is laced with authentic positive reinforcement dog training techniques. Readers learn what it’s really like to care for and train a dog.

Fans of Wish, Fearless, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Answers to Dog will root for Tori and Nick as they learn about dog agility, the power of friendship and family, and what winning really means.