The novel takes place in different places during the different lifetimes of the dog. The setting for the first lifetime of the dog is at first the den under a large tree on a river bank where the feral mother hides her pups. Then when they are caught by Senora's workmen, they are put in the Yard, an area enclosed by a tall wooden fence, where many dogs of different sizes, breeds, and temperaments live. The only other place the dog experiences in this lifetime is the animal hospital where in a cool room he is neutered and then put to sleep when his foreleg is so badly injured and he is not able to be adopted.