While we couldn’t reach out and touch each other, petting a beloved dog or cat, horse or hamster filled up our empty emotional tanks with the love we need to thrive and survive… TOP 10 DO’s & DON’Ts WHEN ADOPTING A PET for ADOPT A DOG MONTH During the COVID pandemic, with opportunities for human contact curtailed, our pets became even more important. We are tactile beings, relishing contact with others. I covered this a bit in what makes people happy, but wanted to go beyond that post.Īs social creatures, humans crave companionship. That begs the questions, how (and why) pets are so important to us. 👨‍⚕️ Schedule a visit with your veterinarianįor those who adore cats and dogs or other critters, our animal companions impact us in so many ways we can’t imagine living in a world without them. October is National Pet Wellness Month which celebrates caring for our pets. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE! 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. I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions.

In closing, I’ll leave you with this…Awwwwwwww! Details about all the CWA events will be shared as they become available–and I’d encourage those interested to get in on the early bird rate for BlogPaws so you can double your pleasure! The 22nd Annual Cat Writers’ Association Awards Banquet will be held Friday, Jconcurrent with the 2016 BlogPaws Conference at the Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa. That’s why I am so very pleased to announce some exciting news–just released to CWA members and so now we’re able to tell the world. Another whole section (about 25% or so) was dedicated to Kate Benjamin’s “Cat Style Lounge” containing cat-astic feline products.ĭusty Rainbolt, Marci Kladnik and Amy Shojai on the red carpet, what fun! Hey…let’s do it again next year! Hey, we’re all in this together–for the good of ALL pets, right?ĬWA was one of about 50 booths in the exhibit hall, where attendees got to meet all kinds of pet products companies catering to dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, you-name-it. That’s right, there are many cat folks at the event but also dog bloggers (horse bloggers, hamster bloggers etc) who also share their lives (and writing) with cats. We also created CWA “contest discount” postcards added to the cat “swag bags” hoping to encourage more nonmember cat writers to join our furry throng. Lea-Ann Germinder and her GoodNewsForPets team designed/created two fantastic free-standing banners for the booth that we’ll use at future events. Speakers had a second signing opportunity and we signed quite a few Saturday afternoon, too. Fran Shaw had arranged for CWA members to host the booth where they not only provided great PR for CWA, but they also signed/sold a bunch of their own books. Wendy Christensen sent 100 copies of her beautifully designed booklet with details about the organization–I came home with only about 20 copies left. (Hmnnn, why isn’t he a member yet?!).Īnother CWA member, Sandy Robbins, made CWA look fantastic as she spoke on a Keynote Panel on Saturday morning with Harrison Forbes and Laura Nativo about being a celebrity spokesperson. CWA members will remember he also spoke at one of our conferences in White Plains, NY–and he’s a CAT GUY! Stay tuned, I hear-tell that one of our members got a picture of him wearing cat ears. He is an incredibly entertaining and generous speaker, with great insights and information.

Mee-Wow! A highlight for me on Saturday was lunch with Steve and reconnecting/catching up.įriday morning’s Keynote, Peter Shankman, had the audience rolling in the aisles. He not only gave a lovely shout-out to CWA and Lorie Huston (sniff), he presented the Winn Media Appreciation Award to Fran Pennock Shaw. That evening, longtime member and CWA booster Steve Dale spoke at the opening ceremonies about one of our favorite causes, Winn Feline Foundation. The audience members kept us with questions long after we were scheduled to stop, and then dozens (yes, I said DOZENS) of aspiring CWA members made their way to the CWA Booth to find out more about our organization. Then CWA members Layla Morgan Wilde, Deb Barnes, Janiss Garza and Alana Grelyak presented on their panel. Publisher/author Bob Mayer, and authors Lisa Erspamer, Pam Johnson-Bennett and myself presented on the first Publishing Panel. Both Thursday sessions were filled with very engaged audience members eager to learn more about publishing, good writing, journalistic integrity and more.

Lorie pester en couple 2015