Yes, we did.

Back from three days in New York to attend the annual Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) annual meeting and banquet. Usually these trips are incredibly energizing -- how can one not feed off Big Apple vitality? -- but this time the trip had a special edge.

Some of you already know that I was part of an effort to change in the leadership of DWAA. My partners and I blogged about that effort here. Happily, our efforts resulted in an outcome that I am convinced will help revitalize the organization. The new president of DWAA is Deb Eldredge, DVM; the new secretary is Liz Palika, CPDT; and the newest member of the Board of Governors is Eve Adamson. I have been elected vice president. It's an honor and a responsibility, knowing that the members of a 70-plus years old organization have placed their trust in us -- and we will work tirelessly to justify that trust.

I am also thrilled and honored to be able to report that at the annual banquet, I was presented with two DWAA Maxwell Awards for excellence in writing about dogs. One was for my AKC Family Dog article, "In the Swim," which described how water-loving dogs can tap into their aquatic roots. The other was for "You Don't Know Shih Tzu" for the Shih Tzu Puppies edition of Popular Dogs, which aimed to be a primer on how these little dogs (and even littler puppies) learn.