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Love at First Bark: How Saving a Dog Can Sometimes Help You Save Yourself
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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 ench
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I picked this book up at the library because of the cover. Seriously. I judge books by their covers sometimes. When I looked at the summary on the inside flap, I was intrigued. I'm an animal lover. If it's fluffy, feathery, scaly or furry I probably like it. Julie Klam is a DOG LOVER (with all capitals). She lives in a tiny NYC apartment with her husband and daughter and three naughty dogs and she still rescues dogs. It's nice and there should be people like that in the world but I had a really
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For some reason, dog stories are a guilty pleasure of mine. I enjoy reading the because they are always warm and fuzzy. I liked this one. This book was about animal rescue, which I think is a major need in our society. Our shelters are crowded. The author told many different stories of her attempts at animal rescue and the effects it had on her, her family and her marriage. Definitely worth the read. Some of this was funny and plus, she has done so much on behalf of homeless pets.
Although there are perhaps getting to be too many 'dog' books, I can't seem to stop myself from reading every one I find.
I'm surprised by the number of people who didn't like this book. I definitely did! I was relieved that Love at First Bark didn't rip my heart out, like You Had Me at Woof had. Yes, Love at First Bark was rather disjointed, but the only reason I, personally, didn't rate it higher was because I reeeally wanted to know what happened with Moses's brother.
Since I am a dedicated dog lover and we always get a shelter dog, I'm sorry to give this only 2 stars. But it was, for me, an annoying book. The author/reader is so over-the-top about dog rescue, she came across as pretty kooky to me.
Her pride at having 2 dogs that were not housebroken and then adding a "fecally incontinent" dog (neurological problems) to the mix in a small apartment with her own child and not keeping them in some sort of enclosure was just too much for me. She evidently sent th ...more
Her pride at having 2 dogs that were not housebroken and then adding a "fecally incontinent" dog (neurological problems) to the mix in a small apartment with her own child and not keeping them in some sort of enclosure was just too much for me. She evidently sent th ...more
This was a really charming book about dog rescue. I loved Klam's other book about dogs, so when I saw this one I had to get it immediately. I really admire people that will do anything to save a dog's life and the story about the New Orleans rescue organization was particularly inspiring. It's crazy that they are still rescuing Katrina dogs! This is a nice quick read. I read it in one afternoon by the pool. Klam is hilarious and well-written. I highly recommend this book!
This was a short little book on for the love of dogs one owner shows and shares. It is like those "gift" books that don't have a story, they are more on message then actual content. So it was the perfect library book! And as a newer-ish dog owner, I still really liked it a lot. Plus throw in short stories about dogs in need and I am so there! A quick and easy read for animal lovers.
Great book about rescued dogs and how one family has taken into their homes these dogs and fostered them until a new family is found and takes them into their families as adoptions.
Nov 14, 2017
Tonya Plank
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
people who love dogs
Recommended to Tonya by:
Changing Hands bookstore
From Witty Kitty's Book Blog:
Witty Kitty loved this short, sweet memoir she happened to find at a special sale at her favorite bookstore, Changing Hands. It’s by the very funny Julie Klam, about what her experiences rescuing dogs has taught her about herself.
There are several wonderful stories here about the endearingly-portrayed dogs Klam has found homes for throughout the years. She opens with one about Morris, a sweet pit bull she and her husband, Paul, find tied to a tree outside a museum, ...more
Witty Kitty loved this short, sweet memoir she happened to find at a special sale at her favorite bookstore, Changing Hands. It’s by the very funny Julie Klam, about what her experiences rescuing dogs has taught her about herself.
There are several wonderful stories here about the endearingly-portrayed dogs Klam has found homes for throughout the years. She opens with one about Morris, a sweet pit bull she and her husband, Paul, find tied to a tree outside a museum, ...more
I’m not going to lie, Julie really annoyed me. She comes across as one of those irresponsible pet owners who loves dogs, but should not own more than one. She lets two of her dogs have run of the house, relieving themselves wherever they please. She also knows the same two dogs are bullies, but she takes in fosters anyways, chancing them still being bullies. Not to mention her personal life is a hot mess: she moved to a really bad neighbourhood, is very impulsive, has a young daughter, her marri
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Julie Klam writes about dogs with much compassion -as no other writer can. In her bestselling memoir You Had Me at Woof she shared the secrets of happiness she learned with other foster dogs but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same exciting feeling of humor 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 ...more
Klam focuses here on dog rescue, and its ...more
Such a sweet book!
A short book with three interesting dog rescue stories. Not too in-depth, but a humorous take on living in Manhattan and raising a child and 3, 4 and sometimes 5 dogs, while longing to rescue more.
good quick read.
It's no surprise that I am giving another 5-star rating to Julie Klam! A short and easy to read novel that reminds us why we adore our pets.
I enjoyed the Jarhead chase story and loved how all the stories that gave us humor and pathos. This book compliments Ms Klam’s ‘You Had Me At Woof!’ quite well. 3 1/2 waggly tails.
So far I am loving this book. The writing is clever and funny. I have laughed and cried all in the span of the first chapter.
Over too soon. I wanted more. ;(
Over too soon. I wanted more. ;(
Love at First Bark - Julie Klam has been a dog owner for a long time. She has advocated for dogs. Growing up in New York, Klam has written for numerous publications and a television show on VH-1 for which she won an Emmy nomination. But for me, it is her books on dogs and her life with them that make her a favored author. In Love at First Bark, she details with care, love, and humor stories of rescuing dogs. From a pit bull to a special needs' terrier and so on, Klam's discovery is simple - life
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I must admit, the adorable puppy on the cover of this book drew me to reading the story. And, like the cover, the memoir is just as cute. Julie Klam has a warmth to her writing that is friendly and inviting which engaged me from the beginning; a good thing since there is not much talk of dog rescue in the first two stories.
The book is for people looking to read about the life of a dog rescuer in New York City, with appearances of dog rescues. We learn about family, marriage, and the struggles th ...more
The book is for people looking to read about the life of a dog rescuer in New York City, with appearances of dog rescues. We learn about family, marriage, and the struggles th ...more
“Love at First Bark” by Julie Klam, published by Riverhead Books.
Category – Animals/Dogs
Julie Klem is a dog lover. Well there are dog lovers and then there are dog lovers, but Julie Klem goes way beyond just loving dogs.
Julie, her husband, and young daughter live in New York in an apartment building. They have three dogs, two of which are not housebroken. Julie must follow them around with paper towels and disinfectant. Julie loves dogs. In fact, she loves dogs so much that even though they hav ...more
Category – Animals/Dogs
Julie Klem is a dog lover. Well there are dog lovers and then there are dog lovers, but Julie Klem goes way beyond just loving dogs.
Julie, her husband, and young daughter live in New York in an apartment building. They have three dogs, two of which are not housebroken. Julie must follow them around with paper towels and disinfectant. Julie loves dogs. In fact, she loves dogs so much that even though they hav ...more
Yep, I love dogs. I have two of them, Wizzer and Ziggy. Wizzer is the fat half Lab half Golden Retriever, who at this time of the year, (deer hunting season) finds deer legs and eats it whole. Last year he found six, we know that there are two more out there. Then, there is Ziggy, the Springers Spaniel who has a butt load of energy. I have a sliding glass window in my house and she knows what time I get up and she waits for me at the sliding glass window to open the door, give her a treat (cat f
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This was an okay book, but I kept waiting for the author to tell me something earthshaking that I did not know about rescue. Nothing was new to me, as I am a rescue person for more than 10 years,but I hoped the author could give me some insight.
Yes, all rescuers struggle with deciding if a dog is adoptable enough for rescue; we all struggle with giving them up when they are adopted. We never want to say "no" when requested to take another foster animal, but somethimes you do. If you didn't sa ...more
Yes, all rescuers struggle with deciding if a dog is adoptable enough for rescue; we all struggle with giving them up when they are adopted. We never want to say "no" when requested to take another foster animal, but somethimes you do. If you didn't sa ...more
I'm a sucker for a book with a dog on the cover, and once again the cover was the best part. I started this book a long time ago but wanted to finish it to clear my currently reading shelf. I read one story and I'm giving up for good this time. I had such high hopes for this book as I'm a fellow foster mom, but this rescuer was for the most part annoying and at times irresponsible. I believe the well being of your own furry crew should be your primary concern even more so when you foster. A stab
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Love at First Bark picks up soon after You Had Me at Woof. Julie and her husband with their daughter Violet and their dogs Beatrice, Wisteria, and Fiorello in a small one bedroom apartment in Manhattan's Washington Heights area. Money's tight and their landlord raised their rent. Julie looks for a new neighborhood and home and carries on with her vocation of rescuing dogs.
As she tells it, the dogs come to her almost by chance. She walks around aware of abandoned dogs and with an open heart. So a ...more
As she tells it, the dogs come to her almost by chance. She walks around aware of abandoned dogs and with an open heart. So a ...more
I'm trying to get myself in to the mood to get a dog. This was a sweet book for that. It's short, has pleasant personal stories of a likable woman trying to do good in the dog world. She made it seem easy--and nice.
Also, I learned that her dogs aren't house trained. All the "how to take care of your dog" books promise that house training is easy, and if you fail, it's because you didn't do it right/consistently. But now I know that even a regular dog owner and rescuer has dogs that aren't perfe ...more
Also, I learned that her dogs aren't house trained. All the "how to take care of your dog" books promise that house training is easy, and if you fail, it's because you didn't do it right/consistently. But now I know that even a regular dog owner and rescuer has dogs that aren't perfe ...more
Julie and her husband have been traveling a rocky road for a while now - financially, their relationship is quite strained and their 3 rescue dogs (at the start of the book) are highly stressed.
Julie is a dedicated and some may consider her a fanatical Dog Rescuer in NY City.
She stumbled upon a young pit which had been tethered to a pole on the street in the summer. The neighborhood folk tried to help while they waited for an owner, but no one showed up and this dog was a dog star while Julie & ...more
Julie is a dedicated and some may consider her a fanatical Dog Rescuer in NY City.
She stumbled upon a young pit which had been tethered to a pole on the street in the summer. The neighborhood folk tried to help while they waited for an owner, but no one showed up and this dog was a dog star while Julie & ...more
I really like this author's writing style and being a dog lover, I enjoy her subject matter. This is the story of 3 rescued dogs, a pitbull named Morris, a Boston Terrier named Clementine, and a mutt named Jarhead, later changed to Pepper. I honestly do not think that I could handle what to author does, fostering dogs until they can find a permanent home. I would have a house full of dogs. All three of these dogs have issues and yet I wanted to adopt all of them.
Very similar to "You Had me at Woof." Chapters are basically little essay-like stories so you can pick the book up and simply proceed with the next chapter without remembering where you were. Julie Klam somewhat overdoes the cutesy phrases and prose that she uses, but ends each chapter with a very human point. Does an excellent job of highlighting what goes into fostering dogs and living with dogs in a big city.
This woman loves Boston Terriers, and well, so do I. But I also love dogs in general, and this short little read was a delightful way to spend a morning. It was me, this book, several cups of coffee, and my snoring best friend at my side--perfect. I really want a second dog, so I'm glad that I read this little ditty. Klam, I want you to write more books. You are really funny, and I like that in a woman/dog lover. If like dog memoirs, this book is for you.
This was a quirky book and a quick read. I understand the premise of the book really well but it is not something I would read on a regular basis. The dogs presented in the books were all presented as being very lovable with dare I say it human traits. While I believe a dog can be a man's best friend I do feel that we need to remember they aren't human.
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Julie Klam grew up in Bedford, NY. She has been a freelance writer since 1991, writing for such publications as “O, The Oprah Magazine,” “Rolling Stone,” “Harper’s Bazaar,” “Glamour,” "The Washington Post" and “The New York Times Magazine.
A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she was a writer for VH1’s Pop-Up Video, where she earned an Emmy nomination for Special Class Writing.
A New York ...more
A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she was a writer for VH1’s Pop-Up Video, where she earned an Emmy nomination for Special Class Writing.
A New York ...more
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“More often than not, what animals require our protection from is not hurricanes or fires, but abuse at the hands of other people".”
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