Written By WENDY HOBDAY HAUGH
Photos provided
In Peggy Frezon’s latest book, Goodbye to a Good Dog; Healing, Comfort, and the Hope of Heaven After the Loss of Your Pet, the Rexford author offers personal reflections, seasoned advice, and coping strategies for the one event every dog lover dreads most: the death of their beloved canine companion. Bonding with a dog is one of life’s greatest joys, so losing that connection can be life-altering. Having loved and lost many dogs herself, Frezon understands that devastation well. By sharing her insights and suggestions, as well as first-person vignettes written by dog lovers from around the world, she hopes to offer compassion and support to grief-stricken dog lovers everywhere.
“What makes a relationship with a dog truly special,” Frezon says, “is that the love is mutual. The communication is two-way. We don’t have to be told that dogs have feelings, because we know. We see trust and devotion in their eyes. We see joy in the way they wag their tail. We see their doleful expression when we leave the house, and the frenzy of delight when we return. We feel the warmth of their love when they snuggle up beside us.”
Peggy and her husband, Mike, have lived with nine dogs, one of them an elderly golden retriever named Brooks. Although the rescue golden only lived with them eleven short months, Brooks etched a forever mark on their hearts. To honor this beautiful dog’s life and passing, the Frezons created BrooksHaven: a homebased sanctuary and forever ‘retirement home’ for senior golden retrievers.
“Because we rescue senior dogs, we’ve experienced loving and losing dogs more than some people have,” Frezon muses. “Having gone through the horrible, heart wrenching grief of losing dogs, there were times when Mike and I thought we couldn’t do it again—we couldn’t keep rescuing senior dogs and facing loss over and over again. But when we lost one and felt ready for another, we still felt drawn to senior dogs. They needed a home, and it was a privilege to rescue them. So at that point we knew that the loss was just something we were going to have to figure out how to face. That’s when I knew that I had this book in me.”
For more than 20 years, Peggy Frezon has been a contributing editor and writer at Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines, a frequent contributor to numerous devotionals and Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and the prolific author of seven books about the incredible connections forged between humans and animals. In Goodbye to a Good Dog, Frezon offers comfort and hope to the brokenhearted.
Beautifully written and spiritually uplifting, love infuses every page. Although written for dog lovers, this book is the perfect read for anyone grieving the loss of a pet.
“There is no one more qualified — as an author, as a dog lover, as a uniquely empathetic human being — than Peggy Frezon to write a book like Goodbye to a Good Dog,” writes Edward Grinnan, Editor-in-Chief of Guideposts Magazine. “More than a practical guide to pet loss, it examines the deep emotional bonds we form with the animals we love and who love us back. Goodbye to a Good Dog belongs on every pet lover’s bookshelf.”
Goodbye to a Good Dog (Revell, $19.99) may be ordered through your favorite bookstore, retailer, or Amazon.
• Meet Peggy and her therapy dog, Sophie, at Cornerstone Veterinary in Saratoga on July 15 from 6:30-8 for an author talk, pet memorial activity, and refreshments.
