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Meowza! We have a winner. A bit delayed in the annoucement, but nonetheless...

The commenter claiming the prize "Cat Lover's Daily Companion" is...Other John.

Other John wrote:

"Cats are great because they are fur-covered hot water bottles that help keep you warm during a cold winter's night! Also, they are part of the green energy movement as evidenced by their solar-power collection needs on the floor wherever the sun is shining brightest. They are fashion-conscious when it comes to coordinating white and orange fur on the darkest of pants and suits, wanting to jazz up that important business meeting you have in the morning with some color. And possibly most importantly, they are the world's most reliable alarm clocks, as their stomachs keep time better than the most expensive Rolex, and unlike the watch, they lack a snooze button so it's impossible to oversleep!"

Other John is a frequent commenter and a certified kitty slave. Other John: Please send an e-mail to pets@roanoke.com with your mailing address and the book is on it's way.

A very, very close second was Sharron Smith, wrote wrote:

"I am a dog person: I am unable to explain how I ended up with four cats and no dog. My life is littered with unused scratching posts, cat thrones with a view, litter boxes tucked in secluded recesses, and an assortment of feathery/squeaky items that clog my vacuum. I devote more time to the selection of cat food than I do to the selection of husband food. I receive birthday and holiday gifts with cat pictures, paw prints, and "purrfectly" witty sayings. We now have cat ornaments for the Christmas tree: last year we received a gift basket of cookies that had two bags of cat treats tucked inside. I often wonder what life would be like if I were a cat person."

The race was so close that if Sharron will also send an e-mail to pets@roanoke.com with her mailing address another lovely book may just find it's way to her mailbox.

Tails up to everyone for participating.

I hope everyone got out and celebrated End-of-the-Hateful-Political-Campaign-Ads-and-Robocalls Season by voting for the candidates that annoy you the least. I know I certainly did.

And now that the election is almost over, let's move on to more important issues: Cats.

Last week I made my own campaign promise to give lovers of kitties a chance to exercise their First Amendment rights after I gave away the book "Why Dogs are Better than Cats" book.

So, feline fans, let's hear it.

Type a short, witty comment about why cats rule and otherwise rock your world, and you can win a copy of "Cat Lover's Daily Companion: 365 Days of Insight and Guidance for Living a Joyful Life with Your Cat" by Kristen Hampshire, Iris Bass and Lori Paximadis.

The book is loaded with photos, information and fun facts about felines. The text covers a wide varitey of kitty cunundrums including choosing the right food and litter, explanations of cats' body language and what to do when kitty misses the box. I am really tempted to keep this one because it's great reference material.

So hit me with your best shot folks. What's so doggone great about cats? All comments entered until Friday at 10 a.m. will be considered, when a panel of feline-loving newsies will help me pick the very best one.

And we have a winner in the "Why Dogs are Better than Cats" book giveaway:

"I prefer my dogs because they at least let me pretend that I am in charge."

Comment by JA

Well said, JA. Even people who are devout kitty fans would agree with that sentiment.  I will send you an e-mail in a few minutes. Reply back with your mailing address and the book will be on it's way to you.

Thanks to everyone for submitting some great comments. It was a tough choice because you are all so awesome.

I got my flu-ridden self feeling better over the weekend and came back to work today. It took many hours and a few tears, but I finally found the bottom of my inbox and the top of my desk.

Not that I've dealt with everything, mind you, but at least it's all sorted and prioritized, and the hottest fires are, at least temporarily, doused.

But I did get some cool swag delivered to my lonely office while I was away. And good stuff sent to me finds it's way to you.

I got this gorgeous book, "Why Dogs are Better than Cats"by Bradley Trevor Greive with photographs by Rachael Hale.  Now before you start bombing me with comments, I certainly did not mean to imply I agree with the title. You know I love my cat and my pack of pooches equally.

The inside cover indicates that the author is simply "pro-dog, not anti-cat." But the back cover carries the text "Dogs are inherently good. Cats are something else entirely."

So, this book, loaded with charming photos and witty observations about felines and canines, will go to the reader that writes a brief comment explaining why they agree with the book's premise that pooches are superior to kitties. Humor will be count heavily toward a winning entry.

Please remember that many feline fans read this blog, so let's not be too harsh. And please refrain from making creative suggestions on how to quickly lead a cat through all nine of his lives. That's just creepy.

And fear not, cat fanciers, you will have the chance to voice your opposing viewpoint, too. I promise.

I'll take comments until Friday morning at 10 a.m. The best one, as judged by a panel of roanoke.com bloggers, gets the book.

Sorry I was absent from the blog yesterday. I was so busy checking Twitter and Facebook  working that I did not get to write a post. So I will make it all up to you by giving away some free swag. Holla for some free stuff!

First I have "Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, Or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat" by Gwen Cooper.  How much do I really need to explain about a book with that declarative title? The author recounts her life with her blind kitten, who saved her life and helped her find love. This book will go to the first kitty lover who can tell me the name of my cat, and no, it's not His Royal Highness no matter how he prefers to be addressed.

The second book is "Nose Down, Eyes Up"by Merrill Markoe. This is a novel is about a man, his four dogs and the women in his lfe and is described on the book jacket as "a revealing examination of the inter-species power of love, sex, family and real estate and why everyone -on two legs or four- deserves to have his or her day." It was an Oprah Book Club selection. This book can be yours if you can tell me the names of my two greyhounds.

And for those who tweet, you can follow this blog on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HappyWag

We haven't had a book giveaway in a while, and today just seems like a good day to put a little doggy literature into someone's hands.

I have a trade paperback copy of author Jon Katz' book "Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me."

Much like the adorably sad, black Lab puppy on the cover, this book is looking for love and a good home.

If you have read Katz before and are a little concerned that you do not have enough facial tissues and fortitude to dive into another one of his books, I understand. I was a little hesitant myself when I bought this title earlier this year.

I can assure you that no dogs cross the rainbow bridge in this series of essays. Some of the stories did make me sniffle, however. Much of the book chronicles the author dealing with his own depression while he and the two dogs of the title train to be hospice volunteers. I know that sounds like a downer, but I found it to be very touching.

This book will go to the first person (that has never won a prize here at the Wag) to post a "Me, me, oh oh oh, please pick me!" comment.

Congratulations to Debi and Sharon for being the lucky draws in our latest book giveaway.

Debi wins "The Cat's Pajamas" and Sharon takes home "Stop and Smell the Roses."

Thanks to everyone for playing.

We haven't had a giveaway in a while, so let's see if one of three new books that I have can end up on your bookshelves.

 I have a hardcover book, "The Cat's Pajamas: 101 of the World's Cutest Cats" by Rachael Hale. It's a collection of photos of several different type of kitties looking just a little adorable. There's plenty of info about the cats, too.

Clearly I could not take it home because Thai, my egomaniacal kitty, is not in the book. He would take serious issue with the title. Yes, I know he can't read but somehow he just seems to know these things. You cat people know exactly what I mean.

I also have a softcover collection of Mutts cartoons titled "Stop and Smell the Roses." I know from counting thousands of comics ballots that we have a lot of fans of Patrick McDonnell's daily strip out there.

Finally I have "The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, D.C.: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog" by Katie Githens and illustrated by Phil Frank. This is a travel book that would be very helpful if you live in our nation's capital or plan to vacation there with your pooch.

Let's keep it simple: Post a comment indicating what book you would like to have (just pick one, please; greedy is not attractive), and I will put your name and selection in an empty Cookie Monster cookie jar here in my office. My adherence to the Weight Watchers program put an end to the cookie jar's productive days. He looks pretty lonely now and would welcome the work. 

Winners will be determined by random draw. I will take comments until next Thursday morning and then pick three winners.

Good luck.

I think I have three very lucky dogs. They lucked out when they came to live at Chez Nelson Resort and Spa for Pampered Pets and I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to serve them.

My cat thanks his lucky stars every day that he has a puppy to beat on.

But does your dog feel lucky? Well, does he?

Then your pup could be the next face on the Virginia's Lucky Dog scratch-off tickets being sold by the Virginia Lottery.

From now until May 26, you can enter a photo of your pooch in the Lottery's Web site's virtual dog park. You can enter as many images as you like, but beware that it is not free to enter; each photo has to have a Dog Park entry number from a losing Lucky Dog scratcher ticket.

Click here for complete rules.

Dog lovers who work for the Virginia Lottery will choose 20 winning dogs to appear on the tickets for Virginia's Lucky Dog II game. Criteria for winning will be based on image quality and they promise to choose a variety of dog mugs, from purebreds to mutts, in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Winners will be announced June 30.

One of the mugs on the current batch of tickets, by the way, is a Roanoke pooch named Murphy (a nice fellow named David from the Virginia Lottery was kind enough to send me Murphy's picture. Isn't he cute!)  

The little Shih Tzu's pet mom, Cindy, works for the lottery and Murphy's made a few personal appearances around town to promote the game.

At this point I leave it to your good senses how much money you can comfortably to invest in this; please don't spend your entire kibble budget on lottery tickets.

It was a tough call, but the book "Cat Capers" will find a home with Lee Baron, who wrote about Midgey and her favorite toy.

Lee wrote:

"It's morning, I'm making the coffee. Not quite awake, and fumbling for the coffee filter, I pan to my right, and there she waits, tall, stark white with her Cheshire green/amber eyes, subtly blinking at me and I know what she wants, no, not her breakfast, not yet, she wants what's in the kitchen drawer. I look at her, we communicate and she's waiting, patiently. I slowly open the kitchen draw, she knows the sound very well, since she could fit in the palm of my hand, I get her prized possession, not a toy mouse, her most favorite thing in the world,......I take it out, put it on the kitchen counter, Oh is she ready....I position the plastic ring from the milk container and Flick it out over her head!! She catapults, whacks it hard and volley's it back onto to the kitchen floor, YIKES, I pick it up with my toe and flip it right at her, she's on it better than the NY Rangers going for the goal! Ah, another awesome morning with my Midgey girl, I giggle, drink my coffee, she eats her breakfast, content, we're ready for the day!"

Other contenders were Cathy's tale of her talented kitties Little Coqui and Mufasa, who found a creative way to entertain themselves with toilet paper and a shower curtain, and of course Melissa, who's Romeo apparently loves cake batter enough to take a dive for it.

Thanks to all the cat lovers who wrote a comment. Monday's Happy Wag newspaper column is about leash-walking felines, so I would love to hear what cat aficionados think about that.

(iStock photo)