Emboldened by receiving a Caucus Foundation Grant, I moved to LA from NY two years ago. I toted a Student Academy Award, an MFA in Film from NYU and a law degree from Yale. I had produced segments of “Sesame Street” in New York and just gotten into the Writer’s Guild with a Disney project. Everything was in place: I had a manager, an agent and a lawyer.

So who got me my first directing gig in LA?

My dog.

You may think of the industry as a dogeat- dog world, but in my case, it was more like dog-schmooze-dog.

How in dog’s name did all this come about?

I moved to LA shortly before the Writer’s strike. (I like to think of this as “comic timing.”) Living alone in art deco splendor in Koreatown, or “KoHo,” as my friends called it, I needed company. I figured I’d be home a lot writing, and a dog was easier to get than a boyfriend. Or so I thought. I called Sheltie Rescue.

As it happens, adopting a rescued Sheltie in LA is harder than adopting a baby from China. There are a lot fewer Shelties. But somehow I overcame the myriad obstacles. (I suspect my fervent begging helped. Perhaps it made me seem more Sheltie-like.)

Into my life came Cosmo, aka Momo. My friends thought “Cosmo” was more sophisticated, so I went with “Momo.” I was living next door to a drug dealer and eating kim chee. My life was sophisticated enough.

Knowing very little about dogs, I welcomed Momo with no trepidation. Luckily, he was an absolute gent from day one. He’d nap under my desk while I labored on my laptop. Every three hours he’d bump my elbow and demand a walk, keeping me from getting Carpal Tunnel. He was perfect.

Thanks to Momo, the Writer’s strike was a blessing in disguise. It was my time to bond with my new dog - my “dogternity” leave, as it were. We went everywhere together: the bank, the bookstore, and the butcher.

Momo was so popular in our neighborhood that I called him “the Mayor of Koreatown.” I even became respected locally, as “little Lassie’s mom.” This was definitely a promotion.

Although ambivalent about striking, Momo joined me faithfully on the picket line. Everyone loved him. Passing studio execs found him irresistible. I wished he were on the Negotiating Committee.

Curious about Momo’s provenance, I began to visit the websites of Sheltie breeders in California. I found a promising needle in this haystack and contacted one breeder, whose site featured a dog resembling my own. She assured me that Momo was not one of hers, but we became constant correspondents on canine matters. I never mentioned I was a writer and director. It wasn’t relevant to our conversations, as they were primarily about raw meaty bones.

Then one day she e-mailed out of the blue, “I don’t suppose you’d have any interest in working on a public service announcement for No-Kill animal shelters, would you?” LOL “This was right up my alley – and Momo’s”. I sent her my resume and my directing reel and the next thing I knew, I was talking to the star.

Okay, to the star’s manager.

The star was actually Laddie, the 9th generation direct descendant of Lassie - yes, the Lassie - and Laddie spoke only to God. So I spoke to his manager, Leslie. She watched my work and approved me to write and direct two spots!

Who could make this stuff up? I now owed Momo 10 per cent!

We shot Hi-Def. My DP was fantastic. The whole crew was amazing. I color corrected at Level Three. I soundmixed at the Engine Room. Momo supervised the entire post process. The caliber of craft in LA was a joyous revelation to me (and, I trust, to Momo).

And that is how I ended up with my first directing gig in LA. I worked with an A-list star. I even had my picture taken with him! He kissed me, yet everyone kisses here, so it didn’t mean that much … but he gave paw! Any director can get kissed, but not everyone gets paw!

Flash-forward to the present. Momo and I now live in Studio City. Leslie and I are writing partners. We published a piece in the September issue of THE BARK, the New Yorker of dog magazines. The article is based on our work in progress, THE DOG ATE MY COOKBOOK!, a cookbook of recipes that kids can make and share with their dogs. I just directed a photo shoot for it, too. Guess who played the dog?

Yes, to my mother’s never-ending delight, I have kicked the NY habit of ordering Chinese take-out every night and learned to cook, entirely due to Momo. Being a good Californian, he eats organic. I get the leftovers. I made a documentary about horse rescue; Leslie and her husband baby-sat for Momo while I was shooting in Kentucky. It’s good to have human friends, too. Next, Leslie and I are embarking on a screenplay, “GRANDDOG.”

Thanks to the Caucus, I came to California. I wanted to rescue a dog. Instead, a dog rescued me.