Marty, a so called "High functioning alcoholic" (no such animal), and his dog Hola have problems. Marty's wife, after being attacked by Hola, leaves him. After this, Marty gets the idea that if Hola can pass the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) then his wife will come back to him. The book rambles, a lot...
Martin Kihn is a cat person -- and an alcoholic. When his wife, Gloria, convinces him to get a dog, they bring home Hola -- a Bernese mountain dog.Hola runs amok for a great deal of the book ... which seems to match up with Kihn's life. As he enters recovery, and Gloria leaves him, Kihn decides it...