That's when I saw them.
The paw prints.
Halfway along the ceiling they went. Evidence of a dog that could defy gravity.

The incredible story of Bailey, the dog who walked on the ceiling; and Manny, the guy who got kicked out of Alcoholics Anonymous for swearing.

Manny Riley is newly married, with a puppy and a wee flat by the sea, and the BBC are on the verge of greenlighting one of his projects. Everything sounds perfect. But Manny has always been an anger management casualty, and the idyllic village life is turning out to be more League of Gentlemen than The Good Life. The BBC have decided his script needs totally rewritten, the locals are conducting a campaign against his dog, and the village policeman is on the side of the neds. As his marriage suffers under the strain of his constant rages, a strange connection begins to emerge between Manny's temper and the health of his beloved lurcher.
Laugh-out-loud funny, this brilliant novel breaks into a convincing Dogspeak that will ring true in any dog-loving household. Complete with all the jealousy and heartbreak that come into any loving relationship, dog-human relations have never been so vividly expressed. This is a book for everyone who has ever had a dog. Or talked to one.

DES DILLON was born and brought up in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, and studied English at Strathclyde University. A former teacher, he is now a poet, short story writer, novelist and dramatist writing for radio, stage, television and film. He has taught Creative Writing at the Arvon Foundation and was Writer in Residence at Castlemilk, Glasgow, between 1998 and 2000. Des now lives in Galloway with his wife and two dogs, one of whom really did walk on the ceiling during an epileptic fit.

Visit the My Epileptic Lurcher website for more information about Des and Bailey and some cute lurcher photos.

Reminded me of Twain and Kerouac. EDWIN MORGAN Dillon's [Me and Ma Gal] is arguably one of the most frenetic and kenetic, living and breathing of all Scottish novels…. The whole novel crackles with this verbal energy.THE LIST 100 BEST SCOTTISH BOOKS OF ALL TIME
... better than Irvine Welsh. THE SUNDAY HERALD on Monks
... raw, exciting Dillon with his taut use of language and a racy approach to literature and ideas, sometimes verging on the bizarre... as irresistible as ever. DGB LIFE on They Scream When You Kill Them
Des Dillon's exuberant mastery of language energises everything he writes. JANET PAISLEY