My father is always talking about how a dog can be very educational for a boy. This is one reason I got a cat.Dave Mitchell and his father yell at each other a lot, and whenever the fighting starts, Daves mother gets an asthma attack. Thats when Dave storms out of the house. Then Dave meets Tom, a strange boy who helps him rescue Cat. It isnt long before Cat introduces Dave to Mary, a wonderful girl from Coney Island. Slowly Dave comes to see the complexities in peoples lives and to understand himself and his family a little better.