Congratulations to Dr. David Gross, our “Edmonds Vet” columnist, who won fifth place in the Memoir/Personal Essay category of the Writer’s Digest Annual Competition.

Gross received an award for his 1,400-word essay, “Travels with Charlize, in search of living alone,” which is based on the My Edmonds News series chronicling his life on the road with his dog Charlize.

Gross graduated from Colorado State University’s veterinary school in 1960 and was in private practice for 10 years. He retired in 2006 as Professor and Head of Veterinary Biosciences, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has written “Animals Don’t Blush,” which describes the unique patients and even more unique clients of a veterinary practice in Sidney, Montana in the early 1960s, and “Manhunt,” about a true crime family.