At eighteen months of age, Lucky, a cream–coloured terrier, was dropped off at a vet's clinic in Queensland, abandoned by his owners and suffering from ticks and other terrors. A week from being put down he was adopted by Frank Robson and his partner, Leisa. From the start, the fluffy new member of the household proved an enigma, displaying a twelve–snort vocabulary, an ability to climb trees (the better to chase parrots) and a disdain for suburbia. In this full–blooded account of a friendship between man and dog, Robson puzzles on the sentient being who trotted into his life and taught him about survival, mateship and the joys of an independent spirit.

Born in New Zealand, Frank Robson spent an itinerate, jack-of-all-trades existence in Australia before becoming a journalist. He has worked for numerous publications, from The Melbourne Truth to Time, run a freelance press agency, made documentaries, and written two previous books, Dare to be Different (on Queensland oddballs), and a novel, Food of Fools. Robson has won two Walkley Awards for feature writing and in recent years has been a full-time writer with Good Weekend magazine.

Frank was fantastic to talk, moored on his yacht in the Noosa River. I look forward to future tales of his and Lucky's adventures!

Oh, and you can find out more about Lucky at www.luckyforme.com.au !