Beautiful Joe tells the true story of a dog from Meaford, Ontario that had his ears and tail chopped off by an abusive owner as a puppy, but is rescued by a Meaford family whose lives he later saves. The story is written from the dog’s point of view, and is often compared to Black Beauty which was released a few years earlier. When the book was published, it received worldwide attention. It was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies, and by the end of the 1930s over seven million copies were sold worldwide. About Beautiful Joe, Marshall Saunders commented, I have had the honour of leading the old Ontario dog around the world on a chain of translations and rejoice in the report that he has become quite a propagandist for humanitarianism .