Ask Dog Lady by Monica Collins is one of the many unique columns that our distinguished neighborhood rag, the South End News, has launched since it first began publishing in the mid-1980s. There was the Area D4 Police Blotter, penned by its Poet Laureate, Police Officer John Sacco, widely known for his usual tart conclusion that "the scoundrel was arrested on the spot."  Then we had food writer Lydia Walshin's  delectable series, called The South End Cooks, and Alison Barnet's South End Character, the iconic reporting on the ebb and flow of the South End's culture of artists, immigrants, yuppies, washashores and, now, millionaires and billionaires. The South End News began to publish Ask Dog Lady in 2002 as ahumor/lifestyle column about dogs, life and love when Collins was  a media columnist and TV critic for USA Today, TV Guide and the Boston Herald. It has since become widely distributed in media outlets all over the country. On Tuesday, May 31 at 6:30 PM, Collins will be at the South End library to talk about her credo, All Pets Are Perfect; People Need Help. 

Collins says on her web site that she changed her journalistic focus from TV critic to lifestyle columnist after she acquired a West Highland white terrier. She realized how much a pet can transform relationships and shake up daily routines for the better; over the years, she  has answered pet owners’ most confounding questions involving relationships, dog park etiquette, divorce, custody complications, and whether the dog belongs in your marital (or single) bed. Collins produces and sells her own column and has written various profiles for USA Weekend magazine, including a cover piece on CNN's Anderson Cooper. She has contributed her work to Vogue, Boston Magazine, Town & Country, and Forbes/Life and she has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, The O'Reilly Factor, Inside Edition, and been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered. Collins also writes and coaches writers for non-profit organizations, and consults on media strategy. She lives in Belmont with her husband, a comedy writer, and is working on a book, of which she will read one chapter. She promises "it won't be boring."

The South End library is fully handicapped accessible. The event is free. Seating is limited. We serve refreshments.

This is the last talk of the 2015-16 season, which will resume in September. The previously announced June 24 speaker, best-selling author Jenna Blum, had to cancel due to a family emergency in California. She will return in the fall and her talk will be rescheduled for the fall/winter season. FOSEL regrets the difficulty and wish Jenna Blum the very best.