In the style of James Thurber's "The Dog Department" meets "Marley and Me," "Shepherd Girl: A Dog Story" chronicles the exploits of Athena, a silly long-coated German shepherd. Athena is goofy, clumsy, and vain, and although she successfully foils a stranger's abduction of the author in a dark parking lot, she also finds time to chase lawn gnomes, strip the author topless at the Dog Park, and play-bow to stuffed toys at an age when she should know better. Athena is at times exasperating and certainly no perfect replica of Rin Tin Tin, but the underlying love and devotion between dog and...