
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 10, 2015)
The USA Today bestselling author of How to Eat a Cupcake and All the Summer Girls returns with an unforgettably poignant and funny tale of love and loss, confronting our fears, and moving on . . . with the help of a poodle, a mutt, and a Basset retriever named Seymour.
As a pet bereavement counselor, Maggie Brennan uses a combination of empathy, insight, and humor to help patients cope with the anguish of losing their beloved four-legged friends. Though she has a gift for guiding others through difficult situations, Maggie has major troubles of her own that threaten the success of her counseling practice and her volunteer work with a dog rescue organization.
Everything changes when a distraught woman shows up at Maggie’s office and claims that her dog has been stolen. Searching the streets of San Francisco for the missing pooch, Maggie finds herself entangled in a mystery that forces her to finally face her biggest fear-and to open her heart to new love.
Packed with deep emotion and charming surprises, Dog Crazy is a bighearted and entertaining story that skillfully captures the bonds of love, the pain of separation, and the power of our dogs to heal us.
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Review:
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.

Meg Donohue is the author of How to Eat a Cupcake. She has an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and a BA in comparative literature from Dartmouth College. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she now lives in San Francisco with her husband, their two young daughters, and their dog.
Find out more about Meg at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.