Ask Dog Lady is . . .?
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Pet lifestyle column.
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Seasoned journalist and media personality provides clean, compelling copy. Advice column with pet trends and expert reporting generates great response from readers of all ages – those who have dogs and those who don’t.
Who?
Monica Collins created “Ask Dog Lady” in 2003, recognizing the need for a smart, stylish pet column. After she got Shorty, a West Highland white terrier, Collins’ own life shifted dramatically. She changed her journalistic focus – from TV critic to lifestyle columnist. She realized how much a pet can transform relationships and shake up daily routines for the better.
Stephen Meuse (clevernapkin.com)
"Don't you love that it's 'Ask Dog Lady'
and not "Sit up and beg Dog Lady'?"
“Ask Dog Lady” is about the people who love dogs, loathe dogs, and could care less but want to read something unique. The column thrives on true questions, Collins’ reporting, her empathic sense of the human-canine relationship, and many funny bones. “Ask Dog Lady” appears in many publications including Cleveland's Plain Dealer, The Cambridge Chronicle, and Salem News. A former staff writer for USA Today, TV Guide, and the Boston Herald, Collins hosts "Ask Dog Lady," the TV program on LexMedia in Lexington, MA. She is also a frequent guest on radio.
What?
This weekly feature owes much to classic newspaper columns such as “Miss Manners” and “Dear Abby,” only with animal attractions. Casting a wise eye on the social scene of people with pets – and each other – “Ask Dog Lady” offers edgy albeit sensible counsel.
The column generates profuse reader/audience participation. "Ask Dog Lady" receives many questions. The column can’t answer every one but Collins selects universal and intriguing queries – about relationships, dog park dilemmas, dating quandaries, divorce and custody issues, the name game, bed etiquette, and many other complexities of living with an elephant in the room – the dog.
Why?
According to the 2013/2014 survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturing Assn. (APPMA), Americans are expected to spend a record $58.51 billion on their pets in 2014; 56.7 million U.S. households have a dog — the country’s most popular pet. There are 83.3 million canines, with doting humans keeping and housing them. A recent Gallup poll found that more people identified themselves as pet owners than aligned with any political party.