Call Him a Dog

Jim/Blair Fanfiction
Title:	Call Him a Dog
Author(s):	Lanning Cook
Date(s):	8 March 2000
Length:	5196 words
Genre:	slash, humor, post canon
Fandom:	The Sentinel
External Links:	Call Him a Dog at 852 Prospect Call Him a Dog at Lanning Cook's Fiction Call Him a Dog on AO3
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Call Him a Dog is a Sentinel story by Lanning Cook and it was translated into Chinese in mid-2013 by cindyfxx.

Summary:

Jim's new partner goes down the Major Crimes rabbit-hole; Jim and Blair come to an understanding.

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

[Dominique Elize]
Call Him A Dog is funny and sharp, and I really love 'an outsider's view on Jim and Blair's relationship' stories. But my favorite Lanning Cook story is most definitely Epiphaneia, which is a stunning masterpiece. And that with a puppy.

2000s

[eliade]
Why you should read this: Strong, fresh POV and true-blue cop characterization; much humor; tightly-wound and territorial Jim; nicely rounded supporting characterization; lots of deliciously foul language; and the satisfaction of seeing the universe right itself. What might throw you off stride: Deliciously foul language, and you have to suspend your disbelief at a significant point in the story. But this is Lanning Cook, man, and for crying out loud you'd better not give this a miss.

[Lacey McBain]
Too often readers dismiss stories that feature original characters. Not every not-in-canon character is a Mary/Marty Sue, and often writers need to create other characters (villains, friends, co-workers) to make a story seem more realistic. So, it's always a risk to let an original character have a prominent role in a story, and an even greater risk to let that character tell the story. But Lanning pulls it off beautifully. "Call Him a Dog" is a first-person POV from a detective who's been given his chance in the Major Crimes unit - partnered with Jim Ellison (after "The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg" fiasco). Corbin doesn't know Ellison except by reputation. He sees a good cop screwed over by an outsider, and he doesn't understand why everyone's still so protective of Sandburg's reputation when the guy's no longer in the picture. Corbin captures the frustration that people not in the loop feel when dealing with the Jim/Blair phenomenon, and it's utterly believable. Plus I love the way Corbin's character comes through his point of view. His expletive-laced, colourful phraseology goes a long way in creating a fully-developed character, and that's why the story works so well even though the focus isn't exactly on the main characters we're used to seeing.