Leo Traded

Leo, a retired racing Greyhound, who raced as Luv You Too Much, thinks he has a perfect life with his owner, Mike Dozer, until a phone call from Mike's friend and fellow Greyhound lover, Robin Eagle, turns his world upside-down. Leo now learns that he will be traded for a cat named Mr. Lily and a hairless rat called Harry. Feeling forsaken and unloved, Leo struggles to harden himself and not care that he will never be Mike's dog and devoted companion again. But as hard as he tries, his heart is breaking. If he'd only known he was going to live with a sick Greyhound who was deeply loved by a little boy whose father had died, Leo would have raced to be with the stricken family and give them all the comfort he could. George, Robin's son, who Leo came to realize was a genius and most likely the smartest child in the entire world, thought of a way to make Adeline get well and live longer than Greyhounds do. Not all the new people in Leo's life were smart or kind, though. And while the puppyhood accident of being dropped on his head gave Leo the curse of human speech--which made him fear that scientists would cut his brain open to see how he could talk--he had to speak his mind for George's and Adeline's sake. In fact, his huge heart made him desperate to rescue baby zebras, and to scare the living daylights out of delinquent teenage boys so they would have a worthwhile life.