Mary Jane Checchi, who describes herself as a 'lapsed lawyer' and 'recovering political addict' used to write press releases, speeches, and briefing papers for employers such as former Senators Edmund Muskie of Maine, Birch Bayh of Indiana, and Gary Hart of Colorado. She served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel to then Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (one of the youngest and only the second woman Staff Director in Senate history) and as Executive Director of the Senate Iran-Contra Investigating Committee. 

She has left all that behind -- happily, she insists -- to write ARE YOU THE PET FOR ME? CHOOSING THE RIGHT PET FOR YOUR FAMILY. Drawing on a lifetime of living with companion animals and hundreds of interviews, Checchi has written a 'must have' book for any family considering pet ownership.

Ms. Checchi lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband, former Senator John C. Culver of Iowa, their son John Vincent, two cats and two dogs. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the New Community Afterschool and Advocacy Program and the Washington Psychoanalytic Foundation. Together with her dog, Dandy, she belongs to PAL (People Animals Love) and participates in PAL-sponsored visits to patients and residents of hospitals and nursing homes.