The Starlight Barking (1967)

The Starlight Barking is a 1967 children's novel by Dodie Smith. It is a sequel to the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Plot

The Dearly family and most of the Dalmatians of the first book still live in Cruella de Vil's old manor house in Suffolk, as do many of the other rescued Dalmatians and a married couple of White Persian cats. Mr. Dearly has allowed some dogs to go to new masters, including giving Cadpig to the Prime Minister.

One morning, the dogs find all other living things besides dogs cannot be wakened. No dog is hungry, thirsty, or weak. Doors, gates, and machines operate on command, and the dogs are able to communicate via "thought waves" to others many miles away. Cadpig, now acting Prime Minister in the humans' absence, orders her parents to come help her in London, where hundreds of dogs are arriving awaiting her advice.

The dogs discover they can "swoosh", or hover at tremendous speed over the ground. Pongo and Missis select a squad of fifty Dalmatians, including their adult sons Patch, Lucky, and Roly Poly. They "swoosh" to London and are escorted by Police Dogs to 10 Downing Street. Cadpig and her Cabinet (the human Cabinet's dogs) hold a meeting with Pongo and Missis to decide what to do next. Roly Poly makes a friend of George, the Foreign Secretary's Boxer, and the two set off to adventure together.

Two Fox Terriers hear the General (the Old English Sheepdog) barking; he reveals he will soon be arriving with his owner's little son Tommy, the farm tabby Mrs. Willow, and the female White Persian Cat. These three are also awake, thanks to being named "honorary dogs" after the events of the first book. Upon arrival in London, the White Persian Cat suggests Cruella, now back in London, must be behind the mysterious sleeping. She leads a group of dogs to Cruella's house to kill her. However, Cruella and her husband are just as fast asleep as anyone else, and the animals see she is now obsessed with metallic plastics instead of fur coats. They spare her life and return to Downing Street, where the television comes on and a strange Voice orders them to make sure all dogs are in open, starlit spaces by midnight. The Dalmatians accomplish this via Twilight Barking and thought waves.

In Trafalgar Square, Tommy, the cats, the Dalmatians, and the General meet with thousands of other dogs to wait. At Midnight, after a strange euphoric moment followed by a moment of terror, Sirius, the Lord of the Dog Star, appears on Nelson's Column. He explains to all the dogs that he is lonely and is offering them the chance to avoid the pain of possible nuclear war in the future. However, they must come with him of their own accord. He assures them the world, when it wakes, will not remember dogs ever existed, and that all dogs will be free and know true bliss in the stars.

Pongo is chosen to make the final decision. He consults with the Cabinet, Missis, and the General. Three stray dogs approach, and tell Pongo that no "lost" dog wants to give up their last chance of finding special humans of their own by leaving Earth. This convinces Pongo and the others to choose their masters over Sirius. While Sirius commends their loyalty to humankind, he is sad that he will have to return to space alone. The dogs promise they will look out for him on nights when the Dog Star is in the sky. Sirius grants them the ability to "swoosh" to their own homes before daybreak, at which time everything will return to normal.

Roly Poly returns from his adventure in Paris with George. He reveals Sirius appeared there as well, and Missis surmises he appeared everywhere at once, as a star is not bound by earthly time. All owned dogs return home, while the "lost" dogs take the opportunity to get in to Battersea Dogs Home, where they will be fed and cared for while awaiting new owners. Pongo talks to Sirius one last time before the dawn and says someday dogs may be ready to leave Earth with him, but for now they will be content to be owned by loving humans, which, for him, is "bliss" enough.

Characters

Sirius - the powerful, telepathic, but intensely lonely "Lord of the Dog Star", who can assume the form of any breed of dog and has loved dogs for millennia. With the threat of possible nuclear war looming, he fears what will happen to Earth's dogs, and he uses his magic to "freeze" Earth and give the dogs the power to flee with him if they so choose, setting off the events of the novel.

Pongo - the father of the fifteen puppies from the first novel, now known across London for the famous rescue of the puppies from Cruella de Vil. He is the de facto leader of the Dalmatians and is said to possess the "Keenest Brains in Dogdom", though the strange happenings place him in a position far out of his depth.

Missis Pongo - known as "Missis" to most. She is more intuitive but less practical than her husband, but just as famous and admired. She grasps the concepts of "magic" and "metaphysical" far better than her husband when the strange happenings occur.

The General - formerly "The Colonel" in the first novel, before his promotion, the Old English Sheepdog who lives at Tompkins farm next door to Pongo and Missis. He is able to communicate with his owner's son, Tommy Tompkins, in a half-dog half-human babble.

Cadpig - Pongo and Missis' twelfth-born and smallest puppy. As an adult, she accompanied Mr. Dearly to meet the Prime Minister and indicated she wished to stay at 10 Downing Street with him, becoming famous on TV speeches sitting next to her new master. She becomes Prime Minister during the crisis and is able to handle the situation with her parents' help and her own naturally "bossy" nature.

Cadpig's Cabinet - the dogs belonging to the Prime Minister's Cabinet, who take over their masters' jobs during the Crisis: