Dog Crazy: A Novel of Love Lost and Found

By Meg Donohue

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9780062331045

Meg Donohue

Meg Donohue is the USA Today bestselling author of How to Eat a Cupcake, All the Summer Girls, and Dog Crazy. 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, three children, and dog.

Reviews for Dog Crazy

[mrsmommybooknerd7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ok, I have to say this is by far one if my favorite books I have read in a long time. I adored the backdrop of the dogs and the incredible bond between human and their furry companions. But the book is so much more than dogs...it is about fears. Illnesses, friendship and love. I adored the way people and animals can help those struggling with various issues. I really would love a sequel to this book...what happens after the ending. How do they all fair. I want to continue with these characters. I want to know if they continued to be happy. How did thing continue for them. I felt so connected with these characters that I was sad when the book ended. I want to know more. 5 stars with hopes for a follow up novel!!!

[voracious_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maggie is an agoraphobic therapist who counsels people who have lost their pets. Maggie knows a lot about pet loss since she hasn't left the house in over 90 days since she had to put her own dog to sleep. When a heartbroken young woman, Anya, refuses to acknowledge that her dog is gone, Maggie decides that the only way to help this depressed girl is to leave her house and help Anya find her lost dog. In doing this, Maggie must first work through her crippling panic attacks, which set in as soon as she leaves her yard. With the help of her best friend's loaner dog at her side, Maggie gradually works through her own grief, and also develops a friendship with Anya and her family. In the process, Maggie falls in love with Anya's brother and must make a decision about whether loving again is worth the risk of loss.I enjoyed this quick and lighthearted read about a single professional woman trying to work through her grief and learn to love again. Although the premise of what happened to Anya's dog seemed extremely farfetched, I enjoyed the budding relationship with Anya's brother and how the story evolved. A feel-good beach read for dog lovers everywhere.

[whybehave2002 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Recently I've been surrounded by friends losing furry loved ones so this book appealed to me because it dealt with that, with an edge of humor. Very sweet. A little fluffy. ;)

[whitreidtan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you've ever had a beloved dog in your life, you know the worst thing about them is that their life expectancy is so much shorter than our own. This almost guarantees that you will one day have to say goodbye to the creature who has loved you unconditionally, who accepted you even at your worst, and who will forever leave paw prints on your heart. As Marjorie Garber said: "If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness." Meg Donohue shows this to be absolutely true in her charming, newest novel, Dog Crazy. Maggie Brennan moved to San Francisco to start a new life. She's renting the bottom floor apartment in her best friend Lourdes' home and she's got a fledgling business started as a pet bereavement counselor. She helps people grieve and accept the loss of their dogs and she's empathetic and quite good at what she does. But Maggie has major problems of her own. It's been 100 days since her own beloved dog, Toby, died of cancer and she has not been able to go further than the gate at the sidewalk without suffering a panic attack since then. Her agoraphobia is becoming increasingly problematic when a difficult and prickly young woman arrives at her door for counseling. Anya is only there to appease her older brother Henry, who wants her to accept the loss of her dog Billy and to be able to move on in her life. But Anya is convinced that Billy isn't dead nor that he ran away. She's certain he's been stolen. Maggie doesn't know if she believes Anya but she is drawn to this desperate woman and wants to help her. The catch is that Anya is only willing to talk to Maggie if she accompanies Anya around the city looking for any trace of Billy. Using Lourdes' lovely dog Giselle to help her conquer the agoraphobia and as a touchstone when her fear of heights or a panic attack comes upon on her, Maggie ventures out with Anya, quickly becoming emotionally invested in her, her caring older brother, and the rest of her quirky but loving family. The story is a heartwarming one for anyone who has ever loved an animal. Donohue captures the depth of love we feel for our furry family members and the way in which the world feels less overwhelming and as if everything in it is good when we have our pet by our side. She also delicately handles the swamping grief that their loss brings. All of the characters are sympathetic, appealing, and fully fleshed out. The plot is fairly predictable but Donohue peppers fun little details into the story to give it some variety. Maggie's work on the web pages for adoptable dogs at SuperMutt, the dog rescue organization she volunteers at, where she likens each dog to a celebrity is one such small detail. The descriptions of Anya's photos of dogs is another. The dogs in the novel, from Giselle to Toby to Billy to neurotic, scared Seymour are all unique and their presence shines in the lives of their people and in the story. The end of this sweet tale of love and loss, both human and canine, is never in doubt but it is a delightful, hopeful story that leaves the reader with a good feeling. Animal lovers in particular will enjoy it but anyone who has loved and lost and had to face the future anyway will appreciate this ultimately uplifting story.

[mishker-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.