Semper Fido (Dog Tags #1)

Man's best friend goes to war.

When Gus Dempsey joins the US Marine Corps, he knows without a doubt that he will make a great dog handler. He's always been good with dogs. In fact, he's often better with dogs than he is with people.But Loki is not the dog that Gus was expecting. Fun-loving and playful, Loki acts more like a pet than the well-trained, bomb-sniffing Marine that he's supposed to be.When Gus and Loki deploy to Afghanistan, though, they have no choice but to learn to work together. Because in war, getting along is a matter of life and death.DOG TAGS is a series of stand-alone books, each exploring the bond between soldier and dog in times of war.

Praise for DOG TAGS #1: SEMPER FIDO:"A fast-paced tale that's both a love story between a young man and dog, but also an ode to Marines' selfless actions during wartime, Dog Tags: Semper Fido is a must-read for that reluctant middle grade boy audience. Dog lovers of every ilk, too, will be impressed with this tale of how human and dog have to learn to work together perfectly." -- CRANBERRY EAGLE newspaperPraise for TIDES OF WAR #1: BLOOD IN THE WATER:"Filled with fascinating facts about dolphins and the U.S. Navy, yet never bogged down by details, this first in the Tides of War series is a suspense-laden adventure that will reel in readers and keep them hooked until the last page." -- BOOKLIST

C. Alexander London is an author of books for children and adults. In addition to the Dog Tags and Tides of War series, he writes the Accidental Adventures novels for young readers and books like One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War for older readers. When he is not writing books, he can usually be found walking around New York City talking to his dog.

"Stay with me, good boy," I mumbled at Loki - my partner, my teammate, my best friend in this crazy war. I tried to hold my eyes open as long as I could, tried to keep scratching behind Loki's ears and speaking in my most comforting voice. I knew, I just knew that Loki could understand.My lips kept moving even after I didn't have the strength to make any noise. I just repeated myself over and over, pleading for one thing, the thing I wanted more than anything in the nineteen years I'd been alive: "Stay with me, Loki," I told him. "Stay with me, Marine."