Bunkiedog Press, $12.98, ISBN 978-0-6151-3838-1
Memoir, 2007

A Man and His Maniac: The Bunkie Story is a book that only a dog person can love, I suspect. I say “love”, mind you. A casual reader may like the book, but only a dog person will love it since it is all about author Charles Emery’s Lab retriever Bunkie. This book contains his anecdotes and memories of Bunkie from the time he buys that dear to the time of Bunkie’s death from old age.

A casual reader may be put off by the writing, which will be fine were not for the constant use of some awkward phrases, such as “my future ex-wife” (just give her a name!), as well as some very obvious sentence construction problems (wrong punctuation, words inserted in the wrong place in a sentence). This is why I did say this book is for dog people since dog people are the only ones who will most likely overlook the awkward prose to enjoy the story.

After all, here are some very nice anecdotes that a dog person can relate to, such as Mr Emery’s exasperation when it comes to Bunkie’s toilet training. Since I’m a dog person, I really appreciate how Mr Emery manages to convey very clearly his love for Bunkie. He’s right: some people would say that it is odd for someone to love a mere animal that much, but these people don’t understand how the dog isn’t just a toy or something to keep around the house. The dog is a part of the family, it’s… well, a trusted friend who happens to be a dog. What Mr Emery has with Bunkie is a close bond that I can fully relate to. I actually have tears at the end of the inevitable chapter of Bunkie’s passing from this world, which is embarrassing enough if I didn’t top that by giving my startled mutt a big hug.

A Man and His Maniac: The Bunkie Story is about a man and his dog. How nice that I have always enjoyed that particular story.