“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you”

“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you” is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. A dog is usually always happy to see you, but teenagers are usually in a world of their own.
 
The saying is from the book I Feel Bad About My Neck And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman (2006) by Nora Ephron (1941-2012), from the chapter “What I Wish I’d Known.”
 
   
Wikipedia: Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron (/ˈɛfrən/ EF-rən; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American writer, playwright, journalist, and filmmaker. Known for writing and directing romantic comedy films, she received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three Writers Guild of America Awards.
 
Google Books
I Feel Bad About My Neck
And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
By Nora Ephron
New York, NY: Knopf (Borzoi Books)
2006
Pg. 125 (“What I Wish I’d Known”):
When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.
 
Newspapers.com
27 August 2006, Boston (MA) Sunday Globe, “I am woman, hear me grown” by Richard Eder, pg. D5, cols. 1-2:
(I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron, a book review.—ed.)
Even when writing predictably enough about children, she provides a moment of acid illumination: “When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.”
 
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Mel Menzies:Author
@MelMenzies
RT@OrnaRoss When yr children r teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you. ” Nora Ephron
1:04 PM · Sep 25, 2009
 
X/Twitter
Ian Hartley ★ 🐀
@IanHartley_
When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.
2:11 AM · Oct 16, 2022
 
X/Twitter
J Rojas
@jlrona
“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.” – Nora Ephron 🙃🙃
12:53 PM · Oct 8, 2025