I’ve always loved animals and writing, but didn’t know how to combine those two passions until one of my dogs shredded a message that had been faxed to my home-based office, much to my chagrin. However, chagrin gave way to inspiration when I wrote an article about sharing an office with one’s dog. Inspiration gave way to delight when the article was published by a magazine for pet owners.

That first effort occurred more than 10 years ago. Since then, I’ve written hundreds of features aimed at helping people live happily ever after with their pets. My credits include Family Circle, The Washington Post, Dog Fancy, ASPCA Animal Watch, Dogs USA, AKC Gazette, AKC Family Dog, Dog World, Animal Fair, The Bark and the Popular Dogs series. I'm also the family life columnist for Dog Fancy.

I’ve also written four books: Housetraining For Dummies (Wiley, 2002); Your New Dog, (Capital Books, 2003; reissued as Starting Out Right With Your New Dog by Innova Publishing in 2005); Senior Dogs For Dummies (Wiley, 2004) and Beagles For Dummies (Wiley, 2006).

I’d write about pets no matter what, but it’s certainly been nice to receive some recognition for my work. I’m a three-time winner of the Dog Writers Association of America's Maxwell award for excellence in writing about dogs, and a 15-time finalist for that same award. I also won the 2001 Eukanuba Canine Health Award for excellence in writing about canine health. And I haven’t totally neglected the feline side: I’ve also been a finalist for the Muse medallion offered by the Cat Writers Association for excellence in writing about cats.

Writing is a pretty solitary pursuit, so I really welcome having writerly colleagues to network with, such as those those who belong to the Dog Writers Association of America and subscribe to the Freelance Success newsletter. Even better is living with my husband, Stan Chappell; our daughter, Julie Chappell; and our Golden Retriever, Allie.