THE DOG DIET NEWS |
Patti Lawson has a brand new book filled with humor, bittersweet stories of pets loved and lost, and most of all hope that when human partners decide to part ways they could learn a lot from their pets.

Splitting Hairs of the Dog
What Happens to Rover When the Marriage is Over?
If there’s anything worse than a knock-down-drag-out divorce, it’s an even bitterer and often cruel custody battle. Divorce cases end, custody battles continue for what seems forever, with the parties dragged back to court endlessly and the attorney’s fees becoming astronomical. But even after the last billable hour is paid for, the emotional devastation from custody battles often last a lifetime. Take for example the couple in San Francisco who despite their best efforts, could not agree on custody of Gigi.
Each parent prepared their case with precision and the total bill for the dispute tallied up to a whopping $150,000.00. The Judge eventually awarded custody to one parent, and his decision was made easier by a videotape of a “Day in the Life”…a standard litigation tool lawyers use…which showed Gigi going about her normal day at the home the tape purported she would prefer to live in. This tape and the testimony of a behaviorist clinched the custody victory for the lucky parent…an animal behaviorist that is…Gigi is a dog.
In courts across the country, judges in divorce cases are being asked to veer from the standard property designation of animals and award the contested pet to the best human parent. More and more couples are waiting longer to have children or opting not to have them at all…thus the family pet becomes the “fur child” and is subject to the same custody battles that have raged over children for decades.
Welcome to a new and rapidly expanding area of the law. Splitting Hairs of the Dog explores this gigantic frontier in divorce proceedings with humor and practical advice. Relationships between people and pets have taken on new and often confusing aspects in our litigious society. Matrimony often ends in acrimony, but Splitting Hairs of the Dig aims for a kinder gentler result—at least for the four-legged members of the dis-union.
Patti and Sadie are represented by:
Robert Brown
THE
WYLIE-MERRICK AGENCY www.wylie-merrick.com
Read the full announcement on Patti's Red Room Page |
February 11, 2007
DOG WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES
2006 WINNERS
The Dog Diet Wins!
Sadie and Patti are THRILLED to win the Maxwell Award to the Dog Humor Book of the Year from the Dog Writer's Association of America! Patti received the medal in NYC on February 11 at a banquet the night before the start of the Westminster Show. |
DOG WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES
2006 FINALISTS
The Dog Writers Association of
America recently announced
the finalists in their writing competition for 2006. Two
Charleston women are nominees for awards in their respective
categories. Patti Lawson's book The
Dog Diet: a Memoir (Health Communications, Inc.) is nominated for the Dog
Humor Book Award and Deborah Linz, a popular anchor at
WCHS TV 8 is a nominee in the Broadcast Journalism Category
for her news story on "Dangers of Dog Chaining."(Aired
July 18, 2006) Ms. Lawson was also a nominee in 2005 for
her column Dogs...Diets...Dating that appears in the Charleston
Gazette.
Nominees are from all over the nation in many different
venues including newspapers, magazines, videotape, graphic
art, poetry, internet, club publications, and books. Additionally
many special awards are given out by the American Kennel
Club, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, Humane Society of the United States, and many
others.
The Dog
Writers Association of America was established
in 1935 during the Westminster Kennel Show. It has become
an annual tradition for the organization and its members
to meet the weekend prior to the Westminster Show. All
nominees will be honored on Sunday night, February 11,
2007, in New York City and the winners will be announced
at the banquet that evening. |
April
21, 2006
Outside NBC30 Studio in Hartford after TV appearance
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December
2005
Patti has been named a finalist in the Dog Writers
Association of America 2005 Writing Competition
in the Newspaper Category for her article "Where
The Rooster Roosted." Read
Patti's entry on her blog.
The DWAA is best known for annual writing competition,
which is meant to encourage quality writing about dogs
in all aspects of companionship plus the dog sport. The
awards are presented the night before the Westminster
Dog Show in New York City. Patti will be there February
12, 2006 NYC |
Other
News
Patti spoke at the TAILS
OF JOY fundraiser in Coventry, CT in May 2005 and
Sadie received a lovely gift basket. This organization
is wonderful and provides services to people with their
therapy dogs.
SADIE OPENING HER BASKET OF GOODIES |
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| Read
Patti's essays: |

"Timeless
Legacy" in
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE
GRANDMOTHER'S SOUL (HCI)
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"Love, Loss and a
New Leash
on Life",
in SINGLE WOMEN...OF A CERTAIN
AGE (Inner Ocean).
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