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Elizabeth, Sager, and Mr. Wienie are adventurous dachshunds who come up with a plan to see the backyard. Mr. Wienie fakes an injury to distract Mother (and eat lots of snacks) to buy the others time to explore the backyard. Sager and Elizabeth meet a band of skunks, including warriors and a queen. The queen will allow them to explore the area if they bring back two bags of oats from The Mighty Hooved One. The dogs are unprepared when they learn the Hooved One is protected by a vicious billy goat. Escaping that adventure lands them right in the lap of a group of raccoon bandits led by the one-eyed Robby. Robby enjoys being a bully and robbing others. When he captures the dogs and skunks, he intends to use them for his own amusement. Will the two dachshunds ever return to their family?
Hatfield’s short novel is an adventure story for animal lovers who are children or young at heart. Readers familiar with Redwall or Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH will be familiar with authors using personification to create animal characters embodying human characteristics. With the varied personalities, it is easy to empathize with Hatfield’s canine companions. There is not a large amount of tension in the narrative. However, those unconcerned with such matters and who are mainly interested in the story’s appropriateness for younger readers have nothing to fear. This book will be especially entertaining for those animal lovers who are young, voracious readers and who want a story that challenges them while remaining at their maturity level.