The competitive world of bird dog field trials is brought to life in Rooster, an enchanting fable about a flop-eared, yellow-eyed, orange mongrel of a dog with just enough heart to make a fanciful dream come true. Rooster is a classic tale of the sporting underdog that is guaranteed to make you smile and hungry for more.

There is a sprite in Rooster, a blue butterfly from the once long ago forests of Ireland. And, there is the old Irish, Tom Quinn, a field trialer, who would pin his dream of a national championship on the charms of sprites and leprechauns. Joining Tom is Michael, a teenage novice who, with Tom's niece, Amy, shares Tom's dream in a sport where the competition can be conspiratorial and snarling. And then there is Rooster, a mongrel breed with wings on his heart. But, in their way is Red Eyes, a devil of a dog, a gunslinger dog in a cowboy kind of game. And there are the men who made him that way, Buck Arness and Tall Charlie Hinkle, recognizable by their wiry frames and ashen skin, by the dirt beneath their fingernails. Not above sabotage, inclined to wait in ambuscade, they are coming east to the Nationals, coming east to best Tom and Mike and Rooster. Rooster is a story that is both delightful and adventurous; fast paced and full of action, readers will find themselves eagerly flipping through the pages, completely engrossed in this tale. The narrator transports readers into the story with lucid details, a mix of realistic and fanciful narration, and a pervading tone of reminiscence, as if telling a captivating tale around the campfire. It will leave you smiling and hungry for more. Awesome.

Ed Pontacoloni is a fabler. An attorney and outdoorsman, Ed is the General Counsel to the Dr. John E. Flaherty Field Trial Clubs Association, Inc., the premier field trial organization and venue in New England, and he is a former contributing editor to the Versatile Hunting Dog Magazine, the monthly periodical of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.