There’s another side to storyteller Susan C. Willett

Susan is an author, poet, photographer, humorist, and blogger—and a neurodiverse synesthete and empath—whose award-winning original stories, photography, and humor can be found on her website Life With Dogs and Cats. She shares her home with just the right number of cats (four), and less dogs than she would prefer (one). Halley the Border Collie / lab / terrier mix and cats Dawn, Athena, Calvin, and Elsa Clair and provide her with more than enough inspiration, whether it’s hiding in a box or taking up an entire sofa.

Follow Susan’s life with dogs and cats on:

Facebook /  Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube /

Life with Dogs and Cats

Life with Dogs and Cats is an award-winning blog where Susan posts her stories and articles about life in a multi-species household. With articles, essays, poems, tales and photography, she serves up humor, heart and how-to, never taking sides in the internet’s dogs vs. cats debate.

Highlights include:

Dogs and Cats Texting™ (also a separate Tumblr site)

Haiku by Cat™ and Haiku by Dog™ (also separate websites: )

Calvin Tiberius Katz, The Most Interesting Cat in the World (who went viral)

Writing

Susan’s essays have appeared in multiple anthologies. While many are dog- or cat-themed, not all are. You can find her work in the following books

• “What’s Wrong With Your Dog?” and “The Sound of Home” / Second-Chance Dogs by Callie Smith Grant / Revell / September 2018
• “Calvin’s Best Friend” / The Magic of Cats / Chicken Soup for the Soul / July 2020
• “Shooting Star,”/ Listen to Your Dreams / Chicken Soup for the Soul / August 2020
• “The Wrong Kittens” and “Calvin’s Gifts” / Second-Chance Cats by Callie Smith Grant / Revell / September 2020
• “How I Learned to Speak Cat” / My Clever, Curious, Caring Cat / Chicken Soup for the Soul / September 2021
• “The Dog Days of Winter” / The Dog Who Came to Christmas by Callie Smith Grant / Revell / October 2021
• “Every Day is Boxing Day When You Live With Cats” /The Cat in the Christmas Tree by Callie Smith Grant / Revell / October 2022
• “In Her Shoes,” as Rose Demarest / Kindness Matters / Chicken Soup for the Soul / March 2022
• “Shooting Star” and “Calvin’s Best Friend” / Me and My Dog / Chicken Soup for the Soul / February 2024

Susan has received multiple awards for her work as a writer and creator, including a Nose-to-Nose Award for writing from BlogPaws, seven Muse Medallions (for writing, humor, poetry, photography and video) from the Cat Writers’ Association, and three Maxwells from the Dog Writers Association of America— their highest honors. In addition,Susan is an acclaimed speaker, offering insight on topics such as humor, social media, and writing for the Web. She is currently in the submissions process with several children’s picture books and a novel that she authored, and is currently work on a second novel and a memoir.

Photography

Except in a few rare cases, all the photography on this site and—including all page headers—are Susan’s work. Her photos have been featured on the cover of Ruff Drafts (the publication of the Dog Writers Association of America) and on the Somerset County Activity Guide. Several of her photos were selected for participation in a local art exhibition —with one of them chosen for the show’s poster. She was honored with a Cat Writers’ Association Muse medallion for her work, and has been a finalist or semi-finalist in several photography contests, including those sponsored by BlogPaws, Petco, and Hauspanther.