Halloween has never been my holiday. It might have had something to do with my mother’s dislike of what she considered a religious — and not one of ours — observance, her reluctance to take me on the rounds of my Brooklyn apartment building (which wasn’t especially kid-friendly anyway). It might have had to do…
Frankie: The first five years
Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of adopting Frankie, my first dog, ever. In honor of that occasion, I was going to write a paean to the joys of life with a dog. Not coincidentally, however, the day Frankie was brought over to my house — in rescuer parlance, his “forever home,” a phrase I detest…
Buckle Up for Dog Safety
You’ve seen the ads: Dogs riding in convertibles, wind in their fur, free…. …to become projectiles. The safety benefits of car restraints for humans are no longer in dispute: 49 of 50 U.S. states have seat belt laws, and the same number of states require additional restraints for children — for example, rear-facing infant seats…
Showdown in the Canine Diabetes Corral
I’ve been stewing the last few days about a discussion that I became involved in on a veterinary blog. No point naming names. It’s a vet for whom I have a great deal of respect — which is why I read her site daily. In this particular case, I felt that she had conflated canine…
Frankie Doodle: International Dog of Mystery
It’s been an exciting week, but not in a good way. First, I thought I was losing my mind. Then I realized I had been robbed. I’m still not sure which was worse. But before I go further, let me assure you: Both Frankie and I are fine. It all started Monday when I came…
Will My Dog Hurt Me?
Don’t worry. I’m not going to regale you with tales of vicious mastiffs who turn on their owners in a fit of rage. Nor do I intend to debunk the notion of unconditional love (though people sometimes forget that dogs don’t always demonstrate it — say, when you interrupt their mealtimes). Rather, I’d like to…
Frankie Doodle Jarolim, the early years
It’s funny. I still think of myself as a novice dog owner. My new book, Am I Boring My Dog, is written from the point of view of someone who’s recently been there, worried about that. But posting the details of my latest contest made the fact that five years have passed since I adopted…
Celebrating Dog-tober: A New Contest!
I’ve been in the doldrums lately — post partum after my book birth? too many publications I used to write for hitting the chopping block? — and have decided I know the cure: Contest! This one will be a bit less cerebral than my earlier What Books Would Bore Your Dog competition but just as…
Rabbiting around
My mother always told me to keep a low profile, not to put myself forward. (Why she believed that is a whole other story that I won’t go into here. Like my blog subtitle says, this is a “guilt free zone.”) That might be good advice for social occasions — everyone loves a good listener…
Meet my latest book reviewer: What a dog!
I’m afraid I don’t have time right now to get into a thorough discussion of how — and under what circumstances — dog is a pejorative term. I trust that everyone who reads this blog is aware that, ignoring any linguistic conventions, I consider being compared to a canine the ultimate compliment. So I was…