It was 2002, and Patti Lawson, a single attorney from Charleston, W.V., was mourning the demise of her latest relationship and overdosing on pizza and chocolate. She spent months holed up in her apartment, with every imaginable junk food on her coffee table, and soon became 30 pounds overweight and disgusted with herself.

To this day, she can't explain what prompted her to get up off the couch and drive her spotless Mercedes to the local Petsmart. But it was a decision that changed her life.  For it was there that she fell in love – with Sadie, a German shepherd-cocker spaniel puppy who needed a home. 

Like any good owner, Patti re-engineered her life to take care of her dog.  She began getting up earlier to take Sadie for walks.  She found herself energized by her renewed purpose in life.  Her eating habits began to change when her vet told her that sharing her junky food with Sadie could damage her  health.  One day, Patti got on the scale and found she'd lost eight pounds.

A co-worker asked her how she was losing weight.  Patti replied that it was her "dog diet. " And right  then, an idea for a book was born.

Her book, published in 2006, is called "The Dog Diet:  A Memoir – What My Dog Taught Me About Shedding Pounds, Licking Stress and Getting a New Leash on Life. "  Patti's humorous and charming narrative tells how she went from being a stressed-out perfectionist to a more "human " being – and got back into her size 4 jeans in the process.  You'll also get some practical dog-rearing tips, such as:  "If your dog likes it, it probably isn't good for you. "

"The Dog Diet " won the Dog Writers Association of America's Humor Book of the Year Award for 2006.

Available at Amazon.com for just $13.22; regular price $16.95.

Learn more about Patti and Sadie here at their Web site.