Zero the Lock Dog: A Tale of the Canal du Midi

Claudine, a beautiful golden retriever, a faithful lock dog in Canal du Midi, gave birth to five puppies. One of them only had three legs. For Jean Claude Duval, the lockkeeper of L’Ecluse des Duval, dogs equals additional income. He was able to sell all the puppies, except for the three-legged one, which he called Zero. Contrary to what his master thought, the dog survived and learned the trade of being a lock dog like his mother.

As time went on, Duval, his wife, Jeanette, and his son, Albert, noticed something special about Zero. He could understand humans. While doing his work, he befriended a tow horse named Lulu, the bringer of news and a teller of many a story along the canal. Fascinated by the tales and humans, who most interest him, he decided to take an adventure of his own and rode the La Bonne Fortune, a barge by Capitaine Lambert. In one of the locks, he fought and defeated Bruno, the most hated dog in the canal, making him a legend among the bargemen and lockkeepers alike.

But Zero is more than a fighter, he has a higher purpose, and for this he became a source of both comfort and joy for those whose lives he touched.