HOUNDED by Matt Ziselman (Part II of II)

Get ready to wag with Matt Ziselman's HOUNDED: The Lowdown on Life from Three Dachshunds. Everyone is going to want to be best friends FURever with the three wiener stars of this memoir.

You'll fall in love with their dad Matt Ziselman's wonderful, self-deprecating humor. He's floored by self doubt, but he also has dreams. And who helps him learn how to live better and how to pursue those dreams?

 

The lowdown fur folk: Baxter, Maya, and Molly. Way to go, hot dogs!

Ziselman learns and shares a series of lessons from his dachshunds. He translates the wisdom of horizontal dogs into a life philosophy. For example, Maya seems to have had a troubled past. Ziselman writes:

Maya "will never ask to go outside. When it's time to take out all of the dogs, Maya needs to be carried to the foyer where she will then inexplicably walk through the front door to the grass. And, yes, that's the same front door that she will not walk through to enter the house." Yet, he continues: "[Maya] is the sweetest, the gentlest, and -- with the exception of having us convey her from room to door to grass and back again -- the least demanding dog in the world."

From Maya comes "Dachshund Life Lesson #10":

"Even with a messy past, the present can still be pretty neat."

Ziselman glories in the stubborn, loving natures of the long and short. Mom kept nodding and laughing in recognition at the quirks we hot dogs exhibit and the lessons we teach.

We especially love "Dachshund Life Lesson #19":

"All you need are one or two good friends. Any species will do."

For fur lovers, and all those involved in the down low, we highly recommend Hounded.

Please wag on over to author Matt Ziselman's webpage for links to purchase the book from local, independent booksellers or online retailers. (And take a look at the video book trailer, which is super cute.)