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.
