Lives of the Monster Dogs

Kirsten Bakis

Picture in your mind Wegman's Weimaraners, dressed in late 19th century Prussian military and aristocratic garb. Add a generous dollop of Frankenstein, and add a pinch of the movie Boys from Brazil and you can get a feel for the debut novel Ms. Bakis cooks up in Lives of the Monster Dogs. Cleo Pira, a woman that writes for a university paper, provides the narration with an insider's viewpoint of the monster dogs. The setting begins with “…the name of the scientist was Augustus Rank, and he conceived the idea of a race of super-intelligent dogs, with artificial hands and voice boxes, to be used for military purposes, and devoted his life to creating them”. In his early life, Augustus Rank performs mostly failed experiments on animals. During one experiment on a neighbor's cow, which was partially successful, the young Rank was discovered by a famous doctor, which leads to his early acceptance in a renowned medical university. Rank meets the aristocracy of the time, including “…his future patron, Prince Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern, later to become Wilhelm II, ruler of the German Empire.” Rank pitches his idea for the dogs to Prince Wilhelm, and the Prince provides a secret laboratory to bring the idea to fruition. After fifteen years, with no success, Prince Wilhelm gives an ultimatum of two years for the completion of the project. Knowing this is far to little time, Rank and his loyal staff pilfer the royal vaults and leave for an isolated section of Canada founding, the village of Rankstadt. Descendents of the founders continue for one hundred years before the monster dogs are ready – in 1988, when 150 are created. The dogs, led by a mongrel, rebel, destroying Rankstadt. Taking the German Empire's loot with them, the monster dogs making their way to New York City. In New York, the narrative focuses on three dogs, an older dog by the name of Von Sacher, a younger leader named Klaue, and Lydia, friend to both. Several years after their arrival, the Von Sacher begins to have episodes where he revert to normal dog behavior, in a way reminding you of the regression that might happen in an Alzheimer's patient. Soon, most of the dogs are experiencing the same disease. The episodes of regression grow longer over time. In order to prevent humans from becoming the caretakers of the dogs, Klaue puts forward the idea of a castle in New York where the dogs can live without interference. As the dogs continue to deteriorate, chaos ensues. This is a very interesting first novel that explores what it means to be human, aspects of slavery, treatment of others that are “different” from us, chronic disease, and biological experimentation gone awry.