Katie Up and Down the Hall - The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors Into a Family

From Publishers Weekly Plaskin (Horowitz), journalist and lower Manhattan resident, shares the delightful story of how his precocious cocker spaniel, Katie, brought him closer to his neighbors and turned an apartment building of strangers into an urban family. Katie charms everyone she comes in contact with: elderly Pearl and Arthur, dog-phobic Ramon, resident macaw Mojo, and Ryan, a motherless two-year old whom Katie befriends, breaking her "no kids" rule. Katie rubs elbows with the rich and famous--Alan King, Leona Helmsley, Peter Jennings, Katharine Hepburn--as she accompanies the author, a former journalist with CNN, on his interviews. She commandeers the television remote control, steals spaghetti, receives a Christmas gift from Ivana Trump, stars as Toto in a play production of The Wizard of Oz, and is the subject of a Page Six item in the New York Post. Aside from her antics and brushes with fame, Katie proves to be a source of comfort after September 11 and when a member of their makeshift family dies. PlaskinTMs engaging narration and KatieTMs ability to make community will endear this book to readers. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review Praise for KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL: "Katie is an absolutely delightful story, so much more than a memoir. It is a wise and moving story of love found-and shared on life's journey-and then the inevitable separation. Reading it you will smile even as your eyes sparkle with tears." -Mary Higgins Clark "God can appear in many disguises-even as a dog-bringing people together in a spirit of love. All I can say is that I felt 'really good' after reading Glenn's superb book-there can be no higher endorsement." -Wayne Dyer, New York Times bestselling author "It is not surprising that Glenn Plaskin's innate talents-his insight and human touch-are wonderfully brought to the forefront in his new book KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL. It's a significant story well worth reading-Glenn has done a terrific job." -Donald J. Trump "[Glenn's] story proves that the true and small pleasures in life-friendship, loyalty and trust-are the ones that matter most." -Calvin Klein "Katie the cocker spaniel and her human family teach that loving isn't about the bonds of biology, loving is about embracing and caring for each other. Glenn Plaskin's book will touch the heart of anyone who has ever loved a dog." -Judge Judy Sheindlin "This is a powerfully compelling story that will capture your heart, about the true meaning of family and the eternal nature of love. Glenn's use of language reveals the soul of a poet." -Anthony Robbins, entrepreneur, author, and peak performance strategist "Katie types, she models, she uses a remote, she changes the lives of everyone around her-and she's got a great wardrobe! What dog (other than my own, of course) can do all that? Well Katie can-and it's a fabulous, heartfelt book." -Joan Rivers "KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL is an absolute delight, a lovely book, and, of course, I fell in love with that beautiful little blond girl. She is a keeper." -Betty White "Katie is a dream come true to the various families living on her floor in a New York apartment. Her heart is so big that she adopts them all, making you wish you were one of them." -Mary Tyler Moore "I picked up this book to glance through it and suddenly found myself unable to put it down. This warm, touching, tender and loving memoir is probably the best book I've ever read about a dog. Glenn pulls you into this moving story instantly. Even people who are not crazy about dogs will love this tale." -Barbara Taylor Bradford From Publishers Weekly Plaskin (Horowitz), journalist and lower Manhattan resident, shares the delightful story of how his precocious cocker spaniel, Katie, brought him closer to his neighbors and turned an apartment building of strangers into an urban family. Katie charms everyone she comes in contact with: elderly Pearl and Arthur, dog-phobic Ramon, resident macaw Mojo, and Ryan, a motherless two-year old whom Katie befriends, breaking her "no kids" rule. Katie rubs elbows with the rich and famous--Alan King, Leona Helmsley, Peter Jennings, Katharine Hepburn--as she accompanies the author, a former journalist with CNN, on his interviews. She commandeers the television remote control, steals spaghetti, receives a Christmas gift from Ivana Trump, stars as Toto in a play production of The Wizard of Oz, and is the subject of a Page Six item in the New York Post. Aside from her antics and brushes with fame, Katie proves to be a source of comfort after September 11 and when a member of their makeshift family dies. PlaskinTMs engaging narration and KatieTMs ability to make community will endear this book to readers. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review Praise for KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL: "Katie is an absolutely delightful story, so much more than a memoir. It is a wise and moving story of love found-and shared on life's journey-and then the inevitable separation. Reading it you will smile even as your eyes sparkle with tears." -Mary Higgins Clark "God can appear in many disguises-even as a dog-bringing people together in a spirit of love. All I can say is that I felt 'really good' after reading Glenn's superb book-there can be no higher endorsement." -Wayne Dyer, New York Times bestselling author "It is not surprising that Glenn Plaskin's innate talents-his insight and human touch-are wonderfully brought to the forefront in his new book KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL. It's a significant story well worth reading-Glenn has done a terrific job." -Donald J. Trump "[Glenn's] story proves that the true and small pleasures in life-friendship, loyalty and trust-are the ones that matter most." -Calvin Klein "Katie the cocker spaniel and her human family teach that loving isn't about the bonds of biology, loving is about embracing and caring for each other. Glenn Plaskin's book will touch the heart of anyone who has ever loved a dog." -Judge Judy Sheindlin "This is a powerfully compelling story that will capture your heart, about the true meaning of family and the eternal nature of love. Glenn's use of language reveals the soul of a poet." -Anthony Robbins, entrepreneur, author, and peak performance strategist "Katie types, she models, she uses a remote, she changes the lives of everyone around her-and she's got a great wardrobe! What dog (other than my own, of course) can do all that? Well Katie can-and it's a fabulous, heartfelt book." -Joan Rivers "KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL is an absolute delight, a lovely book, and, of course, I fell in love with that beautiful little blond girl. She is a keeper." -Betty White "Katie is a dream come true to the various families living on her floor in a New York apartment. Her heart is so big that she adopts them all, making you wish you were one of them." -Mary Tyler Moore "I picked up this book to glance through it and suddenly found myself unable to put it down. This warm, touching, tender and loving memoir is probably the best book I've ever read about a dog. Glenn pulls you into this moving story instantly. Even people who are not crazy about dogs will love this tale." -Barbara Taylor Bradford Sociology,Social Science,Battery Park City (New York; N.Y.),Strangers - New York (State) - New York,Pets,Essays,Dogs,Families - New York (State) - New York,Customs & Traditions,Nature,New York (N.Y.),Cocker spaniels,Neighbors - New York (State) - New York,Animals,Marriage & Family,Cocker spaniels - New York (State) - New York,New York (N.Y.) - Social life and customs,Plaskin; Glenn,Breeds,Neighbors,New York (State),Battery Park City (New York; N.Y.) - Social life and customs,General,New York,Biography & Autobiography,Human-animal relationships,Human-animal relationships - New York (State) - New York,Biography For families and animal lovers everywhere, Katie Up and Down the Hall is the transcendent tale of how three generations of strangers and an astutely intelligent dog create their own little family in a waterside community along the Hudson River. It all begins with a random meeting between a younger man and his octogenarian neighbor, Pearl, their attachment cemented by a blond-haired puppy. It isn't long before writer Glenn Plaskin, Pearl, and her husband, Arthur, form a profound bond that blesses all in its sphere. This includes a three-year-old boy named Ryan and his single dad, John, who also happen to be living down the same hallway in a downtown Manhattan high-rise, just opposite the World Trade Center. The group gravitates around Katie, the magnetic cocker spaniel whose domain is a 120-foot red-carpeted hallway the site of dog races, obedience training sessions, Halloween parades, and a passageway to parties and late-night exchanges of confidences. With an uncanny instinct for responding to the needs of her pack, Katie merrily trots up and down her territory, navigating from apartment to apartment, pushing open the doors purposefully left ajar and bringing the entire group together. Her canine antics include fashion modeling, using the TV remote, typing, sitting posture-perfect at the dining table (her paws delicately around her food bowl), expertly eating corn on the cob, charming celebrities (Katharine Hepburn, Peter Jennings, Bette Midler, and Ivana Trump among them), and racing neighborhood kids down the hallway. Pearl, nicknamed Granny Down the Hall, is the family s feisty matriarch (and referee), her dining table home base. Ryan, who has no mom, finds a grandmother in Pearl; his dad, with no living parents, inherits a mom; while Glenn discovers a confidante. Over the next sixteen years, we witness adventures that encompass Hollywood high times, bad health, accidents, even the terrors of 9/11, brought to life here as never before. Through it all, this family clings together, sharing a deep bond that gives each comfort, support, and security. But nothing lasts forever nothing except the abiding love of family, which can never be broken apart, even by the inevitability of separation, illness, and death. Based on a widely read article in Family Circle, here is a riveting tale about the true meaning of love and the magic of opening your door to a neighbor, turning friendship to family. A personal memoir by bestselling author and celebrity journalist Glenn Plaskin, KATIE is a moving story about a man who discovers the true meaning of family after adopting a cocker spaniel puppy. Through the magnetic personality of his mischievous dog, the author soon makes powerful connections with several of his down-the-hall neighbors in a high-rise located in the unique Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. First, Katie trots into the lives of Pearl and Arthur, a warm-hearted elderly couple just a few doors down from Glenn. Later, John, a single Dad, and his rambunctious young son, Ryan, also move in and are seduced by Katie's charms. All of their lives are profoundly changed as they are transformed from neighbors to friends to family, with Pearl as matriarch. The motherless boy finds a "Granny"; his Dad inherits a mother, Glenn discovers a confidante. Set in New York City, we witness nearly sixteen years of antics and family adventures spanning Hollywood high times, bad health, accidents, blustery winters, even the terrors of 9/11. Through it all, the family clings to each other, sharing a deep bond that give each comfort, support and security. Based upon a widely-read article in Family Circle , here is an unforgettable story about the love that makes a family-one that transcends the hard realities of time, tragedy, and inevitable loss. Faux-paws Test-run dog The runt of the litter From bow to wow "Lion" in a cage News hound Prancing with the stars Walter the horse: favorites and foibles A real pearl Everything that goes up Canine cop: three apartments become one Gentlemen prefer blondes "Ready, set, go!" The accident Party girls The talking picture frame Lady sings the blues The day our world stopped The escape Ghost town Granny in the ER Georgia peach Nocturne "Have a great time: and call me!" Love remains.