Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Dog’s Life
101 Stories about All the Ages and Stages of Our Canine Companions

As many of you know this title was going to focus on the grieving and recovery process we humans go through after the loss of a family dog. However, despite the many heartwarming and inspirational stories you have submitted, we decided that the topic is too narrow.

We have added to the book and changed the title to Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Dog’s Life: 101 Stories about All the Ages and Stages of Our Canine Companions. In it’s new form the book will focus on all the memorable ages and stages of our dog’s lives. Starting in puppyhood it will cover a range of middle years, senior dogs, and finally the twilight and the end, when our dear friends leave us. We want to capture the experience of living through the natural life cycle with our dogs. Because of the title’s initial form we expect to have a nice large section on grieving and recovery (which isn’t filled despite our collecting submissions!).

We are looking for true stories and poems written in the first person of no more than 1,200 words. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We look forward to reading all the heartwarming, inspirational, funny, crazy stories you have of your dog’s life that we can all relate to.

Here are a few suggested topics:

When you trained your dog to do something, what happened?
Has your dog ever done something that made you laugh out loud? Tell us the story.
How did you get your dog, and how did it change your life?
Have you had more than one dog? How was one different than the other?
Has there been a family situation that your dog took part in that was memorable?
Toddlerhood is a stage that all puppies go through from around three to seven months — how were your dog’s toddler years? How did he/she make you laugh or drive you crazy?
Teenagers, human or canine, can be tough to live with. What did surviving the teenage years, around eight – eighteen months, teach you?
When your dog arrived into his/her young adult and adult years, what did you cherish about the companionship you shared?
The senior years… depending on the breed or breeds your dog is, the senior years begin around age seven. How did you modify your life to care for your aging dog?
Twilight years and the end… it comes to all of us, how did you grieve? How did you recover?
If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoupforthesoul.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story.

DEADLINE IS MARCH 30, 2010. Book is scheduled for publication March 2011.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Cat’s Life
101 Stories about All the Ages and Stages of Our Feline Family Members

As many of you know this title was going to focus on the grieving and recovery process we humans go through after the loss of a beloved cat. However, despite the many heartwarming and inspirational stories you have submitted, we decided that the topic is too narrow.

We have added to the book and changed the title to Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Cat’s Life: 101 Stories about All the Ages and Stages of Our Feline Family Members. In its new form the book will focus on all the memorable ages and stages our cat’s lives. Starting with kittens, it will cover the prime years, aging cats, and finally the twilight and the end, when our dear friends leave us. We want to capture the experience of living through the natural life cycle with our cats. Because of the title’s initial form we expect to have a nice large section on grieving and recovery (which isn’t filled despite our collecting submissions!).

We are looking for true stories and poems written in the first person of no more than 1,200 words. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We look forward to reading all the heartwarming, inspirational, funny, crazy stories you have of your cat’s life that we can all relate to.

Here are a few suggested topics:

Has your cat ever done something that made you laugh out loud? Tell us the story.
How did you get your cat, and how did it change your life?
Have you had/do you have more than one cat? How was one different than the other? How do they relate to each other?
Has there been a family situation that your cat took part in that was memorable?
Teenagers, human or feline, can be tough to live with. What did surviving the teenage years, around eighteen months, teach you?
When your cat arrived into his/her young adult and adult years, what did you cherish about the companionship you shared?
The senior years begin around age seven. What routines have you and your cat established that are the essence of your bond?
Twilight years and the end… it comes to all of us, how did you grieve? How did you recover?
If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoupforthesoul.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story.

DEADLINE IS MARCH 30, 2010. Book is scheduled for publication March 2011.