Sick Puppy

Sick Puppy is a 2000 novel by Carl Hiaasen.

Florida's vapid, corrupt Governor, Richard "Dick" Artemus, has no agenda beyond unquestioning obedience to the whims of his major campaign contributors. One of these contributors, a former drug smuggler-turned-developer, Robert Clapley, plans to bulldoze the small Toad Island and remake it into "Shearwater Island," with high rise condominiums and golf courses. The project requires the construction of a massive new bridge to the mainland, to accommodate Clapley's cement trucks. On Artemus's recommendation, Clapley hires Palmer Stoat, a lobbyist, to expedite the government funding for the bridge construction.