Book excerpt: THE MONSTER DOG is a happy and funny book with delightful pictures. It is written for young children and early readers. The "Monster Dog" is a small Shih Tzu with a big attitude. Demitasse considers herself a high-classed Shih Tzu and carries her treats to the dining room to eat them there. She even has her own sidewalk as she prances down the curbs. The book is written in "first dog" and deals with love and forgiveness. Carmen is introduced in the book as being like a mother. Carmen and Tasse laugh and fuss all day. Carmen forgets Tasse's treat, but Tasse finds it in her heart to forgive Carmen because, as she says, "Life is not always easy for grownups." Tasse's favorite thing to do is to bark. From her barking platform, she can patrol the whole neighborhood. She barks at the postman, and barks at the track team. She barks until they are scared off. She converses with the crows. Sometimes she barks so long Carmen says, "Time Out" and she has to go to her kennel and think about it. At bedtime, tucked into her little pink bed with her pink snuggle blanket, Tasse sighs as Carmen repeats the refrain, "Oh Tasse, you are a Monster Dog, but I love you."