Steve Dale, a leading pet journalist, has been announced as the opening keynote speaker for Petfood Forum 2014. He will kick off the 22nd edition of this exclusive conference for the global petfood industry on April 1, 2014, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA.
Dale, who is also a certified animal behavior consultant, reaches more pet owners than any other pet journalist in America, with a twice-weekly syndicated newspaper column through Tribune Media Services and as the host of two nationally syndicated radio shows, Steve Dale's Pet World and The Pet Minute (together heard on more than 100 radio stations, via syndicated Black Dog Radio Productions).
Dale is also a contributing editor with USA Weekend and the blog Petphoria and a special contributor and program host for Steve Dale's Pet World on WGN Radio in Chicago. In addition, Dale is a columnist and special correspondent for Cat Fancy magazine and a blogger for the Chicago Tribune and other websites, including for behaviorist Victoria Stilwell.
Dale has authored two e-books, Good Dog! and Good Cat! (Chicago Tribune, 2011), as well as DogGone Chicago and American Zoos. He also edited Decoding Your Dog, written by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (due out in 2014). On TV, he has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer, Pets Part of the Family, PBS, various Animal Planet shows and many others. Currently, he's a contributor to syndicated HouseSmarts TV.
Dale is a founder and former board member of the CATalyst Council, a board member of the Winn Feline Foundation and the Tree House Humane Society in Chicago and a national ambassador of the American Humane Association. He also serves on the advisory board for national animal-assisted therapy organization Angel on A Leash and for BlogPaws, as well as part of an AVMA/AAHA initiative to encourage preventive care veterinary visits, called Partners for Health Pets.
At Petfood Forum 2014, scheduled for March 31-April 2, Dale will describe how a dog changed his life, how he embarked on his career and what he has learned throughout it from pet owners, including their perceptions (and misperceptions) about petfood and pet nutrition.