To Lose
A Dog
A Love Story. A Tragedy. A Manual for Surviving the Unsurvivable.
To Lose
A Dog
A Love Story. A Tragedy. A Manual for Surviving the Unsurvivable.
On Valentine’s Day 2020, Isaac collected an English Bulldog from a carrier at LaGuardia. For 1,870 days they built something worth the wreckage that followed, and a lot of people watched them do it. Then, on a Friday in March 2025, with Isaac six thousand miles away, Franki died. He was five.
More Than a Pet Loss Memoir
A Survival Manual Hidden Inside a Love Story
15 chapters. Five years of joy, one day of tragedy, and a lifetime of lessons about what it means to love a dog completely.
The Story, Told With Devastating Honesty
Born on Valentine's Day 2020, the only puppy in his litter, and collected from a carrier at LaGuardia during lockdown. The morning massages, the breakfast countdowns, three pneumonia scares in that first year, the fame, Freddi turning up in 2023, and then March 28, 2025.
Science That Validates Your Pain
Oxytocin, the bonding hormone, measured rising in both dog and owner after nothing more than prolonged eye contact. The same molecule that attaches a mother to her newborn. Chapter 9 is the science of why this hurts the way it does, and why your brain never filed him under pet.
A Survival Manual Inside a Memoir
Practical help sits inside the story rather than in a chapter you have to endure: choosing a dog, vetting the people you leave them with, end-of-life decisions, getting through acute grief, and loving the next one without feeling like a traitor.
Permission to Grieve Fully
Why society dismisses pet loss (and why that's wrong). The rock-in-your-pocket metaphor. Physical symptoms, guilt processing, and the truth that healing doesn't mean forgetting. Chapter 9 holds space for grief that has no timeline.
Meet Franki
The English Bulldog behind the story. See why 1.5M followers fell in love with his signature tongue-out smile.
Follow the journey:
From Mayor of Domino Park to internet sensation, Franki's story touched millions.
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15 Chapters. 1,870 Days.
One Irreplaceable Bond.
A story told in four parts, from the first meeting at an airport to the permanent change that follows loss.
The Love
How a closed-off founder met an English Bulldog at LaGuardia during lockdown and learned what being present actually costs. Morning massages, the fame, three pneumonia scares in that first year, and the day Franki finally accepted his son.
The Loss & The Grief
The seventy-fourth day away, and the call. What the first 30 days look like when grief is compounded by guilt, distance, and the suspicion that it was preventable. Why “it’s just a dog” is scientifically wrong: the oxytocin studies on prolonged eye contact, and two nervous systems that had spent five years tuning each other.
The Healing
What remains after loss. Surviving the “firsts”—birthdays, holidays, seeing another bulldog. Freddi’s own grief journey and learning to love him differently. The architecture of moving forward while carrying what you’ve lost.
The Survival
Creating meaning from tragedy. The plans to honor Franki’s memory through education, accountability, and community. A letter to Franki. A message for those with living dogs: be present now. For those grieving: you will survive this.
Over 80,000 words. Long enough to actually help, short enough to read when you are drowning.
This Book Isn't For Everyone
Not For You If...
- You think "it's just a dog" and this book will make you uncomfortable
- You want a sugarcoated pet loss story. This is not that.
- You're not ready to ugly-cry in public. Read this one at home.
- You believe pets are "replaceable"
This Book Is For You If...
- You've ever loved a dog so much that losing them broke you completely
- You need someone to say "your grief is legitimate" and mean it
- You're drowning in fresh grief or carrying the ache years later
- Your bond with your dog feels deeper than "owner and pet"
What makes this different: It is honest about the worst parts, including the guilt and the distance and the question of whether it was preventable. The science sits inside the story rather than in a chapter you have to endure. And it does not tell you it gets better on a schedule, because it does not.
From the comments
What people said when Franki died
These are real public comments left on Franki’s Instagram, not reviews of the book. Nobody has read it yet.
“I have a saved collection here on IG called “for when I’m sad” and it’s full of Franki.”
“I’ve never met franki yet my heart sinks and bring tears to my eyes as if my own bulldog has passed away.”
“it’s crazy the impact they have on us and complete strangers. We are all sobbing over his loss. Thank you for sharing him with us.”
“Mine passed away last year, and I also wasn’t there, and we didn’t get a proper goodbye, and it kills me. I miss him everyday.”
In Memory of Franki
February 14, 2020 to March 28, 2025
Born on Valentine's Day, the only puppy in his litter
The English Bulldog who reached 1.5 million people, got called the Mayor of Domino Park by strangers on the street, and made the case that the biggest love of your life does not have to be a person
Forever tongue out, forever loved
As Featured In
Franki's story was covered by Newsweek and The Mirror
Newsweek
Bulldog Obsessed with Watching Sunsets Melts Hearts
Viral TikTok with 230,000+ views of Franki watching Brooklyn sunsets sparked conversation about canine consciousness
The Mirror
Sweet Dog Obsessed with Watching Sunsets 'Like Simba in The Lion King'
International coverage of Franki's adorable sunset-watching obsession at the Brooklyn skyline
Frequently Asked Questions About To Lose A Dog
Everything you need to know before reserving your copy.
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Pre-order now at $22 (save $6) · Estimated to ship December 2026