Writing

A selection of Annie's published work, organized by what she's been thinking about lately and over the years. Her ongoing weekly writing on dogs, training, and behavior lives at her Substack, Don't Be a Dick to Your Dog .

Closing School For The Dogs

School For The Dogs was a business I started in my living room in 2011. For more than a decade, it helped New York City dog owners learn how to live as peacefully as possible with their pets. By 2018, we had grown into a beautiful two-story storefront in the East Village with a dozen trainers on staff. I had to shut it all down — without notice — on January 1, 2025. One year later, I wrote a nine-part account of the strange and chaotic events that led to that day.

Dog Person

Nothing makes me happier than talking to people about dogs. In this column, which appears in the local Manhattan magazine Irving and on my Substack, Don't Be a Dick to Your Dog, I get to write about the special relationships people have with their four-legged roommates.

Ask Annie

While I've done plenty of in-person training over the last sixteen years, the thing I dig most is marrying my two passions — dog training and writing — by answering questions about how to help people and their pets live happily together, particularly in urban environments.

Non-Human Animals

For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to stories about animals. I've had the privilege of writing for many prominent publications, exploring how humans coexist — gracefully or otherwise — with other species.

Technology

Born a few decades before the iPhone and social media, I've lived fully in both the analog and digital worlds. I enjoy writing about how technology — digital and otherwise — shapes our lives, our habits, and our anxieties.

Beauty

In the mid-2000s, I frequently wrote the New York Times' "Skin Deep" column, which cast a gimlet eye on the rituals and products of self-care. That experience turned me into a curious — sometimes skeptical — consumer of all things beauty-related.

Love

My first job out of college was writing engagement announcements at The New York Observer. From there, I went on to launch The New York Post's wedding column. I sometimes felt conflicted about this beat — I really find it hard to get excited about other people's weddings — but I found I loved telling the stories of people's relationships. I have contributed to The New York Times "Vows" column periodically for twenty years.