Briard: A Novel

The first novel about the war dogs of World War One, Briard is the story of Serges, enlisted in the French army to the dismay of his beloved music teacher owner, Rosa. Like other Briards in the ranks, Serges is tasked with roaming over the battlefields after the fighting is over – deciding who among the fallen is dead, who’s still alive, and who may yet be saved.

But what happens if Serges finds his own worst enemy still clinging to life? And who on the battlefield will save a wounded Briard? Serges’ heroic and affecting story is told in his own distinctive Briard voice...


- by Serges the Briard.

My first memory is of being saved from a lethal chamber by Monsieur Daumier. When his Picardy farm failed I was rescued again – by a music teacher called Rosa whose unique talent was to sing a High C only I could hear. Rosa’s fiancée Georges had a lifelong vendetta with Viper, the foreman of the Chateau, and who badly mistreated me when she was away.

The Countess who owned the chateau had an old friend, General Rojas and he and Georges were fighting in the war, which was getting ever closer to the chateau. When the Countess finally died in a riding accident – or so it seemed, only I could tell she was still alive. I ran miles through the night to tell Rosa. The General had been watching me for a while, and was now so impressed by my talents that he enlisted me in the Army. The Countess insisted any Briard from the chateau must serve – not as some servant – but as a scout or messenger. And so began many adventures where I managed to save a few lives. Still, Viper continued with his vendetta and I soon grew disillusioned with the war.

But after I was saved from the firing squad by an enemy officer, I understood better everything that could happen in a war. General Rojas realized my heart wasn’t in the fighting. So he put me on a duty Briards are uniquely qualified for – searching for soldiers who might yet be alive.

Whilst I was able to save many lives, who was there to save mine?