5 questions about floppy ears project

Does your dog have big ears that hang low? If so, Kathy Brodsky is all ears.

Brodsky is a Manchester psychotherapist who also teaches children through her illustrated books. Her next project, The Winner Is . . ., will feature drawings of a dog with floppy ears, sketched from photos sent to her by local people, who could include you.

Brodsky and a panel of two others will choose a floppy-eared dog to grace the cover and each page of the book, due out sometime before Christmas.

Along with three photos of each dog, Brodsky asks that artists send a donation of at least $5 to an animal shelter of their choice. Her last book, Purrsnikitty, included drawings of someone's lucky cat and raised $678 for shelters.

The deadline is Feb. 28, and the winning dog will be announced on Brodsky's website March 8.

How did you get started with children's books? I swim all the time, so I wrote about how bathing suits fade and get saggy and baggy. I brought it to people at swimming, and they said they liked it. You find something new to do, and people encourage you and you keep doing it.

What's this book about? A dog who is bored at home and sees a poster that says your cat can be the star of a book. The dog says, "I can make all these changes," so he goes and has to get hair and long claws and learn how to purr and meow.

Why floppy ears? The red bird that's in all my books will help the dog win. While he's sitting, his floppy ears are being held up straight by the bird's claws so the dog will look more like a cat.

Any physical requirements besides floppy ears? It doesn't matter how big the dog is. If the dog thinks it can be a cat it can be any size. It can be big, it can be small, or it could be a Great Dane. Doesn't matter.

Any guidelines for floppy ears? Sophie, my 8-year-old cocker spaniel, is the poster child for this contest. People can look at my website and see a floppy-eared dog.