A review by 100pagesaday
Dog Crazy: A Novel of Love Lost and Found by Meg Donohue

4.0

Maggie Brennan is beginning again in San Francisco. She has opened a new business as a pet bereavement counselor and gained several clients; but 100 days after the death of her dog Toby, she has yet to set foot past the gate of her apartment's yard. Toby had been Maggie's rock for the past 13 years, now Maggie finds herself in need when panic attacks arise at the mere thought of leaving her home. Knowing that her mother has agoraphobia and has not left her home in years, Maggie decides to combat her fears when a young woman comes to her office at her brother, Henry's request. Anya visits Maggie only to get her brother Henry off her back. Anya's dog Billy has gone missing, Anya believes he has been stolen, but her family wants Anya to grieve Billy's loss and move on with her life. Maggie feels for Anya and offers her services as a friend instead of a therapist to help her look for Billy, only Maggie will have to leave her apartment first.

This was a super-cute story that hit some hard issues, but still was a fun, fast-paced read. Obviously, for any dog-lover or for anyone who has suffered the loss of their pet, this story will hit home. When Maggie's character speaks to grieving patients, she might as well have been speaking to me at the time of my pets loss. Though it seemed a little cliche to have a therapist with problems of her own, Maggie's character was well thought out and she grew on me as she fought with her own demons as she helped Anya with hers. The connections that both Maggie and Anya had with their dogs felt real and honest and reminded me of my own relationships with dogs. I loved that Maggie thought that every dog looked like a celebrity and gave the dog that celebrity's name, it really helped me to visualize the dogs. I also loved the dog characters that were in the story. Giselle and Seymour felt like dogs that I know.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.