Janine Adams is a prolific writer and author who writes exclusively about pets. The author of seven books and more than 100 articles, she writes about the care, health and training of dogs and cats, among other animal-related topics.

She's inspired by her own pets, past and present. When she started writing about pets in 1995, it was her standard poodle, Kramer, who got her started. A three-year-old rescue standard poodle, Scout, joined the family in 1996 and the two dogs provided abundant learning opportunities and inspiration for stories.

Scout and Kramer died from cancer in 2001, ten weeks apart. After Scout's death, but before Kramer's, she and her husband adopted Pip, a three-year-old standard poodle who had been abandoned at a boarding kennel. In 2002, there was an exciting new addition to the family: Joe, an orange tabby domestic shorthair cat. On the last day of 2003, Kirby, a nine-week-old white standard poodle puppy joined the family. Pip, Kirby and Joe are fast friends and Janine enjoys clicker training all of them.

Janine has published over 100 articles in a variety of general-interest and pet-related magazines and websites. Her first two books, You Can Talk to Your Animals: Animal Communicators Tell You How and 25 Stupid Mistakes Dog Owners Make were published in 2000. In May 2003, 25 Stupid Mistakes Dog Owners Make was re-released in bargain hardcover by Random House's Gramercy Press. She wrote her third and fourth books, How to Say It to Your Dog and How to Say It to Your Cat in 2002. They were published by Prentice Hall Press in November 2003.

At the beginning of September 2004, Adams Media published her breed book, The Everything Poodle Book. At the end of that month, the You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits kit, comprised of Janine's short dog-treat cookbook, cookie cutters and gift bags, was published by Running Press, who also published her full-length dog-treat cookbook, the You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits Cookbook, in the spring of 2005. She is currently working on a book, co-authored with renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, about Dr. Goodall's work at the Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania.

As Janine has grown as a dog (and cat) mom, her writing has evolved from straight service pieces to essays and personal reflections to cookbooks. A former columnist for PetLife magazine, she has also been a columnist for ThePoop.com and is the book review columnist for Dog World magazine.

Janine's a member of the Dog Writers Association of America (and has served on its Board of Governors), the Cat Writers' Association (and was a member of its Council of Directors) and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She's also an associate member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

She's been honored with four prestigious Maxwell Medallions from the Dog Writers Association of America. The first was in the category of Newspaper Editorial or Opinion Piece for a 1998 article on clicker training that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Her first book, You Can Talk to Your Animals, won best general-interest book of 2000. She has twice won Maxwells in the category of best Feature in an All-Breed Magazine. The first was for a 2003 article on cancer she wrote for Bark magazine. The second was for a 2005 article on dog parks that appeared in AKC Family Dog. She also won the 2000 special award for excellence in on-line feature writing, for an article on Mighty Mutts, a Brooklyn-based rescue group, that was published on pets.com.

Janine grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She and her husband, Barry, have lived in St. Louis since 1989, with a hiatus in New York City from 1997 to 2001. In addition to her writing, Janine is also a professional organizer and owner of Peace of Mind Organizing.

She's available for magazine assignments and book projects. Her current areas of expertise and interest include:

• Holistic veterinary care
• Human/animal relationships
• Positive dog and cat training and problem solving
• Telepathic animal communication
• Making healthy dog treats