Television (symbol)
From the first chapter it is clear that for Enzo, television symbolizes knowledge. The information he has about the outside world is all learned by watching the TV, so he contextualizes the human events he witnesses through events represented in television shows and movies. For example, when he isn't present for Denny's court proceedings, he fills in the blanks using his memory of Law and Order episodes.
Smell (motif)
A motif in the novel is the idea that Enzo can appreciate and discern smells in order to read a situation. He figures out what is wrong with Eve by smelling a musty, rotting smell emanating from her ears. He can tell what type of day Denny has had by smelling him and know where he ate lunch and whether he stopped for a beer.
The Zebra (symbol)
Zoë's favorite toy, the stuffed zebra, turns into a symbol of deep inner fears and self-doubts. The way Enzo hallucinates the toy taunting and humiliating all the other toys in Zoë 's collection represents the ways in which people's tendency to doubt themselves leads to their own destruction. Throughout the novel, Enzo references the zebra in a fearful tone, afraid that at any moment, its energy could crop up and sabotage him.
Alpha male (allegory)
The first man Enzo comes in contact with is his breeder, a man he calls the alpha male. Enzo describes the man as being materialistic and wanting to earn as much money as possible from the dogs he has. The way the owner is described here is not coincidental, as the alpha male is used as an allegory for the capitalist way of thinking, focused only on profit. The man is almost dehumanized by his greed, and this suggests that capitalism and materialism destroy the properly human way of living. His greed is cemented when Enzo has a flashback of having his dew claws removed without anesthesia because the breeder wasn't willing to spend the extra money on a numbing agent.
The Hearth (symbol)
The hearth is a classic symbol of family unity and stability. The cabin in Methow Valley has a hearth, which is a deceptive detail considering that no member of Eve's family besides Eve herself has ever proven to be a source of stability for Denny, Zoë, or Enzo. In fact, The Twins and Annika all serve to destabilize the home environment.
