PUPPY CHOW IS BETTER THAN PROZAC
The True Story of a Man and the Dog Who Saved His Life
by Bruce Goldstein

The book’s title is straight from a hard-wired advertising mind savvy with balancing branding and emotions. However, the writer is not looking to sell, manipulate or disillusion the reader. Bruce Goldstein’s sincerity drives him to the brink of breaking down on the page. He struggles with depression, is diagnosed as bipolar and suffers from Crohn’s disease. Bringing a puppy into his life was not a manic idea but one that he carefully considered. If Goldstein’s chemicals are imbalanced what’s kept in check is his reality.

Getting a dog involves being responsible for a living creature that can’t take care of itself. It needs to be fed, brushed, bathed and looked after. It requires love and attention. After all, four-legs and a tail is not an inanimate object you hang on your wall like artwork. A dog establishes a relationship and a bond obligating an interaction on an intimate level. Think ‘Tour of Doody’ the appropriately titled chapter mid-way through Goldstein’s story. You have to pick up puppy poop and sometimes it soils your hand. Nevertheless, Bruce quickly learns that the benefits of a dog in his life outweigh not having one.

Goldstein is skillful in avoiding a saturated topic that one might associate with a book that speaks of a puppy or pets in general. He offers an anchor of hope to those with similar struggles. And, he provides loved ones dealing with a family member, or close friend suffering from depression, bipolar disorder or Crohn’s disease, a way of understanding the layer beneath the skin. It’s a daily battle that is won in little ways.

Another reason to put this book on your must-have list is for the handful of black and white photographs of Ozzy. He’s an exceptionally good-looking black Labrador puppy. He’s photogenic in his outright beauty as well as his expressions. Goldstein has written this book in such a way that you want to have uninterrupted read time. Yet built in for pet guardians, is an insatiable desire to play with your dog. So if you do put the book down, you’ll find Spike’s leash in your hand or Rover’s favorite squeaky toy in range. By his own actions, pet owners are reminded of the importance of being active in your pet’s life.

Where the book ends the journey has just begun. A puppy named Ozzy entered Goldstein’s life 11 years ago:

"But what gets me scared these days is when Ozzy and I go for a walk, and he walks really slow. People still look at Ozzy and smile. But they often ask me, "How old is he?" And I gulp. It kills me every time, because unlike me, everybody who has ever loved a dog knows, they don't live forever. And to be honest with you, it's hard to write this without the tears that are trickling down my face. I just can't think of life without him. But there's one thing I do know. When it's Ozzy turn to move on, he'll always be with me in my heart."

WOOF Patrol: When did you start journaling?

Bruce Goldstein: After my depression got more serious, followed by my girlfriend leaving me, I started spending a lot of time alone. I started hanging out in coffee shops jotting down my thoughts. When I was depressed I would write stuff like, “God please help me get through the day. I can’t live like this anymore.” When I was high, I would draw crazy pictures. I would write stuff like, “Screw lithium. I’m so high, I can do anything!”

Even though I saw a therapist, even though I had family and friends who loved me, it didn’t matter, they all had to eventually leave me alone. So my journal was my best friend. My survival guide. It was there where I documented 24 hours of mood swings.

Months later, when I got Ozzy the entries continued, except the stories started getting funny. I had so many amazing experiences my pen couldn’t write fast enough. Like how we couldn’t walk down the street without 20 women all over my puppy, or when Ozzy got humped by 5 dogs in the dog run at the same time.

W.P.: At what point did the journal entries shape themselves into a book?

B.G.: The summer was over and I didn’t want to return to advertising so I thought about what else I could do for a living. Something more meaningful, independent. The thought of writing a book entered my brain. I can help people fighting depression and I (the manic guy in me) can write a bestseller.

I remember one day walking Ozzy on Park Avenue and we passed the advertising agency where my depression had begun months earlier. The beginning words of my book started rolling off my brain. “Today I walked by the place where my ability to laugh was taken away from me. I smiled to myself knowing how far I had come from that dreadful period of despair never once thinking I’d return…..

That night I tore open my journals, my memory bank, and I hit my computer. I stayed up all night writing whatever came to mind — random paragraphs, prologues, chapter titles — that was short, smart and snappy. Like the ads I used to write: “Manic’s Best Friend.” “A Guy with a Puppy isn’t an Ax Murderer” “Puppy Chow Is Better Than Prozac.” And so my title was born. I wouldn’t know that for quite some time down the road.

W.P.: Can you describe the moment that the book came together for you?

B.G.: The book took 11 years to write and rewrite and to finally get published. As time went on, the book changed many forms. But this piece says it all.

One day I was cleaning around my apartment. I came upon an old, red journal. It was open to a certain page dated May 26, 1996. It was Memorial Day. That weekend was a really bad time for me. It was when I collapsed in the woods of Martha’s Vineyard and begged God to save my life. The entry went something like this:

"Dear God, please save me. I don't want to go back to advertising. I don't want to be scared anymore. What else can I do? - Maybe I'll write a book? About what, I have no idea-Maybe I'll get a dog?"

W.P.: The date of that particular journal entry coincides with the day that Ozzy was born.

B.G.: I got chills looking at the journal. I stared in amazement at the date. I’m sure my eyes were glassy—Ozzy was born that day. I just didn’t know that back then.

W.P.: What would you most like the readers to gain or learn from your story?

B.G.: Don’t be afraid to try antidepressants. They did help me get stable to a degree … to balance out the chemicals in my head. But the point of my book is that meds can only get you so far. The lithium, the Depakote, the Paxil, etc… doesn’t give you a reason to live. Having a dog does. Having Ozzy gave me my life back. He gave me structure. He gave me unconditional love. He taught me to be selfless and to be social. He taught me to smile and to not take life so seriously. Say, “How did I survive so long without him.”

Photographs courtesy of www.puppychowisbetterthanprozac.com