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Reviewed by Stephen Brayton for Readers' Favorite
How the lives of three dachshunds influence the perspective of their owners. That's what Hounded is all about: looking at the actions, reactions, and personalities of dogs and relating them to the life of Matt Ziselman. He begins the book by sharing the story of how he met his first pet, a German Shepherd, as a young boy. Then he jumps to his current adult life, married with children and the trio of canines in his household. Baxter, the 25-pounder; Maya, the emotionally scarred older dog; and Molly, the happy-go-lucky vicious licker. In every chapter he discusses the quirks, habits, and eccentricities of the dogs. These include: Molly's eating of poop, Baxter's attempts at dominance over the others, and Maya's phobias about the front entrance, hall, and stairs. Then Ziselman will relate these doggie-dos to particular instances within his own life. He'll discuss, upon more than one occasion, his parents' deaths, his own brand of OCD, and how he shouldn't worry so much.
This is not your typical let's-talk-about-my-special-pet book. I love animal books and learning about the pets in people's lives. Ziselman, however, sets out to give us, and himself, life lessons. In fact, he calls them Dachshund Life Lessons. At the end, however, he changes those to Life Reminders. The circumstances, personalities, and decisions he discusses in Hounded are those to which many people can relate. We've all done similar things, have similar quirks. He blends humor and serious, tear-jerker material well. At first, I was a bit put off by his use of profanity, but it works. So, buyer beware, that this is not a children's doggie book. This is for adults. I listened to the audio version which added the extra nice quality of hearing a narrator's inflections which further brought out the humor. And with a discussion of dogs, you can't go wrong.
