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159 of 161 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A shared experience, September 28, 2010
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A Boston Terrier was my father's engagement gift to my mother. Another was my seventh-birthday gift. As I approach Medicare, for the first time in my life I don't have a Boston Terrier. My 10th one died recently at age 15. At some point during our dog's illness, my husband and I decided that this was our last dog. It was a rational, logical, and realistic decision based on our ages and circumstances. So why am I so uncommitted and unconvinced by it? This book reminded me.
Not everyone melts when they see a Boston Terrier. Buggy eyes and flat noses aren't most people's idea of doggy beauty. There are prettier dogs, bigger, fluffier, more colorful, more and less energetic, equally smart and funny. But there is more to these little creatures than their looks. Their personalities dovetail perfectly with mine and we understand each other. (Exactly what that says about me, I don't know). Every important moment in my life has been shared with, at least, one. I still come home and look down, I still check garden gates, I still look at dog toys at the grocery store.
The author is even more of a dog person than I am. She tells the story of, not only her own dogs, but of dogs she has provided foster homes for (something I admire tremendously in others and would never be able to do). Reading her book feels like having a conversation with a friend you have much in common with. She shares the good times along with the sadness and the every-day frustrations and inconveniences.
But most of all, she shares how these little loves who don't speak still manage to help you understand the complexities of life as well as the simple truths we might not have, otherwise, noticed. She shares how dog and human meet halfway to communicate with each other and fill each other's empty spaces; how they silently seem to bring out the best in us, and how they help us become more human as well as humane; how a dog relationship helps you develop virtues such as patience, loyalty, commitment, and unselfishness, as well as self-esteem and competence.
Her dogs and mine have had much in common and I confess to tearing up, now and then. But, just as in the real-life dog/human relationship, the joy far outweighs the pain.
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inside the Mind of a True Dog Lover, September 8, 2010
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Julie Klam's "You Had Me At Woof" is just a perfect read - funny, smart, and at times serious. I will be the first to admit that I was never a dog person until I got my dog, and even still, HE is the only dog I like. But I think Julie has turned me around and sold me on the idea that other people's dogs are pretty great too.
While not specifically a "how to" book on happiness, it's clear that Julie discovered to be fulfilled beyond the role of wife and mother, she needed to help these abandoned dogs find forever homes, and it's a noble calling. The book provided great insight into the whole world of rescue dogs, and the people who rescue them. I found myself rooting for the dogs, and for Ms. Klam.
A thoroughly entertaining read.
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"I am richer in every way because of the dogs I've known", October 6, 2010
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Right now the demand for dog books can scarcely be sated. Being one of the insatiable readers of these dog books, I got my hands on Julie Klam's You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness and thoroughly enjoyed it. Klam is an accomplished writer with a great sense of humor, and she would need one, living as she does in a Manhattan apartment with her husband, daughter, and a variable number of small dogs who can't be counted on to mind their manners.
Julie has a passion for Boston terriers. She got her first Boston when she was thirty, depressed, underemployed and alone. She really wanted to meet a man and eventually get married but...well, she got a dog to bridge the gap and bonded with little Otto right away, making him the complete focus of her attention. Not all readers will relate to her indulgence of Otto, but many people feel the same way about their canine companions--and many others feel a strong enough bond to understand why others might go that far. For Julie, her relationship with Otto was unselfish and nurturing, helping her to transition to other relationships.
Fast forward to Julie married and raising a daughter. For me, the most interesting aspect of her story was her work with a Boston terrier rescue organization. She got involved in picking up Bostons from shelters and organizations and placing them in foster homes, while working to find "forever homes" for these appealing pooches. It was not her intention to foster dogs, never mind adopt, but somehow...somehow...we keep finding Julie with a macrame of leashes walking a tangle of little dogs through the streets of Manhattan. Some dogs just wriggled their way into her heart. In one memorable passage, Julie describes her dogs' incorrigible behavior while being walked, and offers this explanation: "It's that saying 'All dogs go to heaven.' They hear it all the time. Why bother curbing yourself if you have this Get Out of Hell Free card?"
From the sometimes eccentric dog owners, to the big-hearted people who always make room for a dog in need, to the personality-packed little dogs themselves, you'll find this book rewarding and full of pure entertainment. A must-read for anyone crazy about dogs.
Linda Bulger, 2010
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