"The Last of the Winnebagos" is a short story written by American writer

Connie Willis Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards tha ...

. It was first published in ''Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' in 1988, and reprinted in the short story collections '' Impossible Things'' (1994) and ''The Best of Connie Willis'' (2013).

Plot synopsis

The story, set in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, takes place in a dystopian future where a pandemic called newparvo (a virulent strain of

canine parvovirus Canine parvovirus (also referred to as CPV, CPV2, or parvo) is a contagious virus mainly affecting dogs. CPV is highly contagious and is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces. Vaccines can prevent this infection ...

) has killed all the

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s. In the wake of this disaster the Humane Society, referred to somewhat ominously as "the Society", has been given enormous powers within the government. The story's main character, photojournalist David McCombe, is haunted because despite being a professional photographer, none of the dog portraits he had taken show the personality of the subjects, and of his own dog, Aberfan, he has no pictures at all.

Awards

* Hugo Award for best science fiction novella 1989 * Nebula Award for best science fiction novella 1988

External links

* 1988 short stories Science fiction short stories Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Nebula Award for Best Novella-winning works Hugo Award for Best Novella winning works Works by Connie Willis Arizona in fiction Dystopian literature {{1980s-sf-story-stub