A girl learns how to walk dogsand walk tallin this charming, coming-of-age novel

Twelve-year-old Jessie is in for a long, lonely summer at her aunt and uncles house. Her uncle is clueless, her aunt is downright frosty, and worst of all, her cousin Ann thinks Jessie isnt cool enough to hang out with anymore. But Jessie is industrious, andnot content with being ignored all summershe convinces Wes, a grouchy neighborhood dog walker, to take her on as his apprentice. Sure, dog walking turns out to be harder than she expected, but she has Wess dog-walking code, the Rules of the Ruff, to guide her, and soon, shes wrangling her very own pack like the best of them. But when Monique, a charming rival dog walker, moves to town, she quickly snatches up most of Wess businessand Jessie decides she isnt going to take this defeat with her tail between her legs.