The Academy Awards of Dog Writing

Did I win an award at the Academy Awards of Dog Writing, the annual Dog Writer's Association of America awards banquet?

Actually, I won two, but let's not start there. Let's begin at the beginning.

Sunday began early with a lavish, free hot breakfast sponsored by Hartz Mountain. I knew Nikki wouldn't be up for it, but Caroline met Ben and I at our hotel and we took full advantage. We also got to hear the head of the ASPCA's poison control program talk about preventing pet poisoning, as part of National Poison Prevention Week, which is the third full week in March. Did you know the number-one cause of pet poisoning is human medication? Keep your pills out of reach, people!


Next, I attended the Dog Writers Association of America Board meeting (as an observer) and the annual meeting (as a member). No pictures from these, as they were, well...meetings. Not exactly stellar photo ops.

Afterwards, I had to do some interviews for my assignment for Dog Fancy magazine. I can't say what this is about because it isn't published yet, but suffice it to say that I got to hang out with a certain special Beagle who I was *guessing* might just take top honors at the show. Am I psychic? No, Uno just *rocks.* As the judge said in the press conference after the show: "Just look at that face."

This is Uno and his handsome and gentlemanly handler, Aaron Wilkerson, on Sunday afternoon, before the Westminster Kennel Club dog show even started:

New York tends to generate an appetite, with all the walking around and activity, so for lunch, we headed to the Tick Tock Diner, close to Madison Square Gardens. We usually end up here at least a couple of times every year.



Caroline and I both ordered the fantastic grilled vegetable panini. Isn't it gorgeous? Ben had the chicken salad.


After lunch, I interviewed two other prestigious and well-known handlers: Laurie Jordan-Fenner, who would be showing the sagacious and beautiful Akita, Macey; and Kaz Hosaka, the legendary handler who was just named Handler of the Year, and who would be handling the spritely and charming Toy Poodle, Vikki. Sorry, but the details of those interviews are a secret...you'll just have to wait for your June issue of Dog Fancy magazine!


Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the Dog Writer's Association of America awards banquet--the biggest event of the year for dog writers! I was up for three awards, and we knew Caroline would be receiving a special award with a sizeable cash prize: the coveted AKC Canine Health Foundation Research Communication Award. Congratulations, Caroline! We jumped in a cab and sped back to our hotel. The cab went on to drop off Caroline. On the way back, we passed the New York Times building, which I gazed upon with reverence.

We dressed in our best, then headed back in a cab to the Affinia, where we found, to our dismay, that the usual cocktail hour wasn't happening and the banquet had already started! My friend, former publisher, freelance writer, and winemaker Dominique DeVito called me to ask where I was. "In line, waiting to get in!" I exclaimed. I couldn't believe we were missing it. We rushed in and sat with Dominique, and exchanged hurried hellos--we haven't seen each other since last year, and it's always great to see her. She's a lot of fun at a party. She even brought party poppers--that opened up into hats filled with party favors!

And then...I heard them announce Caroline's big award...and she wasn't there yet!

Now, let me just explain. This award was the whole reason Caroline finally came back to New York. It was all about this one moment. I called her frantically: "Where are you? They just announced your award?" This is me, calling her:

I'd never heard her sound more crestfallen. She was on a bus with Nikki, trying to get there, stuck in traffic.

The awards rushed on without fanfare, the room packed, people still piling in wondering why they were missing the beginning. Caroline and Nikki finally arrived, and Caroline couldn't locate her award. I asked if they could take just a minute to announce it again at the end, but they said no. Boo! Finally, photographer Mary Bloom located Caroline's award, but after that, Caroline wasn't having so much fun anymore. But she made the best of it, and chatted with other dog writers, editors, and friends she'd corresponded with but never seen.

I ended up winning two Maxwell medallions, for a French Bulldog history article I wrote, and for a humor piece on housetraining mishaps. Nikki finally won her first-ever Maxwell medallion, for a wonderful poem she wrote about Pomeranians.

I got to see lots of old friends, like my Wiley editor, Stacy Kennedy, shown here flanked by contest chair Sue Jeffries and DWAA Hall of Famer Mordecai Siegal:

and my friend Denise Flaim, who writes for Newsday (she's got triplets!):

Then the food arrived: The veggie plate consisted of roasted vegetables surrounding a small pilaf of quinoa. It was o.k. but under-seasoned. Ben and Caroline got the filet, which looked pretty darned rare. Dominique got the chicken--a fried breast with a few vegetables.


The cheesecake for dessert was mediocre, but the event was really about friends--like extraordinary dog photographer Mary Bloom:

and beautiful Bowtie editor and Dog Channel blogger Annamaria DiGiorgio, who gave me both the assignments that won me awards this year (don't ask me why I'm standing in that position because I really don't know):



Finally, all the hoopla over, we went out for an intimate drink at the Film Center Cafe with Bowtie editors Susan Chaney and Annamaria, as well as Caroline and Nikki. Around midnight, we all wandered back to our hotels to catch some sleep before the first day of the dog show.