Stephanie Bouchard lives on the coast of Maine with her feline companion, Avalon, and her human companion, Bruce. She is an award-winning writer working in the features department of a daily newspaper and is author of a children’s book about a rescued cat. Contact her at stephanie_bouchard@verizon.net.

Afrika Brown is the Entertainment and Lifestyle Editor at Caribbean POSH Magazine.  She is also a contributing writer for White Hot Magazine for Contemporary Art and Black Ballot.com.  In the summer of 2007, Afrika’s weekly chapter series Diary of a Break Up was featured on University Chic.com.  In 2006, she released Sepia Sapphire, a collection of poetry.  In March 2007, the poem titled Sepia Sapphire was cited as poem of the month on Poetry.com. Afrika now plans to start the pre production of Sepia Sapphire, a full on stage poemography that incorporates poems from the book along with music and dance. 

Dr. Caroline Coile, Ph.D. has written 31 books and more than 300 magazine and scientific articles about dogs. Her dog writing awards include the Dog Writer's Association of America Maxwell Award (seven times), the DWAA Denlinger Award, the AKC Canine Health Foundation Research Award (twice), and the Eukanuba Canine Health Award (twice). Her best-known book is Barron's Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds.

Caroline’s interest in scientific aspects of dogs led to a Ph.D. with research interests in canine behavior, senses, genetics and neuropsychology. On a practical level, Caroline has competed for more than 30 years in conformation, obedience, and lure-coursing, and more recently, agility. She lives on the shores of the Suwannee River, where her salukis regularly make her quit writing and go walking.

Gail Eisenberg is a delightful combination of comedy and tragedy.  A former writer/producer in Comedy Central’s On-air promotions department, she’s a freelance copywriter, journalist, TV-show creator, and co-author of A Mother Loss Workbook (HarperCollins).  Her work has appeared in Time Out New York, The Daily News, and Newsday, as well as on-air on Comedy Central and HBO. Gail is the unpaid humor editor of Ducts.org, and is fairly certain that she’s the poorest person living on NYC’s Madison Avenue, where she shacks up with her dog, Taxi!. Please visit her at www.gaileisenberg.com.

On the day Carol Frischmann learned to crawl, the family Doberman pinscher gripped her diapers with his teeth to prevent her tumble down a flight of stairs. Ever since, Carol, now a writer and educator, has been repaying her debt to creatures that fly, run, or slither on their bellies. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in Science Education. Carol’s newest book, Pets and the Planet: a Guide to Sustainability will be available from Wiley Publications in March, 2009. An African gray parrot and a Doberman pinscher closely supervise Carol’s work in her Portland, Oregon office. You can visit her at www.thiswildlife.com.

Tamar Geller, founder of The Loved Dog, is a renowned life coach for dogs and the people who love them. She has released her highly anticipated book, The Loved Dog: The Playful Nonaggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior (Simon and Schuster) and her DVD, "Celebrate Your Dog! The Loved Dog Way of Training," based on her innovative and revolutionary approach to dog training. Tamar has appeared on "The Today Show," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Animal Planet’s "Who Gets the Dog," CNN, CBS, ABC, Fox, "Good Morning Britain," as well as in the pages of USA Today, Newsweek, US Weekly, the Los Angeles Times and Self magazine, among others. She is the go-to trainer for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Courteney Cox-Arquette, Nicollette Sheridan, Owen Wilson, Brad Paisley and the Osbourne family. She serves as an advisor for the Humane Society of the United States and Best Friends Animal Society. Her extraordinary vision led her to open The Loved Dog, Southern California’s first cage-free doggie daycare and boarding facility, in 1996.

Dr. Cori Gross is a feline-only veterinarian from Seattle, WA, and serves as a field veterinarian for Veterinary Pet Insurance (www.petinsurance.com).  Dr. Gross received her veterinary degree from Washington State University.  She currently divides her time between lecturing at veterinary colleges and conferences on the topic of pet health insurance, practicing in feline-only medicine, and writing about veterinary medicine.  Dr. Gross has a special interest in feline behavior and shelter medicine.

Michele C. Hollow works as a freelance writer for several newspapers and magazines, specializing in writing about pets, wildlife, travel, design, and health. She is the author of The Everything Guide to Careers with Animals (Adams Media, 2009).  Michele lives in South Orange, NJ, with her husband Steven, their son Jordon, and their cat Mr. Earl Gray.

Jennifer Hoyden is a freelance writer with a diverse background that includes editorial, trade and advertising.  She especially enjoys covering fashion and beauty, for humans and animals (separately).   Jennifer is also a passionate dog lover who can play well with cat people. Mastiffs, Bulldogs and Shar-Pei make her go weak in the knees.

Susan Israel is a freelance writer based in New Haven, Conn. She specializes in animal health and wellness topics and her articles have appeared in Animal Wellness, Dog Fancy, The Bark, Ladies Home Journal and The Washington Post, as well as several local and regional markets.

Cheri Lucas, Second Chance at Love Humane Society Founder, met Cesar Millan, also known as "The Dog Whisperer" and built a lasting friendship. Millan mentored and coached Lucas on how to rehabilitate the shelter's dogs by taking a leadership position. Since that training, Cheri has helped Second Chance at Love adoption rates increase and placements have become more permanent. Cheri works on a daily basis with her "pack" and will appear in upcoming episodes of The Dog Whisperer. 

Liz Palika has written more than fifty books and more than 1,000 magazine articles and columns. She has been published in Dog Fancy, Dog World, Cats, Cat Fancy, AKC Gazette, and other pet publications, as well as Newsweek, The Saturday Evening Post and Women First.

Her books include The Kiss Guide to Raising a Puppy,The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook and All Dogs Need Some Training. Liz’s books have been awarded many honors. She was honored with the San Diego Leadership Award, was a North County Woman of Merit, and in 2005 was awarded Dog Writers Distinguished Service Award.

Amy D. Shojai, CABC (www.shojai.com) is a certified animal behavior consultant and nationally known authority on pet care and behavior. She’s the award-winning author of 22 pet books and 1000+ articles including a weekly PETIQuette newspaper column; HomeAgain.com, CatChow.com, iVillage.com care/behavior columns; and a free monthly PetPeeves E-Newsletter. Amy’s “Pet Talk” segment appears twice monthly at KXII-CBS and she hosts a weekly half hour “Pet Peeves” radio podcast at www.petliferadio.com. She’s a founder of Cat Writers Association, longtime member of Dog Writers Association, and lives with Magic the German Shepherd Dog, Serendity the Siamese, and seven Koi in N. Texas.

Jo Singer, CSW, is a former Siamese, Burmese, Oriental and Russian Blue breeder. She is a charter member of Oriental Shorthairs International. Having showed cats in the Northeast for many years, she is a former member of Empire Cat Club and Westchester Cat club. Jo shares her home with her loving husband, Marty and two Oriental Shorthairs, Hush Puppy and Hubble. Owned by cats for over 40 years, she was the Forum Leader for the Cats Community on AOL for many years. She is a top contributor on Yahoo Answers in the cat community.

A member of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement and the Cat Writer's Association, Jo is a retired Certified Social Worker and Psychotherapist.  A former horse owner, her Master's thesis was written about therapeutic horseback riding for the disabled. When not busy hanging out with their cats or writing, Jo enjoys cooking gourmet recipes with her husband.

Sandra L. Toney has been writing about pets for over 15 years.  An award-winning author of eight books, such as The Simple Guide to Cats and The Little Book of Cat Tricks, Toney is a professional member of the Cat Writers’ Association and Dog Writers Association of America.  As well as writing about pets, she is also an award-winning photographer.  Almost all of her pet “models” are from a local shelter she has volunteered for since 1999.  She lives in northern Indiana with her husband, Ray, and three spoiled felines -- who run their household with an iron paw!