'Three Wild Dogs' will have you in stitches

TimesLIVE

08-07-2025

Three Wild Dogs and the Truth: A Memoir
Markus Zusak
Macmillan
Shakespeare wrote: 'If you have tears, prepare to shed them now,' and it is advice well worth remembering if you decide to pick up this book. My first ones came on page six. Marcus Zusak had a huge success with The Book Thief, but here he moves into non-fiction territory with this memoir of his and his family's life with three dogs — not cuddly lapdogs but three rescued monsters.
The first two were Reuben, described by Zusak as 'like a wolf at your door with a hacksaw', and Archie, 'a pretty boy assassin'. Like many dog owners, the Zusaks wanted their children to grow up with dogs, but I have to say, while I applaud the motives that made them go for rescue dogs, the Zusak family were not great pickers. The two did damage — usually inadvertently — to their owners, beat up other dogs on walks, ate books and packets of pills and generally caused mayhem. But there were moments when they did worse things, forcing Zusak to consider whether it was actually safe to keep them. They even caused a visit from the police, not because of anything the dogs had done that time, but because a neighbour was alarmed by the admittedly sinister-looking goings on.
Reuben cost the family a small fortune in vet's bills, but dog lovers know that however expensive maintaining your dog is, however much they may hurt, embarrass or upset you, they still love you and, for better or worse, you still love them, sometimes to distraction. One of the most tragic things about dog ownership is that you will almost inevitably outlast your dog — and saying that final goodbye is heartbreaking. So many of us have been there.
When Reuben and Archie were finally gone, the family rescued Frosty, but they obviously had not learnt any lessons on how to choose a dog. Even the lady from the pound who brought him on an introductory visit fully expected him to be rejected. But, at the end of the book, he is still there, and deeply loved.
Despite the inevitable episodes of tragedy and the tears, there are plenty of moments in the book that are laugh-out-loud funny and Zusak is a skilful writer who knows how to balance the various moods he is describing. Short, often charming and sometimes a little horrifying, Three Wild Dogs is one for committed dog lovers — and there are plenty of us out there.