Richard Cohen does not like his wife Meredith Vieira's dog, Jasper. Based on the book, it seems like Cohen really doesn’t like any dogs.
At the start of I Want to Kill the Dog, Cohen poses the questions: “Has a couple ever gone to war or a spouse moved to another country because a pet came between them? Have two people other than my wife and me ever had such opposing feelings when it comes to domestic animals?”
The book drudges along and the reader endures the tales of dogs that destroy items in the house, the yard, the tolerance of the neighbors. There are delivery people running from the house in fear, guests are intimidated and more tales of how awful Cohen feels the dogs are and all it really shows is how bad the situation really is. Not cute, not amusing, just plain bad.
The promotional pieces and interviews would lead you to believe this book would be humorous. It's not.
On television, the author appeared witty, but in the book there was no humor like that in the interviews – unless you think endless complaining is humorous; then you are in luck.
The electronic collar “training” came across as sadistic and unhelpful to correcting any problems. Vieira and Cohen might benefit from some professional help.
If you are a stoic, non-pet person, I Want to Kill the Dog by Richard M. Cohen may be a book for you. If you are hoping for light-hearted humor of a non-dog/non-cat person living in a house with animals, look elsewhere.
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