"If you must go down those mean streets, walk softly, but walk a big dog... "Perenially broke Doan is a short, chubby little man with corn-yellow hair who doesn't exactly look like he's going to set the world on fire. His clothes are frequently rumpled, because he tends to sleep in them, and he's been known to drink a prodigious amount of alcohol. And] while there have plenty of dogs in mystery fiction, there's never been one quite like Carstairs...