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.
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