Dogs in space! Share this book with middle graders who enjoy stories about dogs, space adventures, or action adventure stories--or all three! Perfect for fans of Homeward Bound and Woof . Lopside is a Barkonaut, a specially trained dog who assists human astronauts on missions in space. He and the crew aboard the spaceship Laika are en route to set up an outpost on a distant planet. When the mission takes a disastrous turn, the Barkonauts on board suddenly find themselves completely alone on their severely damaged ship. Survival seems impossible. But these dogs are Barkonauts--and Barkonauts always complete their mission. SOS. Ship damaged. Human crew missing. We are the dogs. We are alone.