Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors Into a Family (34 page)

Thankfully, John reports back all about Ryan in our biweekly phone conversations, catch-ups that have gone on ever since John
and Ryan moved to Paris six years ago.

It wasn’t so long ago that “the kid,” as I still think of him, was walking Katie along the Hudson River in Battery Park City.

Oh, how I miss Ryan barreling into my apartment, unhitch
ing Katie’s leash and wildly chasing after my dog, whipping up bubbles in the tub, or getting chocolate all over his face.

But time moves on. John works as an editor for the
International Herald Tribune
and is entirely content in Paris with a new partner, not likely to come back to the United States anytime soon. I really
wish he would.

Ryan, a master of computer games, graduated from the International School of Paris and has plans to continue his studies in
Japan and California. While I remember him as a bubbly, talkative kid who challenged Katie to hallway races and soccer matches,
he’s now thoughtful and introspective, rather shy and sweetly sensitive.

“I always thought of Pearl as my grandmother, of course,” he recently told me via Skype, peering into the camera lens and
waving.

“We talked about a lot of stuff. She read to me, played cards with me, picked me up from school at the bus… liked spoiling
me with her chocolate pie, and brought home all those baked goods. Then Katie would stick her nose into the boxes trying to
steal the goodies. She kissed me a lot, always licking my face, and I remember how she cheated in races!”—all of it a bittersweet
gift that none of us will ever forget.

As for me, I should tell you that I still live in the same apartment on the third floor overlooking the Hudson River. So I
pass by Granny’s door all the time. Sometimes it’s kind of spooky. It feels like the ghost of what had been still lingers
there. There’s even the mezuzah, a Hebrew prayer scroll, still attached outside her door—the one put there by Arthur twenty-seven
years ago, a reminder of his strong faith.

But I’m quickly brought back to the present by the rap music blasting from her apartment. Ironically, a young disc jockey
has moved in. (What would Granny think of
that
!?) Seeing him go in and out of “her” apartment is a little surreal. Sometimes, when I can, I steal a glimpse inside when
he opens his front door, curiously wanting to recapture, for just a moment, what had taken place within those rooms.

But it doesn’t really matter whether or not I go inside that apartment ever again, for what happened there is inside
me
.

Indeed, the story that began in a little town built on water would never be forgotten. It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime
happening, and nothing like it will ever unfold in quite the same way again.

I’ve come to believe that the events that unfolded here were not just random or coincidental, but rather somehow guided by
a higher, providential force. I don’t pretend to understand it—but I do feel it all around me.

I often think of that phrase about
opportunity knocking
—and see it at work every day. Things seem to happen when the timing is right, and I have faith that this will always be true.

I sometimes ask myself, how did I find the right dog breeder who just happened to have an unwanted puppy? Why did I “accidentally”
meet Pearl, or come upon John and Ryan by a chance encounter on that cold January day at the Community Center?

In my heart, I now know that this string of seemingly unrelated events were gifts,
invitations
from a higher power that led me to taking a step forward—to taking a chance.

And I believe that Granny and Arthur, John and Ryan, and my Katie were just such gifts.

Nowadays, without them, our hallway is, of course, a lot lonelier and the vacuum left behind has not always been easy to cope
with. Yet it’s funny how new friendships develop and old ones deepen when we most need them to.

Instead of Granny, I’m now incredibly close to my neighbor Linda, on the eighteenth floor, who had always been in the background
of my life until we got involved in our neighborhood tenants’ association. She’s a rock—witty, irreverent, and supportive—a
daily source of wise counsel and laughter.

Then there’s my unofficial “life coach” and confidante Peg on the eighth floor, who is, coincidentally, my sister’s best friend.
With her soothing voice and buoyant spirit, “Peggsy” has that rare ability to put everything into perspective no matter what
the day has thrown at me.

Twenty floors up from Peg is my screenwriting partner Brandon, his young wife Sheila, their two toddlers, Merrick and Rhys,
and a perky Maltese named Fred. Their home has become yet another warm harbor, filled with lively conversation and baby mayhem.

And literally across the hall from me is my ninety-four-year-old neighbor Freda (“your local sage!” she laughs), the retired
judge mentioned earlier who had polio as a child. (Katie always sensitively avoided jumping up on her legs.) Freda and I were
always cordial but never especially close; but with Granny gone, we’ve developed a deep connection—trading stories (and dark
chocolate bars), celebrating precious birthdays, and looking out for one another.

And on it goes.

No matter what blessings may or may not come my way in the future, I realize that I have already had
plenty
. God has been good to me.

After all, some people never experience the good fortune that I did. And every time I look at one of my scrapbooks, or walk
outside on the Esplanade, or sit on Pearl’s favorite park bench, or see another cocker spaniel trotting by—the entire story
I’ve told you comes flooding back to me.

I often tell my friends that maybe, right at this moment, there’s somebody down
their
hallway or across the street just waiting to open their door to you. I never did understand the idea of neighbors staying
apart from one another.

And neither did the incomparable Katie, who always broke down any door she could paw her way into!

In fact, she owned our hallway, and her greatest pleasure was running up and down it, herding us all together.

That was her gift, a legacy I gratefully pass on, from one dog lover to another, indeed to everyone.

A
MERICAN
K
ENNEL
C
LUB

The nation’s only not-for-profit registry promotes responsible dog ownership, donates millions to canine health research,
assists with disaster relief, and provides purebred rescue grants through its AKC Humane Fund;
www.akc.org

A
NIMAL
M
EDICAL
C
ENTER

A nonprofit veterinary hospital that promotes the health of companion animals through advanced treatment, research, and education;
provides free veterinary care to guide dogs and subsidized health care for the pets of the indigent elderly;
www.amcny.org

ASPCA

The first U.S. humane organization established to fight against cruelty to animals, rescue animals from abuse, and share resources
with shelters nationwide;
www.ASPCA.org

B
ROADWAY
B
ARKS

Created by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore; fosters the adoption of homeless animals; promotes community spirit among
shelter and rescue groups;
www.broadwaybarks.com

C
ESAR AND
I
LUSION
M
ILLAN
F
OUNDATION

Delivers humane education programs and promotes animal welfare by supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing of
abused and abandoned dogs;
www.millanfoundation.org

G
UIDE
D
OGS FOR THE
B
LIND

Provides guide dogs throughout the United States and Canada for the blind and visually impaired at no cost;
www.guidedogs.com

H
UMANE
S
OCIETY OF NEW
Y
ORK

A no-kill shelter that rescues abandoned animals and places them for adoption; offers low-cost hospital services;
www.humanesocietyny.org

H
UMANE
S
OCIETY OF THE
U
NITED
S
TATES

Seeks a humane world for all animals and fights against cruelty, exploitation, and neglect, advocating new public policies
and working to enforce existing laws;
www.humanesociety.org

M
ORRIS
A
NIMAL
F
OUNDATION

Improves the health and longevity of companion animals and wildlife by funding humane health studies to advance veterinary
medicine;
www.morrisanimalfoundation.org

N
ORTH
S
HORE
A
NIMAL
L
EAGUE
A
MERICA

The world’s largest no-kill shelter dedicated to rescuing, nurturing, and adopting as many dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens
as possible;
www.nsalamerica.org

P
EDIGREE
F
OUNDATION

Dedicated to helping the four million dogs in U.S. shelters find loving homes by providing grants to 501(c)(3) animal shelters
and rescue groups;
www.pedigreefoundation.org

Veteran journalist and celebrity interviewer
G
LENN
P
LASKIN
is the bestselling author of
Horowitz: The Biography of Vladimir Horowitz
and
Turning Point: Pivotal Moments in the Lives of America’s Celebrities
. His profiles and columns have appeared in the
New York Times
, the
Daily News
,
San Francisco Chronicle
,
Los Angeles Times
,
Chicago Tribune
,
Family Circle
,
US Weekly
,
Ladies Home Journal
,
Cosmopolitan
,
W
, and
Playboy
. His interview subjects have included such figures as Katharine Hepburn, Nancy Reagan, Calvin Klein, Senator Edward Kennedy,
Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Leona Helmsley, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Donald Trump, Al Pacino, and Meryl Streep.
His TV appearances include
The Today Show
,
Oprah
, and
Larry King Live
. He lives in New York City. Visit the author’s websites at
www.glennplaskin.com
and
www.katiebook.com
.

*
Henry Holt & Company, 1999.