Karen Izzo

About Karen Izzo

I’ve been owned by a Brittany spaniel, an Irish setter, a beagle, an English setter, two dachshunds, three Havanese, and no less than five golden retrievers. That’s fourteen dogs and counting, not including several black labs and a gorgeous standard poodle who made their (figurative) marks on my life. All in, I’ve lived with and loved dogs both big and small for close to sixty years. For the past twenty years I’ve taught high school English in a suburban high school in Rhode Island, where my students keep me laughing and convinced that being young is all in the way you see things. In the same way, my dogs nudge me to be like them – present, joyful, forgiving. I don’t always remember to be all those things, but Downward Sizing Dog is one way I remind myself, and hopefully all of you. When I’m not writing or teaching, I’m outdoors – in the woods, near the ocean, or exploring some coastal town. And almost always, I’m dragging along the dogs and my amazing spouse of thirty-four years. We have three grown kids—one in San Francisco, one in LA, and one we’re hoping will stay here on the East Coast.