Molly redeems herself in the nick of time. A storm starts to brew the day Molly is to be returned, and it reaches its peak three days later when the captain tries to rescue someone calling for help. It is Molly who does the rescuing when the captain cannot start his boat. She swims out into the crashing sea and returns with a fisherman clinging to her wet fur.

      Molly's rescue of the fisherman is dramatic and exciting but is diminished for this reviewer by the unlikelihood of the rescue in the first place. Surely a fisherman's calls for help at sea would not be heard over howling wind and crashing waves in the closed lighthouse.

      The story's satisfying conclusion has Molly receiving a medal from the town's mayor.

      The success of The Lighthouse Dog is due in large part to the warmth and detail in Dean Griffith's illustrations. The slobbering Molly and the eccentric captain and his wife are brought to life by Griffith. Children will enjoy this story of a silly, yet heroic, dog and the trouble she causes at the lighthouse.

Recommended.