Winning National Writing Awards

We had a winning table at the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) writing awards banquet at the Affinia Hotel in New York City Feb. 13, 2011! This is the DWAA’s 76^th year, a professional association of people writing about dogs in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, books, and in art and photography. We were gathered to honor nominees and winners on the night before the 135^th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden.

Here are our table’s winners!

On the left is Julie Reck, DVM, a young vet who owns Home Farewell, a veterinary practice providing pet hospice in the Charlotte, NC area. Articulate and passionate about her difficult work, Julie wrote about providing detailed information on how to determine when your beloved pet’s life is ending. She won the 2010 Best Book, Care and Health Award, for Facing Farewell: A Guide to Making End of Life Decisions for Your Pet. You can find her book at www.facingfarewell.com. Get your vet to stock it!

That’s me in the middle—Robyn M Fritz. I won the 2010 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award for “the work that best highlights the unique relationship between a dog and its owner and best brings to life the concept of the human-animal bond.” It honors my book, Bridging Species: Thoughts and Tales About Our Lives with Dogs. The award came with a $500 cash grant and a $250 travel stipend to attend the banquet. Many thanks to Merial for sponsoring the award, and to the judges who saw that my work, and my book, is about new ways of thinking about creating families with animals, especially with dogs (and cats). You can order autographed copies for yourself and friends here on my site! I was also a finalist for 2010 Best Book – Humor.

On the right is Susan Hartzler, president of Alpha Dog PR in Los Angeles. Susan won the 2010 Angel on a Leash Award for her article, “Therapy Dog Extraordinaire,” in Animal Wellness magazine. The award came with a $250 cash grant. Susan is a smart and savvy PR professional whose business provides the media with up-to-the-minute information about her clients in the hospitality and pet industries. Susan was also a finalist for Internet magazines for DIY Doggie. Susan is holding her service dog, Baldwin, a Puli. You can find them both at www.alphadogpr.com.

(c) 2011 Robyn M Fritz