Gina Spadafori has been connecting with pet owners since launching her Pet Connection column at the Sacramento Bee in 1983. Gregory Favre, former executive editor of the Bee, explains its appeal: "Gina's Pet Connection column comes from the mind of a journalist who knows pets and from the heart of a pet owner who loves them. And her readers benefit greatly."

Named the 2007 recipient of the annual Excellence in Pet Industry Journalism Award by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association and Pet Industry Distributors Association, Spadafori has been writing the award-winning Pet Connection feature for Universal Press Syndicate since 1997.

In addition, she is the author of several top-selling books, including the New York Times best-seller "Why Dog Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet?" and "Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?" Both books were co-authored with her UPS writing parter, "Good Morning America" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker. She is also author of the first three books in the "... For Dummies" pet-care line, including "Dogs for Dummies." Her award-winning "... For Dummies" books have been translated into several languages and continue to sell well more than a decade after publication. Combined, her books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Before she started writing about pets, Spadafori taught dog obedience classes. She continues to train and compete with her own dogs in various canine sports. She has earned endorsements of trainers, veterinarians, humane society directors and top-selling pet-care authors, all of whom have praised her breezy writing style and dogged pursuit of the facts. She is also affiliated with the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals.

The Sacramento, Calif. resident has been active in efforts to help homeless pets, organizing and running a volunteer rescue and placement program in her community. She regularly volunteers as a "foster mom" for a local rescue group and shares her home with her own pets, a menageries that includes dogs, cats, rabbits and parrots.

Spadafori also has served as the director of America Online's popular Pet Care Forum, delivered pet-related commentaries for Sacramento's public radio station and taught reporting and editing courses at California State University, Sacramento.

Pet Connection is also gaining the contributions of other pet-care experts. Behavior experts Susan and Dr. Rolan Tripp will be writing "On Good Behavior," a series of tips to make living with a pet easier. In addition, Christie Keith will be contributing to Pet Connection on a regular basis. Keith is a long-time pet-care writer with a special interest in veterinary news.

Dr. Marty Becker

As a veterinarian, media personality, author and educator, Dr. Marty Becker has become known as the "best-loved family doctor for pets."

Dr. Becker is the popular veterinary contributor to ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" and is the host of "The Pet Doctor With Marty Becker" on PBS. In association with the American Animal Hospital Association, he hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, "Top Vets Talk Pets," on the Health Radio Network. He has appeared on Animal Planet, and is a frequent guest on national network and cable television, and radio shows. Dr. Becker has also been interviewed for countless magazine and newspaper articles.

Dr. Becker is an adjunct professor at both his alma mater, the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Additionally, he has lectured at every veterinary school in the United States, and been named Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year by the Delta Society and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

As co-author of the fastest-selling pet book in history, "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul," he is either sole author or co-author of other top-selling books, including other animal books in the Chicken Soup line, "The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets To Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy," and "Fitness Unleashed: A Dog and Owner's Guide to Losing Weight and Gaining Health Together!" With Gina Spadafori, he is co-author of the New York Times best-seller, "Why Do Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet?" as well as "Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?"

Dr. Becker and journalist Gina Spadafori produce the Pet Connection feature for Universal Press Syndicate. The feature appears in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada, as well as on many Web sites.

Dr. Becker devotes his life to his family, which includes his wife, Teresa, daughter, Mikkel, and son, Lex, along with all the furry family members on the Beckers� Almost Heaven Ranch in Northern Idaho.