Fixing Freddie

June 16, 2011 3:34 pm | By Zootoo Editor Flinn D.

“Fixing Freddie,” by Paula Munier, is a brief, humorous memoir by a single mother whose son falls in love with a pet beagle who just can’t be tamed. Freddie, the titular beagle, is a handful of a dog. He chews furniture, pees, slobbers, barks at all hours of the night and terrorizes her dates.

The author tries everything to make Freddie behave, from puppy behavior classes to doggy drugs, but as attempt after attempt fails, she finds herself accepting and loving the dog for exactly who he is, even though at times, he is making her life difficult, to say the least.

The writing is crisp and funny and some of the episodes are downright hilarious. But the book is marketed as a pet memoir, which is a bit inaccurate. As much time, if not more, is spent detailing the long and bitter custody battle the author goes through with her ex-husband and his nutty new family as exploring her relationship with Freddie. But throughout the custody battle, Freddie is an odd comfort to both the author and her seven-year-old son, and his manic behavior mirrors that of the author’s erratic ex (and a few of her potential new boyfriends).

While the story of how the author pulls herself and her son through a difficult period in their lives is compelling, the portions of “Fixing Freddie” that really sing are those that concentrate on Freddie. As the author’s sons leave the house one by one, Freddy becomes her only charge and she is forced to love him for the irascible, unpredictable pet that he is – something that, surely, all of us pet lovers can relate to.

Pros: Crisp and funny; downright hilarious at times.

Cons: Not always completely pet-focused.