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Puppies Book & Article Winners at Dog Writers Association Banquet!

by | Feb 16, 2015 | Dog Training & Care | 20 comments

Image courtesy of DepositPhotos.com

Image courtesy of DepositPhotos.com

The Dog Writers Association of America banquet was held last night in New York City. It’s traditionally held the night before Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and I’ve had the great joy and honor to attend both events several times. But not last night–due to travel constraints *cough-BLIZZARD-cough* and work issues, I wasn’t able to attend, despite knowing that I had a couple of entries in the running.

My book COMPLETE PUPPY CARE was nominated for a Maxwell Medallion in the category of Reference Books. I received the Nomination Certificate some time ago and am deeply honored. You can see all the regular category winners here. I hope that you’ll recommend the award-winning book to anyone with a new puppy in their future!

(Equal time for Complete KITTEN Care!)

Much of the book is based on research and articles I’d written over the past three years for my puppies.about.com site, and so this was particularly sweet for me. As many of y’all know, my contract with that company was abruptly cancelled last summer–for those morbidly curious, details here. Ya know, the best “revenge” is always success, LOL!

So an even sweeter recognition came when I won a DWAA Special Award last night for an article written for the puppies.about.com site titled “AKC Canine Good Citizenship Programs.” The information from that article of course is also included in the book. You can see the list of all the special awards winners here.

AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy and Canine Good Citizen Award

Sponsored by the American Kennel Club, this award is for the best writing about the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program or the puppy level of CGC, AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy.

Recognized as the ‘gold standard’ for family dog manners, CGC and AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy focus on teaching good manners to dogs and responsible dog ownership to dog owners. This award is a $500.00 cash award.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of the nominees and winners! I am very fortunate to live in a world and participate in a community of professional communicators dedicated to sharing life-saving and relationship-saving information about the dogs we love!

Now then–how many of y’all have taken your puppy through the CGC or S.T.A.R. Puppy Programs? Or how about the AKC Community Canine program also mentioned in the article?

And…how many of y’all will be watching Westminster tonight and tomorrow night on TV? *raising paw* Magical-Dawg and I will be rooting for the…well, you know. *s*

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I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!

20 Comments

  1. Rachel Sheppard
    Rachel Sheppard on February 18, 2015 at 3:18 pm

    Congratulations! You are a RockStar and an inspiration!

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai
      Amy Shojai on February 18, 2015 at 3:59 pm

      Thanks so much, everyone! Still floating…

      Reply
  2. Pawesome Cats
    Pawesome Cats on February 17, 2015 at 3:07 am

    Congrats on the nomination and the award…woo hoo!

    Reply
  5. Robin
    Robin on February 16, 2015 at 7:56 pm

    It sounds like it was probably a great night! We are having some pretty wicked winter weather around here too. Congrats to all of the winners 🙂

    Reply
  6. MyDogLikes
    MyDogLikes on February 16, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    Congratulations! What an honor!

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai
      Amy Shojai on February 16, 2015 at 4:36 pm

      Thanks so much! Fluffy congrats are the bestest. *s*

      Reply
  9. Susan Bewley
    Susan Bewley on February 16, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    Congratulations on the award! Too bad this stupid snow kept you from the banquet. 🙁

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai
      Amy Shojai on February 16, 2015 at 4:36 pm

      Thanks Susan. Some day I’ll get back to the DWAA & Westminster!

      Reply
  11. Amanda
    Amanda on February 16, 2015 at 11:42 am

    A HUGE congratulations to you! That’s so fantastic! I would love to write a book someday 🙂 We are definitely watching Westminster. Wynston is a spokesdog for Pro Plan so they sent us a bunch of Westminster goodies this year to make our viewing experience that much more fun!! Of course since we compete in agility, our favorite part was the Master’s agility championship yesterday 🙂

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai
      Amy Shojai on February 16, 2015 at 12:39 pm

      Love agility! I think my Magical-Dawg would have loved that but–I’m already so overwhelmed with the to-do lists. Thanks so much for the note, and congrats to Wynston for being a spokesdog.

      Reply
  12. Jen Gabbard
    Jen Gabbard on February 16, 2015 at 10:59 am

    Congrats on the nomination and that awesome reward. And as you say the best “revenge” is success – it’s something that it hard to argue with. Sorry to hear about the weather keeping you in; it’s never fun to try and battle mother nature.

    Reply
  13. Peggy Frezon
    Peggy Frezon on February 16, 2015 at 10:05 am

    Congratulations on the nomination and the special award! What great news! I’m sorry the snow kept you away from attending the banquet 🙁

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai
      Amy Shojai on February 16, 2015 at 10:11 am

      My husband is a tax pro and this time of year he works very long hours which means me being gone requires boarding the pets. So coming to the banquet/westminster would be not only the cost of the plane, hotel and banquet (with risk of weather cancellation and no refund…that’s happened before!), but also boarding costs. When you work for yourself, hard decisions must be made (and my “boss” isn’t very understanding about such things!).

      Reply
  14. M. K. Clinton
    M. K. Clinton on February 16, 2015 at 8:44 am

    Congratulations!! What an outstanding honor! I am hoping to become a member of the DWA this year. ☺

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai
      Amy Shojai on February 16, 2015 at 8:50 am

      Thanks so much! I’ve been a DWAA member for …well, several doggy lifetimes. *S*

      Reply

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CWA Muse Medallion Award

CWA Muse Medallion Award

Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award

Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award

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CWA Muse Medallion Award

CWA Muse Medallion Award

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Cat Writers Muse Medallion Awards

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