A homeless dog is on a mission to find an owner in this first entry of a chapter-book series from France.Dumpster Dog is smelly, looks like an old rug, and can't tell left from right. This pup of indeterminate breed may not be very smart, but he has a kind heart. Dumpster Dog shares his garbage can with his friend Flat Cat, who was run over as a kitten and is indeed flat. When Dumpster Dog expresses his longing for an owner, Flat Cat encourages the down-on-his-luck pooch to go out into the world and find one (along with a bicycle pump "to re-inflate" his feline pal). Like his fan club of flies, misadventure follows Dumpster Dog everywhere. Just when the hapless Dumpster Dog thinks he's found his owner, the man takes him to the butcher to be made into sausage. Fortunately, Dumpster Dog isn't very appealing! (But the poodle and basset hound are destined for somebody's dinner, a detail the text elides.) He escapes only to come up against a trio of greedy, burgling kidnappers. Can Dumpster Dog save the day? And will Flat Cat ever be reinflated? Independent readers will delight in Dumpster Dog's tongue-in-cheek escapades; the book is also suitable as a chapter-per-night bedtime story for pre-readers. The full-color artwork is rendered in a 1950s cartoon style with ironic touches that complement the action. Humans are shown as white.It's a good thing more books are on the way. (Animal fantasy. 6-10)