The Dog Diet, A Memoir

In the not too distant past, Patti Lawson was a diet-obsessed, high-achieving perfectionist. She bought every diet supplement on the market, hired personal trainers, ran, walked, huffed, puffed, wrapped her thighs in plastic, suffered in steam rooms and added to her collection of AB rollers and thigh masters. And so it went until a little dog taught her some big lessons about life.

Author Interview

•  What inspired you to write this book?
The wonderful changes in my life (and I will go in detail) after adopting my dog Sadie.

•  What was your reason for adopting a dog?
I was having a bad winter and was lonely. I had suffered the end of a romance and thought a dog might lift me out of the depression.

•  Did it work?
Oh yes … I was soon so busy with Sadie I had no time to dwell on my own perceived problems and wallow in misery was soon a thing of the past.

•  How do you think Sadie was able to do this?
By helping me do a couple of things. First of all, the focus was off of me … on to another living being. Also, she loved me … just like I was … an imperfect caretaker of her, but it didn't matter. She was always so happy to see me and be with me … I started learning how to love myself and in doing so everything in my life got better.

•  Where and how did you adopt Sadie?
I went to PetsMart on Saturday … I had read in the newspaper that the local animal shelter brought dogs there on weekends and actually had made one trip there before and one to the animal shelter.

•  Did you know immediately she was the dog for you?
No, actually the volunteer in charge of the adoptions, Betty asked me to hold her so she could help someone else … and I hate to admit … I did so reluctantly. Truth is … I was a little bit afraid of dogs.

•  WHY?
I had gotten bitten by a dog as a child and never really got over it.

•  So, have you now?
Yes. Sadie is the sweetest dog and helped me lose that completely.

•  And from the time you took her home then, I assume all went well?
No. I was the worst Dog Mom! And embarrassingly enough, I took her back after that first night because I just didn't think I could do it. But if you read my book, you'll see … it all worked out just great.

•  The title of your book is catchy and funny … how did you come up with it?
Someone in my office remarked that I looked like I had lost weight … and what was I doing? Now, this office was one where everyone was constantly on some sort of diet. I blurted out … THE DOG DIET … and realized it was so true … Sadie had gotten me active, helped me eat less, and also taught me how to lighten my mind … not just my body.

•  Exactly what is Dogercise and how did you come up with that?
Dogercise is anything that gets you moving with your dog and helps you burn calories, have fun, and feel better. The base of the Dogercise program is walking, but in the book there are specific exercises and playful activities for anyone to do with their dog.

•  And all diets also have a meal plan. What kind of foods does one eat on the dog diet?
The basis of the program is foods that you can eat without your dog begging for the only piece of advice I seemed to remember from the vet when I adopted Sadie was … “Don't feed her any of your food.” Well, that proved so impossible I found myself devising kinds of sneaky ways to eat. So I developed a sustainable group of foods that didn't attract her attention … and they had to meet two criteria … they could not smell good … and they couldn't make noise.

•  What kinds of foods were these?
Cottage cheese, things that came in containers that could be opened quietly, almost all fruits and vegetables to start with. And as time went on, I increased the items on my list and I realized … if something was terribly attractive to Sadie … it wasn't healthy for me.

•  You are a lawyer by profession, do you have any plans to change careers?
Not really, I have always loved being an attorney and I was a schoolteacher before that. I do plan to shift the time spent being a lawyer to less than I have been doing to write more. I write a newspaper column that has been very popular in my home area and on my website and I hope to get that syndicated this year.

•  What is one piece of advice from your book that you would tell anyone thinking of adopting a dog?
The most important thing about getting a dog is that you must be willing to make the dog part of your life. Spend time together … you will be amazed at the lessons you learn and just how easy it is to love your dog … and then yourself, as you see yourself as your dog sees you.

Look for The Dog Diet, A Memoir What My Dog Taught Me About Shedding Pounds, Licking Stress and Getting a New Leash on Life at a bookstore near you. This book also can be ordered directly from the publisher at http://www.hci-online.com