Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors Into a Family Read Online Free PDF Page B

master of understatement, “but she’ll improve.”
    I wasn’t convinced. The ragamuffin puppy had a scroungy, rough-around-the-edges look to her, with an overgrown, matted coat
     and freckles around her nose. I thought she was the doggie version of the 1950s blond cartoon character Pitiful Pearl. Most
     amusing, she hadn’t yet grown into her ears, which were comically hanging halfway down her body. And did I mention that she
     was slightly bowlegged?
    “Twiggy,” Tom explained, “got a little carsick coming over here—so she threw up.” Oh, great.
    “It’s not unusual for puppies,” he assured me. “It’s the first time she’s ever been outside the farm, so she’s a little out
     of sorts.”
    Twiggy drew back a bit and lay down, snuggling on what Tom described as her security blanket, a ripped pink cotton wrap “that
     has her mom’s scent on it. Keep this with her for now. She really loves it and it reminds her of Sweet Sue.”
    Nearby were her two favorite toys, he said—a yellow plastic Scooby-Doo dog that made a squeaking sound and a long red snake
     that she clutched to her tummy.
    Tom then opened the door of the kennel, slowly scooped Twiggy up, and gently put her in my arms.
    This was the make-or-break moment I was waiting for.
    “Well, hello there, little baby puppy,” I whispered, as Twiggy curled into a ball, leaning against my chest. I held her close
     and discovered that she had the most delicious smell. I felt an immediate click. I really did. She was so warm, trusting,
     and sweet. The sensation of her leaning into me was indescribable. When she licked my face, that was pretty much it!
    I had found my dog, the one I’d been waiting for, and I felt it with total conviction. I handed Tom a check, he wished me
     good luck, and off we went in Joe’s VW, back down the FDR Drive to Battery Park City.
    True, it had taken thirty-five years to accomplish this, but after my early fear of Strippy, the false start with Baby, and
     my test-dog, Dinah, at last I had found a dog of my own.
    “I have an announcement to make, guys,” I told Robert and Joe. “I
hate
the name Twiggy.” Everybody laughed.
    “It does conjure up a slightly pathetic image, doesn’t it?” said Robert.
    “So,” I continued, “I’d like to introduce you to my new puppy. Her name is Katie.”
    “Well, that’s an improvement,” replied Joe.
    I had decided to name my dog after my all-time favorite movie star—Katharine Hepburn.
    A few years earlier, in the course of my work interviewing celebrities, I went to Miss Hepburn’s house for a ham-and-cheese
     sandwich and a long talk. It was an unforgettable afternoon. The dazzle of this legend’s presence—her incisive energy, wit,
     and intimidating hauteur as the grandest American actress of them all—left an indelible mark on me, as you’ll later read.
    I figured that maybe this little puppy from New Jersey, the runt daughter of Sweet Sue, could one day make a little magic
     of her own—and might even meet her namesake.
    Katie snuggled contentedly in my arms on the car ride home, tuckered out and sleeping soundly.

C HAPTER F OUR
From Bow to Wow
    W hen I got home, with Joe, Robert, and Dinah in tow, I carried Katie out of the car. The neighbors in the lobby oohed and aahed
     at the new blond puppy.
    Katie was limp in my arms half-asleep, wrapped in her pink blanket, with her head resting sideways. That exhausted pup would
     have slept through anything.
    “Who could
this
be?!” asked Nancy, my animal-loving neighbor whom I’d nicknamed “Bird Lady.” Perched on her shoulder, as always, was the
     resplendent Mojo—a stunning red-and-blue greenwing macaw who knew how to talk.
    “
Pretty girl, pretty girl—want some chicken?!
” crowed the bird, eyeing Katie by poking his head around Nancy’s shoulder, his beak jutting forward. Katie half-opened one
     curious eye, then lazily closed it again, having had enough stimulation for one day. In due time, she’d