Welcome to FixingFreddie.com

Welcome to fixingfreddie.com,
home of Fixing Freddie by Paula Munier

Freddie, a very bad beagle from the book Fixing Freddie

Eat, Pray, Love for Dogs

Elizabeth Gilbert has made quite a name for herself—not to mention oodles of money—sharing her secret to a happy life in her bestselling memoir, whose title sums it up rather neatly:  Eat, Pray, Love.

Freddie could have written that book. (And boy, do I—and my bank account—wish he had!) My beagle and Ms. Gilbert share a very similar philosophy.

Eat.

Freddie is all about food, all the time. Last night I found a mouse in the dog food can, and in my hysteria I poured out all the Purina Dog Chow onto the floor. Freddie and his pal Shakespeare (the shaggy mutt we adopted from the pound 11 years ago) lapped it all up in record time, Freddie hogging the lion’s share. He didn’t get sick, but the plaintive and loud moaning and groaning that accompanied his food coma kept us all up all night long.

Pray.

Freddie has an appreciation of the mysteries of life, nature, and the universe that can only be described as spiritual. He practices his walking meditation on our long treks through the cranberry bogs in the mornings. He sits zazen on his prayer rug in the afternoons. He howls at the moon every night—a form of prayer if there ever was one.

Love.

Beagles are known throughout the dog world for their lovingkindness—and Freddie is no exception. Granted, he’s not every man’s best friend—especially the UPS man’s!—but  those he loves, he loves truly, madly, deeply, and physically. He barks, he licks, he sniffs, he coos, he nuzzles, he wags, he wails, he sleeps on your toes and your ankles and your lap and whatever other part of you onto which he can maneuver.

So move over, Julia Roberts. Freddie can play himself when the canine version of Eat, Pray, Love comes out. Unless, of course, they insist on a younger, thinner Freddie Doppelganger for the part.

I can hear Freddie howling now.

Freddie Ate the Cake

Every day with Freddie is an adventure. My son Mikey’s recent high school graduation was no exception. It was a beautiful summer day, and all the family was gathered at the lakeside cottage where we live. The lake glistened in the afternoon sun and the roses in the garden were in full bloom and I was feeling pretty proud of my boy, myself, and my life. <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>