Santa Cruz author offers dog-loving women a new kind of bone

Santa Cruz -- In her newly released book "Treat Your Man Like a Dog and Live Happily Ever After," local Santa Cruz author Maia Madden examines the unconditional love women have for their dogs and suggests that they treat their men with the same kindness, caring and forgiveness.

Madden, the proud lover and owner of Rocky the Pug-a-Poo, began her exploration of love, dogs and lovers, by observing herself.

In the preface of her book, Madden reflects on how, "I felt ashamed that I didn't show the same feelings for my loved ones as I did for my dog... What if we could treat our mates as well as we treat our dogs? Wouldn't we all be a lot happier?"

In an attempt to answer this question, Madden looked at dog lovers who could not manage to show love to their men. In her book, she develops a doggie-based theory to help women maintain their relationships with their partners and be kinder to the world and themselves.

"It's not meant to be deep philosophy, it's just a wake up call," said Madden.

While reading the book, "The point is to have an experience where you observe your self. ... Don't loose perspective. Look at your dog, look at how you love your dog, and simplify your relationships with people," she said.

Madden uses the compassionate and attentive treatment women offer their prized pooches, as a model for how they should treat their men: more pets, more play and less criticism.

"You can't be overly critical if your going

to survive in a relationship, just like you can't be overly critical if a dog has an accident," she said.

The book, and Madden's goal, is to encourage people to "just be nice," to treat each other with the same understanding that they treat their animals. It could have easily been written from the perspective of men who love cats, or people who love birds, "you can relate to the aspect of men and women being alienated from each other whether you have an animal or not," she said.

Madden is a believer in you give what you get. In other words, the world will return to you the kindness you give, just like dogs return to their owners the unconditional loyalty and love that is given to them.

"I think any relationship can last if you nurture it," she said, whether it is between a woman and a dog, a woman and a man, or a woman and the world.

"We're perfectly capable of transferring the same loving, kind and forgiving emotions we have for our dogs, with relationships with men and women," she said.

Madden not only looks at relationships, but how people live their lives. She carefully considers "The Toa of Dog," or how dogs go about their daily routine, always making time for love, rest and plenty of fun. She suggests not only relating to your man in the same way you relate to your dog, but also relating to the world in the same way your dog relates to it.

"Your dog shows you every day that happiness is a natural state of being," she said.

Madden's book, "Treat Your Man Like a Dog ...And Live Happily Ever After," is available locally at Bookshop Santa Cruz and Capitola Book Cafe. It is also available online at amazon.com and robertsonpublishing.com.