Canine ‘writes’ ‘Dog Days In Italy: How I Became An Expat Dog’
Fairfield woman leans on pooch's wisdom
No, Maree Church didn’t buy her faithful American Eskimo dog a “yap-top” just to write his debut book. C’mon, a dog can’t type.
It’s enough the pooch somehow cranked out a paperback, “Dog Days in Italy: How I Became an Expat Dog” on the heels of his own blog.
Basically, says Church, “it’s the story of my 20-year affair with Italy and my life there” and a “humorous book narrated by my dog, Dino.”
Though yet to make the Beast Seller List, “Dog Days in Italy” is growling up the charts.
The itch to write a book goes back years for Church, a Fairfield woman who made so many Californiato-Italy trips, pilots thought she was a flight attendant. As a New Jersey English teacher, she submitted a children’s story for publication. It was rejected, but Church never surrendered her hope of getting published.
“That was quite a long time ago,” she said by phone Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t want to think back that long.”
Years later when she lived in Danville with her husband of 43 years, Jim Poedy, “I started writing a book in the first person and sent it to a lot of people to review,” Church said. “I got pretty good comments.”
In 2018, the couple moved back to Italy and Church started a book “from my dog’s perspective” with Dino penning
(or penciling) letters back to his “doggy friends” in California detailing life in Italy. Thus was born “Dog Days in Italy.”
“The blog was popular,” Church said. “Everyone likes Dino’s voice and his humor. I thought ‘Since that’s been working, maybe I should have Dino be the narrator of the book.’ I found it easier to write in Dino’s voice than my own. Writing as a dog gave me the freedom to say something that I wouldn’t say as a person.”
So far, so good. Or so it appears, at least by the five stellar reviews on Amazon. com.
In the book, Dino narrates his owners’ love of Italy, and discovers a few things about his humans along the way.
“Dino could question everything,” Church said. “There are so many funny expressions humans use and he could question the language and what people are saying. He could question so many things about life and living with people.”
In the book, Dino decides to write poetry, allowing Church “to write stupid poems,” she said chuckling. “Because his poetry is rejected, he paints in the style of Jackson Pollock.”
Or, um, Paw-lock.
And it’s only in that abstract style “because Dino runs across the painting to go out and pee,” Church said. “This is a humorous book. It’s not a sad tale. Dino is very funny.”
And popular. Church claims the creative canine has 7,230 Twitter followers after running for president. Yes, the dog ran for president, “making campaign promises like he would always clean up his poo.”
“As I said, it’s a rather quirky book,” Church said.
During it all, Church and her husband spent five years from start to finish, finally buying a house in Italy, then selling a house in Italy, and eventually moving to Fairfield a year and a half ago.
“A frustrating process,”
Church said, acknowledging she micromanages Dino’s life and is often butting in.
“There is this conflict of dog and ‘mom’ throughout the entire book,” Church said, admitting she “learned a lot about me.”
There might not be Dino if the couple’s previous pooch, Luca, didn’t die at 14.
“The most wonderful dog ever,” Church said. “When he died, we said we have to get another Eskimo dog and we got Dino, who is nothing like Luca. Dino is a nutcase, really. But he always makes us laugh.”
Dino worked out well in Italy, loving pizza and all. Actually, it was mostly the crust, Church said.
“We’d take him to all the restaurants in Italy and he would just lay on the floor,” she said. “When we went to a pizza restaurant, as soon as the pizza got to the table, he was almost in my lap.”
Church said her husband loves the book, “although he’s not so sure about some of the things said in the book.”
Dino wasn’t available for comment, “but I hope he’s very proud of himself,” Church said. “All his friends on Twitter are.”
There is, she said, a “Twitter Doggie Book Tour” on Nov. 27, when Dino “shows photos of all the places and some of his friends in Italy.”
There’s already a sequel book in the works, Church said, called “I Bark, Therefore I Am: Dog Days in California.”
For more on “Dog Days in Italy,” the book, visit amazon.com/Dog-DaysItaly-Became-Expat/dp/ B09JYP2M27. Also, there’s the blog, dogdaysinitaly. com, and a blog on Italian sparkling wines called theproseccoproject.com, and one on Italian dolce, channelingnonna.com.