Product Description

It's a story about dogs, people and love. This hilarious and poignant documentary explores the positive effects of the intense bond between dogs and humans, as told through the story of Emmy Award Winning Filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum and her dog Chelsea. Chelsea rigged with a "doggie cam" hits the streets of New York with Gayle, both looking for love. But the tragic events of 9/11 alter their quest and we watch Chelsea find her true calling as a therapy dog, finding love through healing others.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136834 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-07-01
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Review
I bought this documentary on a whim, not knowing much about it, and I was surprised! The film starts out as a hilarious story about a woman, her dog, and their love lives, but when 9/11 happens everything changes. The dog becomes a pet therapist and performs miracles. There is a scene with one of the patients that will just break your heart, the way these two touch people's lives. I laughed and cried, and afterward I just felt really warm inside. It's a feel good movie that reaffirms faith in humanity and relationships. --Amazon.com

Review
Emmy award-winning filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum is--as she says herself--a 117-lb. single Jewish woman living in New York City with her 13-lb. female shih tzu named Chelsea. Both the lady and the dog are--to quote those noted romantic experts Bad Company--"ready for love," and the HBO/Cinemax-aired A Dog's Life (tagline: Sex and the City meets Best in Show meets Lassie) chronicles the day-to-day slings and arrows of outrageous (mis)fortune in the love lives of Gayle and Chelsea as they meet gentleman callers (or barkers, as the case may be), embark on blind dates, or simply accost strange men/dogs (yes, I know the distinction can be meaningless) to enquire as to their marital status. Rigging up Chelsea with a "doggie cam," the pair hit the sidewalks, talking with legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, testing the canine dating waters with a hunka-hunka burning shih tzu love called Shanti (whose owner says that "he's faithful; he knows how to commit"), and working on their physical and mental health (Gayle goes to aerobics, while Chelsea--who has "abandonment issues"--leaves a very unladylike sign of disapproval on the apartment floor). And then came September 11, 2001, after which the documentary shifts course, as Chelsea becomes a trained therapy dog whose volunteer work at hospitals brings much-needed brightness into the fading eyes of terminal patients, eventually attracting national media attention. Whether it's a romantic partner (human or canine) or a person who needs a helping hand or a sympathetic shoulder, "it's about relationships," as Kirschenbaum says, "how to love, how to give." A very funny and heartfelt "dogamentary," DVD extras include the full-length (and differently structured) 52-minute director's cut, bonus interview clips, a screening audience Q&A, and a music video. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman) --September/October 2005 (Volume 20, Issue 5) VIDEO LIBRARIAN

Review
So Gayle Kirschenbaum is a nice Jewish girl filmmaker who lives in New York City with her little foofoo dog Chelsea and mostly what Gayle wants is to find a husband. So knowing that dogs attract people she is never seen without Chelsea as the two of them haunt the lower sections of New York with Chelsea wearing a camera on her collar. The two ladies stop men on the street and ask if they re single and flirt a bit all in hope of finding Mr. Right, or even Mr. Maybe already. Jeeze what s a nice girl gotta do to meet a guy these days? Ms. Kirschenbaum has documented this all in what she calls a "Dogumentary" entitled A Dogs Life that was initially shown on HBO/Cinemax and has just been released on DVD. This short movie starts out was a wacky look at being single in the modern world and suddenly in the middle changes tone when the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks take place. Kirschenbaum, like a lot of New Yorkers, felt helpless but needed to do something so she volunteered to help in the shelters and brought along dog Chelsea as her constant companion. When she saw the calming effect Chelsea had on people Kirschenbaum got the pup registered as an official therapy pet and starting making the rounds of old age homes and hospitals. When word of Chelsea hit the newspapers Kirschenbaum and Chelsea make guest appearances on The Today Show with Al Roker and Katie Couric. Chelsea enjoyed the therapy visits as much as anyone and she quickly became a pro at making cheering people up. As these visits grew more frequent, Kirschenbaum s focus shifted from her own search for a man to helping people. She got emotionally attached to one charming elderly man who died unexpectedly and shook Kirschenbaum s stoic and buoyant personality to the core. After that she eased off the hospital visits a bit and the film ends with her once again resuming the search for a potential husband when she meets a man on the street who is walking his dog in hopes of meeting a girl. At one point Kirschenbaum she seeks out her former teacher and noted documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles to include him in the film and get his comments on the final product. The personable Maysles even so taken with her film in progress that he offers to help out as a cameraman for some of the hospital visits scenes. At some 30-minutes, the movie is certainly brief; but the DVD contains extra features such as the Director s Cut, a Question and Answer featurette with the director and interviews and reactions from the great and the humble; and anyone Kirschenbaum could rope in for an interview. Also included is a music video with footage and sounds from the film. "A Dog s Life" is a simple small personal film, but sometimes those are the ones that really touch you. As La Streisand recently said "What comes from the heart goes to the heart" and this film will go to your heart. --By Howie Green, EDGE Magazine

Customer Reviews

Touching, witty, fun!
Gayle Kirschenbaum's "A Dog's Life: A Dogamentary" is such a great film that everyone should see. I laughed, I cried, I learned a lot about what's truly important in life. Chelsea (the Shih Tzu star of the movie) is so cute and will win over your heart! Definitely check out this great documentary.

I'll take Manhattan...me and my little dog, too!
A Dog's Life is a festive tribute to the wonders of having a most special dog! It follows the exploits of a single woman who resides in the West Village of Manhattan with a personality pooch named Chelsea. The film is approached with humor and love....and, at times, a dog's eye view of the world via a mini-camera. During the course of this lighthearted romp, 9/11 happens and changes the direction of the piece as it did for all of NYC at the time. It turns out that Chelsea and her mistress have very big hearts and it moves them in a direction that engages them in a special way to those in distress. All in all, a joyful, poignant and enlightening experience.