New video directed by the great ANN LEARY!!  Here>>-> Dog Mutterer

Those of you who have followed the story of Dahlia and our puppies remember when I first got her, I was just supposed to foster her. We placed this ad for someone to adopt her.

Then, per Violet, we couldn’t let her go. So we decided to keep her for a while and then I wrote this piece about Dahlia’s surprising delivery.  And after that we adopted Dahlia  and her puppies.  She would never be separated from her babies or have to go somewhere new again, she was home.

This past Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 Dahlia, loving mother to Fiorello and Wisteria passed away.  We don’t know how old she was, we do know  how much she was loved.

In a sad coda, the night she died I got an email from Home Again, the pet microchip company saying Dahlia’s membership was about to expire. She’d been with us one year.

Rest in Peace, Dahlia Klam-Leo.

Chaos

It’s been said that I have stopped posting because I’m all Facebook crazy. Not true. Facebook requires one line of updating, a blog post, on the contrary, requires thought –a beginning, middle and end and some editing (though not today). But since I’ve been called out, I’m blogging, even though I have nothin to say…. Except this. Life lately has been CA-RAZY. I’ll give you a glimpse, I am sure you will pity me, maybe even go out and purchase a copy of my new book about finding love at Christmas and also, there are pages and pages of Sudoku puzzles in it (it’s called Please Excuse My Daughter ).

Okay, here’s my day. God willing, I wake up. Then get Violet up, feed FIVE DOGS (we are dogsitting my dear friend Deb Kogan’s dog Lucas, a “Havanese” which when I told my father, caused him to make several jokes about Fidel Castro). Then feed Violet and fill her lunch box with a very complicated mix –it’s my own morning Manhattan Project. (note to self: riff about Violet’s lunch somewhere for money) and take her to school 30+ blocks away which ends up taking an hour and ten bucks because we’re always late and having to take a cab which the minute we get in to Violet threatens to throw up because it smells “yucky”. Then I come home (hey, wake up, this is good stuff!) walk the dogs in two shifts, settle down to write/go to the gym/clean house/do laundry/think about dinner when it’s time to walk the dogs again and go pick up Violet from the very place I just dropped her off at. After school she likes to go to Starbucks for a cup of $9.00 hot cocoa and cookie– it’s a little special down time just for her and me and 500 screaming Upper West Siders who then pack into the bus with us to go home. There are never any seats and a minimum of five people talking about lice.

I forgot to mention that throughout the day I have to pick up the fossilized puppy poopy which is very consuming, and I think, bad for my carbon footprint.

So that’s it. I promise to blog more. And very soon (think next week!) I will be announcing the JulieKlam.com People of the Year… It’s an exciting time for us all. Now I have to go. (Tell me, was it worth it?)

We have an ad for Dahlia, if you or anyone you know is interested in a wonderful friend check this out.

Dahlia’s ad.

Also, my rescue group, Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue is desperately in need of funds. All of the our dogs require a lot of medical attention and the adoption fees don’t cover it.  Dahlia, so far, with nothing wrong has cost $510.00 and she still has to get her teeth fixed.  So if you’re not in the market for a pup but are interested in donating –we’re selling a variety of items as well as raffle tickets for a stunning quilt!

Click here for www.nebostonrescue.org

AND THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US!

I haven’t posted in a while because it’s been wicked busy. I have a new foster — a ten year old with a mess of issues (fatty masses, rotten teeth, bald spots, warts). She’s been sad and not eating. I told her she should be happy because this is a top adult living facility. So far, she just sleeps a lot. Poor girl was dumped in a shelter in Brooklyn by some heathens.

In other news, Violet starts kindergarten next week. She has to wear a uniform of light blue shirt and navy blue jumper. In case you haven’t sensed it, neither of those colors are pink. We are hoping to get a reprieve from the Governer.

Here’s the old girl, we’re calling her Dahlia (Paul calls her the Black Dahlia after the gruesomely murdered LA call girl — I looked her up on wikipedia and she had bad teeth, too.)

I’ve got two temporary fosters here –Lizzie and Sarah –both BT mixes. They’re pretty darn cute (if a little long in the noses and ears). Enjoy!

We don’t know if we’re keeping Sherlock yet. He and Bea are still fighting and he’s taken to occasionally peeing on places that are in our house (like the bed), yet he’s so cute and of course, fat, which I love. Of all the dogs he reminds me the most of Otto and Violet really wants to keep him but she wishes he’d stop barking so much. The other thing she told me this morning is that after this year (Pre-K) she’s not going to school anymore, definitely not Kindergarten regardless of how enthusiastically her teacher tries to portray it. She knows it’s the beginning of the end, because she asked me what comes after that? And I had to admit, 1st grade. And then, is that it? She wanted to know. No, I said, 2nd grade. She nodded in that knowing way she has… no more questions, your honor.

We picked up a new foster dog today at the Manhattan Animal Care & Control (the NYC pound) (I’m a member of New England Boston Terrier rescue). So far he’s as sweet as can be, quite obese, and he’s got kennel cough. He’s frightened as most new fosters are but we think he’s going to be just fine.