The Basics

About the Blogger

Writing about dogs is easy. Writing about myself…not so much. But in brief: I’m Edie Jarolim, writer, editor, and dog slave.

I have a website where you can learn more about those first two aspects of my life. And if you like this blog, which  involves a great deal of writing and editing, I hope you’ll go there, check my credentials, and give me work.

But before I send you away, here’s a bit more background.

I earned a Ph.D. in English literature from New York University; edited guidebooks at Frommer’s, Rough Guides, and Fodor’s; published myriad travel articles and three travel guides; and led a reasonably respectable but dogless life until 2004, when I adopted Frankie, my first and still only dog. Having gotten Frankie relatively late in life (both mine and his), I was a bit insecure about my canine caretaking abilities.

To put it mildly.

I began reading obsessively about dogs and badgering every dog owner willing to answer my questions to tell me what they knew. As a result, I ended up contributing dog stories to such publications as The Bark and Ladies Home Journal and, eventually, authoring AM I BORING MY DOG? And 99 Other Things Every Dog Wishes You Knew (Alpha/Penguin, 2009).

Now I am a regular contributor to Your Dog, the newsletter for Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. And I write this blog.

I am also the Contributing Dining Editor for Tucson Guide magazine and the Tucson correspondent for Zagat.com. But while dogs and dining are my passions, I still do a good deal of dog-free and food-free writing and editing.

Ok, so now it’s time for you to go check out my website, www.ediejarolim.com.

About the Dog

I like to tell people I’ve been palling around with terriers, but to be strictly accurate I’ve really only been palling around with one terrier, the pup pictured above. And he’s not even a total terrier. Part Yorkie maybe, mixed with a little poodle (does that make him a Yodel)? A bit Bichon? Your guess is as good as mine — unless you want to pay for the DNA testing.

But Frankie is living proof that you shouldn’t always be a stickler for details. He was saved from the hound hoosegow, and maybe from execution, by my friend Rebecca Boren, under the auspices of Arizona Schnauzer Rescue. Frankie doesn’t really look schnauzerish, but since no Arizona Cute Fuzzy Dog Rescue organization exists, Rebecca improvised. And Frankie thrives.

He does have diabetes, which can be a challenge (to me, not to him, except when it comes to getting those pesky injections twice a day). I sometimes blog about that, but not often. As one of my posts put it, he’s a dog, not at a disease.

About the Blog’s Name

Mardi Gras Frankie by Amy Haskell

Like many blogs, this one evolved. The name alludes to an alternative title to my book, Am I Boring My Dog, to wit: Will My Dog Hate Me If I Dress Him? I aspired to be a dog fashion guru. After all, who could resist pictures of dressed dogs? But I’ve moved on to… well, other things, including serious issues like puppy mills, which I’d like to abolish, and domination-based training (ditto).

Still, as both book titles suggest, one theme keeps turning up: confusion and worry about what your dog thinks of you.

Relax.

Dogs let their incisors do the talking when they’re really upset. They don’t lie in wait, plotting revenge for perceived slights. Nor do they experience humiliation or feel the urge to commit suicide, even if you dress them in tasteless clothing. As long as your mirth is accompanied by liver treats, they don’t care whether you’re laughing at them or with them.

Some purists believe that dogs should never be dressed. Fran Lebowitz wrote, “If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.”

I think that’s harsh. A little harmless clothes modeling in exchange for room and board is not unreasonable, especially in these stressful economic times. Gainful employment and a bit of cheer — what could be wrong with that?

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