Sharon Pflaumer, an NIU alumna and staff secretary for Student Housing and Dining Services, has caught the attention of animal-lovers across the nation for many years.

Pflaumer has written for several national magazines, including Dog Fancy, The Bark, Draft Horse Journal and Good Dog! She was a regular contributor to Dog World from 1991 to 2003.

“I’ve always had a natural affinity for companion animals, dogs in particular,” Pflaumer said. “I connect with them emotionally.”

Pflaumer said she has been writing since she was a kid. When she wasn’t writing, she was playing with her dog, Rover, or with friends’ pets. Now, she occasionally contributes to Dog in Canada, the official magazine of the Canadian Kennel Club. Her work has been reprinted internationally and in dozens of dog club newsletters in the United States.

She started writing her pet column, Paw Print, for The MidWeek in DeKalb last May. She said she particularly enjoys hearing from her readers.

She said she gets a lot of e-mails from people telling her about their pets and asking questions about different kinds of animals and their care. Her pet columns often focus on subjects her readers ask her to write about.

“Whenever I write a pet column about a particular kind of companion animal, I have one primary goal. I try to give the reader enough information about the animal so that he can make an informed decision about whether or not they should get it for a pet,” Pflaumer said. “The more informed a potential pet owner is before getting a pet, the more likely it is that he or she will provide the animal with a long-term home.”

Pflaumer said this is important because pet abandonment has reached crisis proportions in the country.

Most recently, Paw Print was a finalist in the Dog Writers of America’s annual national writing competition. The other finalists were Steve Dale and Amy D. Shojai, both well-known national authorities on pets, Pflaumer said.

Dale has a syndicated column that is featured in the Chicago Tribune and also hosts WGN’s Pet Central radio show. Shojai has written 18 books on various pet topics and is also the president emeritus of the Cat Writers Association.

“To have my work placed on the same level as [Dale and Shojai] was a real thrill,” Pflaumer said. “My long-term goal is to get my MidWeek column syndicated … nationally.”

Pflaumer now has three collies. In the past, she said, she has owned several dogs, three horses, three cats, a canary, a parakeet and two turtles.

Companion animals have played an important role in her life. She said the devotion of her pets helped her stay afloat emotionally during crises in her life.

“While relationships with members of own species grow increasingly transient – one of every two marriages ends in divorce – companion animals are always there for us,” Pflaumer said.