In this autobiographical memoir, accomplished author and historian Hayter-Menzies shares details of his own life and that of his rescue dog Freddie, exemplifying how the love between animal and human can be symbiotically healing and dependent. While eloquently and compassionately revealing the joys, challenges, and heartache of rescue-dog ownership, Hayter-Menzies tells of Freddie’s struggles with health issues and overcoming trauma from an abusive, neglectful past. A collection of black and white photos with captions, embedded mid-point in the book, chronicles the shared life of Freddie and the author. References to renowned literary works, authors, playwrights, and artists appear throughout, along with a historical glimpse into human-animal relationships. The admiral animal rescue work of organizations such as the BCSPCA is touted, and awareness of abuse and neglect potential in breeders, animal hoarders, and puppy mills is brought to light. The text includes valuable information for readers interested in rescue-dog adoption, and animal rights, welfare, and activism.

Cautions / Content Warnings: Includes some detail relating to mature themes: adult relationships, divorce, mental health, and drug abuse; animal abuse, trauma, and euthanasia.
Other End Matter: Acknowledgements, notes
Images: B&W photographs
Bibliography: Yes
Index: No

Evaluator: Jennifer W., Literacy Educator And Administrator, BC Books for Schools

Grant Hayter-Menzies is a biographer and historian specializing in the lives of extraordinary and unsung heroes of the past, notably the role of animals in times of war. He is the author of thirteen books, including Muggins: The Life and Afterlife of a Canadian Canine War Hero, Woo: The Monkey Who Inspired Emily Carr, Dorothy Brooke and the Fight to Save Cairo’s Lost War Horses, and From Stray Dog to World War One Hero: The Paris Terrier Who Joined the First Division. He is also literary executor of playwright William Luce. For more information, visit grantmenzies.wixsite.com/author.

Grant Hayter-Menzies' profile page

Linda Rogers is a poet passionately engaged with existence whose poems resonate a subterranean logic and the music of deep mindfulness. In Homing: New & Selected Poems she returns again and again to the unquiet ground of the theatre of life. A singular and uncompromising awareness of suffering and joy, hope and despair, the arc of naked dreams and the sense of community, informs her three decades of writing and numerous published collections. In Homing Rogers has included representative poems from previous volumes –– social poems, introspective poems, both thoughtful and exuberant –– as well as new work. The sequence is consistent and steadfast like a slow-moving train of perception through the world of time. Linda Roger’s poems sing with a compassion and concern for social justice that elevates the spirit and massages the mind. Homing is a delicate and deliberate portrait of one poet’s chronicle of residence on planet earth.

Linda Rogers' profile page

“Freddie is a potent memoir about a special dog’s second chance at life.”
—Foreword Reviews

“[A] resonant tribute to this most special dog. In learning about Freddie, we also learn about Hayter-Menzies’s life, and how both overcame overwhelming obstacles—in part because of each other. Their profound bond is something anyone who has ever loved a dog will understand. Freddie was a small dog, but he was larger than life, and this true tale is an inspiring, heartwarming read.”
—Maria Goodavage, New York Times bestselling author of Doctor Dogs, Top Dog, Secret Service Dogs, and Soldier Dogs

“This heartfelt and charming book tells the story of how Freddie, a special little dog adopted from the BC SPCA, overcame his difficult start in life and learned to be a dog and best friend . . . [A] personal, insightful, and surprising account of just how much dogs mean to us. You will feel like Freddie is with you long after you finish this touching book.”
—Zazie Todd, PhD, author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy

"I'm a sucker for a good dog story and this one is about as good as it gets. For, as the author notes in his riveting tale, 'Freddie would become something of a poster dog for the transformative power of love.'"
—Lesley Choyce, author of Around England with a Dog

“Freddie: The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Me details the life of a much-loved and engaging four-legged member of Grant Hayter-Menzies’s family. But this is not just a story about a dog—it is very much the author’s personal journey. This was a creature who needed special care but, in receiving it, gave boundlessly back to his carers.”
—Chris Czajkowski, bestselling author of Lonesome: Diary of a Wilderness Dog, and Harry: A Wilderness Dog Saga

“The story of Grant and Freddie’s journey touches the heart of the human–animal bond. It is about love, adventure and making it through the difficulties in life with a friend at your side. It is a rich tapestry filled with snippets of history but mostly about the deep connection between the souls of a man and his dog as together they travel through life. A beautiful story.”
—Carol Hine, founder of Senior Animals In Need Today Society (SAINTS)