Hi friends, and happy Wednesday. I hope your year is off to a great start! It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through January. The past year flew by. It was a year of wonderful things—moving back into our house post-flooding. A year of crazy things—my oldest grandson starting middle school. How did that happen? A year of heartache—we lost our pup of nine wonderful years.
Meet Griffin. He was our giant (literally—200 pounds) nine-year-old Newfie. We were so sad to lose him, but for giant breeds, nine is a pretty good lifespan. But it wasn’t nearly long enough for us. Griff started out like a stinker—think wild puppy but adorable ball of fur, but then he became a rug with an attitude. He had the most personality of any pet we’ve had, and we’ve always had pets.
I grew up with miniature schnauzers.
And a gorgeous white cat who was the size of a medium dog. Kid you not. Melissa was huge. Now, we’re turning back to cats, which will be an adjustment after being “dog people” for so long. But I have the best memories of Melissa, so I’m looking forward to the snuggles and pouncing play.
My husband and I travel frequently, and our in-laws live with us, so we needed a pet that would work well for them. My eighty-plus-year-old father-in-law walking a two-hundred-pound new-to-us dog would have been quite the feat. So, we landed on these adorable cats. Yes, we got two. Mom and daughter. We went to look at them and just couldn’t separate them. We’re so excited to rescue and bring him Jinxy and Jazzy. We get them from their foster mom next weekend. I’ll be traveling far less to welcome them home.
Our grandkids are so excited. They have a gorgeous Macaw named Ellie, but birds aren’t exactly cuddly; she’ll welcome you with a good morning or hi or goodnight, depending on the time of the day. She was a rescue, too. We love rescuing animals into our families.
My youngest daughter and her husband also rescued a highly energetic husky puppy a few months ago. He’s a sweetheart, but full of playful mischief.
What about our characters? I love giving my heroes and heroines pets. So far, they’ve been dogs. Like this gorgeous one who belongs to none other than Griffin (see where we got the name lol!), McCray’s dog Winston in Cold Shot. I think they really add to characters and let you see another side of them—protectiveness, a softer side, a loving side. And the pets are characters too. In my novella The Shifting Current, my hero Logan Perry has a horse named Bathtub—there’s a true story behind that name ☺
How about you? Are you a dog, cat, bird…fill-in-the-blank…person?
Do you enjoy it when animals show up in our stories? Do you have a favorite fictional animal?
Blessings until next time,
Dani
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Dogs rule and cats drool…my books are all about a pet-sitter and big black dogs!
Lol! Love it.
I’ve owned dogs and/or cats pretty much all my life. My last cat died in the fall of 2024. My little dog is 8. I can’t imagine a home without one or the other. And most of my books feature a dog or a cat too.
I’m so sorry about the loss of your cat. Losing a pet is so difficult. Love that you feature pets in your books 🙂
I used to be a dog and cat person, but then after our Pekingese Mickey passed away, we only had our cat Misty. I was okay with that because my health was declining along with my ability to take a dog for a walk. When Misty died a year after Mickey, we waited almost ten years before getting our cat Daisy. She is feisty, plump and trained to sit, beg, fetch and heel. She acts like the dog that I can’t have anymore, so I have the best of both worlds with her.
Aww. That’s wonderful! I read the breed of cats we got are more dog like so we’ll see but that would be fun 🙂
I love when there are pets in the story! Just don’t kill them off (I have never read Ole Yeller nor seen the movie!). We currently have two old lady dogs (13 and 14, but they are small dogs) and one long-haired chihuahua who will be a year old on Valentines Day. I also love names that mean something, my newest is named Libi because “The Hebrew name Libi (לִבִּי) means “my heart” or “my beloved,” derived from the Hebrew word lev (heart), symbolizing deep affection, love, and a central place in someone’s being. It’s a modern, intimate name used in Jewish communities, often as a term of endearment.” You know, Valentines Day and all. 😉
In the past I’ve had a number of pets with interesting names: a crested canary named Ringo (for the Beetles haircut), and an African Gray parrot named Gandalf (because Gandalf, the Grey). The list goes one but that’s enough for now.
I love that about your pet’s names. That is so cool! Thanks so much for sharing.