It was two in the morning. We dragged ourselves out of bed and went downstairs again. The conservatory was devastated. Anything free-standing had been pulled over; anything wooden had been attacked. There, in the middle of the scene, the queen of chaos herself was standing on top of the table with rolling eyes and a tongue twice its normal length. Andrew had always wanted a dog - something you could mould into the perfect playmate, a feral bond with the outdoors, with what really mattered in life. Tail going like a windscreen wiper, tongue a pink strip, wet-nosed, bright-eyed - what boy wouldn't want such a force in his life? But a man of thirty-seven? And an ex-racing greyhound? Bursting with charm, romance Dash: Bitch of the Year is a heart-warming memoir about the adoption of a champion greyhound bitch and her transformation into ring-bearer at her new owner's wedding. Set over a watershed twelve months, it's the story of wanting the perfect dog and planning the perfect wedding. 'Dash' is far from perfect, but that's half the fun. The novelty of a man trying to organise a wedding is the other half. AUTHOR: Andrew Dilger is based in Oxford. He is a published poet and won the New Writer Poetry Competition SELLING POINTS: Marley & Me meets The Wedding Planner Dilger has done for the retired greyhound what John Grogan did for the Labrador Over 5,000 greyhounds are adopted annually in the UK (and rising) Famous greyhound enthusiasts include Twiggy, J.K. Rowling, Charlie Watts and Jilly Cooper