Synopsis/Details
SYNOPSIS
Twelve-year-old Felix Drummond hasn’t been the same since his father’s sudden death a year earlier. Crippled by anxiety and obsessive rituals, bullied at school, and struggling to find his place in a world that no longer feels safe, Felix retreats into routines and isolation while his exhausted mother, Adele, desperately tries to hold her fractured family together.
Everything changes when Felix’s eccentric grandmother, Jules, arrives with an unexpected gift: Funky, a mischievous rescue Fox Terrier with a talent for causing chaos. Funky chews furniture, escapes the backyard and seems determined to turn Felix’s carefully ordered life upside down. But beneath the bad behaviour lies another lost soul searching for a second chance.
Hoping to channel the dog’s endless energy, Felix and Funky are introduced to the colourful world of dog agility by Mack, a gruff former champion who reluctantly agrees to train them. What Felix doesn’t realise is that Mack once shared a fierce rivalry and friendship with his late father. The two men spent years competing against one another, their friendship and rivalry becoming legendary in the agility world before life pulled them apart. Tom’s death left old wounds unresolved, and helping Felix and Funky becomes Mack’s chance to make peace with the past.
As training progresses, Felix and Funky slowly learn to trust one another while Mack discovers that healing an old friend’s son may help heal himself. Along the way, Felix must navigate family tensions, school bullies, his rebellious older sister Evie and the lingering grief that has left every member of the Drummond family feeling alone.
As the first anniversary of his father’s death approaches and the biggest dog agility competition of the year draws near, Felix faces his greatest challenge yet. With Funky by his side and Mack carrying the memory of the man they both loved, Felix must decide whether to retreat into fear or take a leap of faith.
Heartwarming, funny and uplifting, By His Side is a family story about grief, resilience and the unexpected friendships that carry us through life’s darkest moments. It celebrates the enduring bonds between parents and children, people and animals, rivals and friends, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we can choose to stand by one another and move forward together.
