Man IS his best friend

SEATTLE – If Wendy Diamond were a character on “Sex and the City,” she’d have Carrie’s wit, Samantha’s black book and Charlotte’s affection for a pampered pooch. And she’d still be looking for Mr. Right.

“When I broke up with my boyfriend 2 1/2 years ago, everyone started setting me up with men with dogs,” says Diamond, whose love of her life is a 6-pound Maltese named Lucky. “One night it was the Shih Tzu guy. The next night, a boxer. The night after that, a mutt. Then I’d be out with another boxer, another mutt guy … and I just realized (with) the personality traits, the similarities were right on.”

What’s a single Manhattan girl to do? Well, if you happen to be the grab-life-by-the-collar type – and Diamond, the enterprising founder of Animal Fair Magazine ( www.animalfair.com), certainly is – you turn your dating life into a social experiment. Diamond embarked on a series of 128 dates with dog-owners – 32 breeds, four men per breed – in the course of one year and lived to write a book about it (“What a Lucky Dog: How to Understand Men Through their Dogs,” Animal Fair Media, $15.95).

Diamond stopped in Seattle recently on her “Yappy Hour Tour,” which involves throwing happy-hour events for singles and their dogs, with proceeds going to local animal-rescue groups.

Here, she shares some new tricks:

Q So what can you tell about a man from his dog?

A A poodle man, that’s the pedigree with a pedicure. He loves art, wine, culture … (he’s) really into appearance. Tends to have one kid, in private school. Then there’s the mutt man. He’s like the Renaissance man. He’s someone who doesn’t care about where you came from; he’s really down-to-earth. Tends to be softball coach of the Little League team. Really faithful husband.

Q Except for when he’s on a date with you?

A Well, that’s what he’s going to be like. … Brad Pitt’s a mutt guy. He’s a Renaissance man.

Q OK, what are some others?

A The Shih Tzu guy is very zen, like into yoga. A little bit into himself. Little-dog guys tend to be players. They’re maybe a little more into materialism and probably have a little more extra money. Big-dog guys are usually the ones that are looking to settle down. The golden retriever is really into sports and water, loves watching football on Sundays … a guy’s guy.

Q How scientific was your research, and what was your methodology?

A Random. If someone knew someone with a dog … I’m telling you, it’s right on. It only works, though, if the person chooses the dog, like it wasn’t their girlfriend’s dog or something. I never had a bad date. At the end, I started going out with gay men just to have fun.

Q What kind of dogs do gay men have?

A Gay men usually have the more obscure dogs, like Portuguese water dogs. I also found that little dogs go for really secure men.

Q So, after all those dates, did you actually meet someone?

A Can you believe it? No. It’s all about timing in life. … Basically, it’s chemistry – like dogs, they gotta smell the right way.