Fiorello and Wisteria

Update pic of Julie Klam's two beautiful pups!

Fiorello and Wisteria

Fiorello and Wisteria are living life large with Julie Klam!

Love at First Bark

Congratulations to NEBTR member Julie Klam on the publication of her new book Love at First Bark!

Amazon says, "The bestselling memoirist shows how saving a dog can sometimes help you save yourself.

Julie Klam writes about dogs with a rollicking wit and a radiating warmth-as no other writer can. In her bestselling memoir You Had Me at Woof, she shared the secrets of happiness she learned as an occasionally frazzled but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same enchanting, pop culture-infused amalgam of humor and poignancy that reached the The New York Times and the Today show and won the hearts of readers across the country, she returns with more humorous insight into life with canine companions.

Klam focuses here on dog rescue, and its healing power not only for the dogs who are cared for and able to find good homes, but also for the people who bond with these animals. Klam became involved with rescue after years as an owner of purehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifbred dogs. She was looking for a way to help and participate in a community, but she never imagined just how much she would receive in return. The dogs she has rescued through the years have filled her life with laughter and contentment, sorrow and frustration, and they have made certain that she never has a dull moment. Along the way, she has collected stories from friends who have also found that guiding dogs to nurturing homes made their own lives richer. These experiences, which show us that even in our smallest gestures we can make a big difference, inspired Love at First Bark."

Click on this link to purchase it on Amazon.

NEBTR was represented at the launch party for Julie's book at Word Bookstore in Brooklyn. What a fun night!

Alyson, Carolyn, Julie

Ellen, Julie




Then we had a party with Fiorello and Wisteria Klam at Kamp Kanine. They were so proud of their mom, although they didn't want to stand still for their portraits!

Julie and NEBTR in The Wall Street Journal

One of our Members !! In the Wall Street Journal !THE Author of a GREAT Book !!! With Clementine, who just foud her new Furrever home !!! Great Article !! Thanks so much Julie for all that you do !! You had us at I'll do it !!

Julie is pictured above flanked by Wisteria and Fiorello, and foster Clementine in the center.  Julie just found a great forever home for Clemmie, and received word that Clemmie's housebreaking is coming along great, even though her former owner said she was unable to be housebroken.

You can read the complete article here.

You Had Me at Woof

Congratulations to NEBTR member Julie Klam, on the success of her recently published book "You Had Me at Woof." This is a funny and heartfelt recount of Julie’s experiences adopting and fostering Boston Terriers in New York for the NEBTR. In the November 1 issue of People (on-stands now), Julie received a stellar lead review. The review says: “Without being preachy, each chapter is a lesson in what dogs teach us – about ourselves, but also about community, patience, friendship, and, yes, love.”

NEBRT President Sheryl Trent notes, "Folks, if you buy nothing else for a Holiday present for yourself and friends, you have to buy this extraordinary book, "You Had Me at Woof" by Julie Klam, our own volunteer with NEBTR. This is Julie's second book. Her first "Please Excuse My Daughter" was a riot. She relates her own personal stories of fostering with us, the tragedies and the joys. If you saw the video clip of Julie with her 3 dogs, then you will love to hear the story of how 2 of them became her very own through her fostering with NEBTR. I read this beautiful book on a flight to CA a few months ago (I was privileged to be given a pre-release by Julie). I know it's a cliche, but I laughed and I cried (actually sobbed during one very painful chapter).

I will treasure this book forever. So will you. NEBTR is featured so much throughout so, not only is it a source of pride for us, but will help all of us understand, or relate, to how it can impact you and your family when you volunteer to help rescued animals. This is a huge "Thumbs Up" for Julie and her wonderful book. "

The book was also reviewed and given a glowing review by the New York Times. You can read their review here.

Julie comments, "I'm hoping to bring a huge amount of attention to rescue and NEBTR and all the amazing work we do! You are all so wonderful and my overwhelming admiration for all you do was the inspiration for the book. I am blown away by what everyone does for the pups and the support given to other members. You are all my heroes."

Readers of this blog might also remember the story of Julie's experiences fostering senior Boston Terrier Dahlia, who is also featured in the new book.

Way to go Julie!

Four Is Enough

From The New York Times, by NEBTR member and Foster Parent Julie Klam:


It’s a recent March morning in our small New York apartment, and my husband is looking at me with a half-smile on his face. Not the kind of half-smile that says, “I will love this woman till the end of my days.” It’s the kind that says, “I told you it was going to cost over $300 to get that rug cleaned, even though you said it wouldn’t because you had a coupon from the Internet.” So while the man from the rug-cleaning place goes on and on, calculator in hand, about how very, very bad our rug stains are — and the smell! — I give my husband my own half-smile, which says, “Oops.”

We’ve been living with these four dogs. It’s all an accident: we had one dog, a Boston terrier (a female), and then in August we fostered an elderly dog, another terrier, to save her from being put to sleep, and then somehow in October she had puppies, just two, small-size, no bigger than teeny baby mice when they were born — the three of them fit in a little box from FreshDirect. And it was so sweet how this dog from the streets, who’d been through hell, was able to have her puppies in a nice home and not in a shelter. … Well, if she’d stayed in the shelter she wouldn’t have had them because they were going to put her down. But now here she was, getting to be their mother, and to take care of them. And we were so amazed and so moved that we, or I, decided that she and her puppies would always have a home with us and we would all live happily ever after.

Until a few days later when we realized that her ancient body wasn’t providing her babies with enough milk, and we had to spend $500 at the vet. (We’d been to a vet with her before, a vet who thought she had Cushing’s disease! Silly! She was pregnant!) And so we got the formula and the little bottles and the eyedroppers the vet said to get, and we fed the puppies every two hours, and after a while the mom’s milk finally came in — hurray! — so we were able to sleep through the night again. But then the mother got in a fight with our original dog and got her cornea scratched. And though I never go anywhere, I was about to go to Miami for two days for work, and the vet said the mother couldn’t nurse while she was on antibiotics: “Sorry.” My husband would have to feed the puppies every two hours while taking care of our young daughter; I told the vet that just wasn’t an option, because I was already on thin ice, so the vet sent me to a fancy emergency place that was able to fix her eye for the weekend. It was $500 for the regular vet, another $1,000 for the emergency vet. But it was worth anything to keep my husband from having to nurse those puppies for 48 hours by himself.

After that we decided we couldn’t keep all the dogs, just the original dog and the male puppy, and maybe the mother because she’d been through so much and she was so old and the idea of putting her in another home brought tears to our (my) eyes. The problem was that I’d become very attached to the female puppy, so I didn’t want to give her up either.

At first, when the puppies started leaving the little box to do their business, it was sort of cute — teeny puddles and tiny poopies — and I tried to teach them to go on the Wee Wee pads ($39 a pack). Then after they got their shots ($875) it was O.K. to take them out to housebreak them. But they screamed on the leash. Like, “Yow!” And walking four dogs in the cold wasn’t that fun for me, either; four dogs like to go in four different directions. (A couple of times, I was this close to letting them all go — after all, if you love something, you’re supposed to set it free.) So I decided to put off housebreaking till spring, and in the meantime let them go on the Wee Wee pads, or near the Wee Wee pads. But usually they went “nowhere near” the Wee Wee pads. They were born in our daughter’s room, so that’s where they liked to go, in particular the needlepoint rug with the pale blue and pink roses.
The result is that we’ve been living in a litter box. And my husband hasn’t been happy about it. (He calls the mother the “Trojan Dog.”) Somehow I thought that if we just got my daughter’s rug cleaned, things might go back to normal. I called the rug cleaners, and over the phone they said it was something a square foot, under 10 bucks, so I said, “Sold!”
But now the guy is here with his calculator. And my husband, who is putting his coat on and getting ready to leave for work, says, “So far they’ve cost us more than a month’s rent, Julie.” (It’s never good when he uses my name; he does it so I can’t pretend he’s talking to someone else.) As he gets in the elevator, I lean out into the hallway, and I yell, “I’ll figure something out.” And I will. I swear I will.
Julie Klam is the author of a memoir, “Please Excuse My Daughter.”

Fourth Grade Video Conference

I wanted to update everyone on the video conference that my fourth grade class had with Julie Klam today. Julie was kind enough to take a half an hour out of her day to talk to my students about fostering and answer their questions. She was so informative and interesting to listen to. The kids absolutely loved it...especially when she brought each of her 4 dogs to the camera for them to see:) I heard so many students talking about the call throughout the day. It was pretty neat to see all of them so excited about something. I know this fundraiser project will have a lasting impact on each student in my class. They have all become the biggest dog lovers. The fundraiser actually begins on Monday, but the kids have already donated $80. Our goal is $500. I'll keep everyone posted on the outcome. Thanks again, Julie, for your help!

Julie and Paul (aka Mr. Klam :-) both have a ton of writing and producing experience in both TV and print. You have a couple of real professionals here--who also happen to be awesome NEBTR members. Julie told the story of Dahlia and the *surprise* births of Fiorella and Wisteria. Like Julie's book, "Please Excuse My Daughter"-- the students were touched and amused at the same time.
--Janice

Dahlia's Puppies are Growing

Here they are, in all their cuteness!

Dahlia, the mother, was Julie's foster dog. One morning, Julie heard squeaky noises from the dog bed, and discovered that Dahlia had had two puppies. She named them Fiorello and Wisteria, and Dahlia and her babies had found their forever homes. As Julie said, "I don't want her to ever have to feel sad or scared or confused about where she's going. So she's home and her pups are with her."

Dahlia Had Puppies! A Happy Holiday Story

Can you believe it? This is so not what I expected when I said I'd foster a senior!!! She is doing really well, she's a wonderful mother (and has clearly done this before). I'm just happy we can make her comfortable and take good care of them all.

And, the moral of the story is, if you get up really early some morning and hear squeeky noises from a dog bed, don't assume the noise makers are mice !!!
I've been involved in dog rescue/fostering for over 12 years, but this is a FIRST!

I think it goes without saying that Dahlia is no longer up for adoption. We are keeping her. And the rest of my family (including my sane husband) think we're keeping the puppies, too. By the way the girl is named Wysteria and the boy is Fiorello.

We got attached to Dahlia. When the applications came in that were interested in her, my daughter said, "You can't give away my sister." So it started looking bad then :). But after the surprise birth I thought about how much Dahlia had gone
through in her life and how many adjustments she had to make and changes and I just said I don't want her to have to adjust to anything ever again. I don't want her to ever have to feel sad or scared or confused about where she's going. So she's home and her pups are with her.

--Julie



Fiorello



Wisteria

"Dahlia's Petfinder description:
Dahlia, a beautiful BT mix, is by far the sweetest dog any of us has ever met. When she should have been gently sailing into her sunset years, she was cruelly dumped into a miserable city animal shelter for no reason at all. Dahlia is in terrific shape at the age of 9 with many good years ahead of her. On a walk, she is curious and attentive. She's great on a leash, perhaps the most housebroken dog that ever was (not one accident, EVER). In a home, she is respectful and peaceful. She is wonderful with all dogs, big and small, as well as children young and old. She loves to cuddle and kiss and is heartbreakingly good, she is just looking for someone to love her. Somewhere we know there is a kind forever family waiting for Dahlia."

Fortunately, she found her loving forever home with Julie!