Animals in picture books exist on a continuum between fully animal and fully human. To sit at the anthropomorphised end of that spectrum, the animal in question:
Beatrix Potter had a massive influence on illustrators all through the 20th century. Any animal dressed in clothes is a descendent of Beatrix Potter.
On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.
Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:
1. Get a pet dog
2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.