In 1995, Julie Migliaccio saw an ad for a dog. A beagle puppy had been found in a dumpster. The 1986 Staples grad (Julie, not the dog — she owns Evolution Fitness on the Post Road) was fascinated. She and her husband Jim had just moved into a new home. A dog would help fill it up.
Eddie
At the pound, the Migliaccios saw him (the dog) hanging off the steel cage by his teeth. He barked incessantly. They loved him, and took him home.
Eddie (the dog’s name) was a handful. He stole from the neighbors: a baby carriage. A swing (chain connected) from a child’s backyard set. Lexus car keys.
Eddie had separation anxiety. When Jim and Julie left the house, he chewed through dryer hoses, telephone jacks, even a laundry room door.
Also blinds, plants, clothes, shoes, rugs, coffee tables and chairs.
He was a freaky dog.
Eddie went on Prozac. That mellowed him out a bit. He turned out to be great with people.
When Jim and his brother Tom — the owners of Norwalk beverage distributor Drinx Unlimited — decided to launch a new soda line, they didn’t have to search for a name.
“Freaky Dog Soda” was a natural.
Freaky Dog now has its own website. It comes in 16 flavors, including Barkin’ Birch Beer, Bone Cola and Waggin’ Tail Cream. There are tee, tank and baseball shirts for men, women, kids — and dogs.
“It’s a cult brand,” Jim says.
Soon, Freaky Dog will come in 4-packs. A percentage of sales will be donated to the Humane Society, in honor of the namesake.
That’s because these days, Eddie is just a memory. He died 2 years ago, of kidney failure. He was 13.
Every dog has its day.
But it takes a special dog — like Eddie Migliaccio — to have its own 16 brands of soda.
What a GREAT dog. We still misss our friend.
We shared our home and our people with him.
He was a FREAKY DOG but very loveable.
Is there Prozac in the soda?
🙂
There are some great Eddie stories. Like when Julie would make a “howling” sound, Eddie would go into his “beagling” and imitate his owner. It was really loud. He performed such “music” at the Yale Bowl and at the Bridgeport baseball stadium at Freaky Dog promotions. OR when we would ride in the back of Jim’s Jeep Wrangler, scouting out the neighborhoods of Westport. That is until he fell out of the back of the Jeep one day. He was fine but had to to wear a seat belt from then on. OR when his dog watcher, yours truly, went out for a run and after a mile or so, looked back and saw Eddie running right behind. He had gone right throught the Invisible Fence. The dog was fearless and was a true “enforcer” at the Wakeman Fields. German Shepards, thrice is size, backed off. Great dog though. A legend in his own time. Buy a soda and toast the Eddie!
Thank you to people like the Migliaccios who care enough to adopt dogs that have no homes. A nice story about a very interesting dog.
So funny! I have a beagle too and it howls like a wolf when my wife does the same thing. Mine doesn’t chew much anymore but chases squirrels right through the Invisible Fence too.
Great story.
Welp, I take Prozac, they call me Eddie and I occassionally howl at night if the moon is full. I wish they would name a soda after me. That is G. .. O . . .R . . .E .. . N. Grape soda would be nice.
I trained with Julie at Evolution Fitness. She is great! Eddie used to sit there and just watch me bust my butt. He had this sly kind of smile on his face like he was telling me that he didn’t need to work out to stay in shape. Love it!
The soda is really good. I like the cream. You can find it at South of the Border. Goes great with their taco salad.
Hey, just graduated from Gettysburg. Go Bullets!
Gotta try the soda, I guess.
Dogs take prozac?
It beats therapy bills.
Is there a seat belt law in Connecticut for dogs?
Only for Beagles
Thanks to Dan for writing such a great piece and keeping the Eddie legend alive..there was barely a day that Eddie wasnt with us and never a day we dont think of him and miss him…Thanks to Joann Miller and Carl Swanson for their part in Eddie’s best years…Eddie did his last event in the summer of 2008 for PAWS and the Westport Humane society trying to promote his soda line…
One of my favorite stories about Eddie is about the time Jim left him in his Suburban for a couple of minutes to run a quick errand. (No worries, windows down, not a summer day!) Eddie ate the entire cover to the steering wheel off. Another time he ate Jim’s seat belt.
He was a FREAKY DOG, but a sweetheart. We miss you Eddie!!!!