It almost escaped me, but May is National Pet Month!
This is Hoka, keeping company with me in my office. The head tilt says it all . . .
We’ve had cats and dogs over the years, but dogs are our favorites. Oreo, the black lab. Dok-dogi, the malamute. His name means “Smart Dog” in Korean. Bear, the Chow & Samoyed mix. And Hoka, the Smartest Dog in the Universe. So smart, she should go get a job and support us . . .
My blog post publishing June 11 on my website features all of these canine pals who’ve graciously shared our cave over the years. Go there on the 11th to see more pictures and read about their antics.
So, the questions for TKZ pet parents today are:
1) Do you presently have a pet; 2) Do you give your characters pets; and 3) Reaching back into your pet memory banks–what is or was your favorite pet of all time?
Hoka is absolutely ADORABLE. Oh that head tilt just melts me!
I love animals in general but dogs are my favorite and I’ve been privileged to have many marvelous dogs in my life over time.
My collie/shepherd mix Bob Barker from childhood was my favorite dog, then in adulthood, my beloved Cody Starsky. I still miss them both so much.
Pets are one of the greatest gifts we have on this earth. Especially dogs.
Brenda, I love the name Bob Barker! I’ll bet he was special for sure.
When I was a child, I had a chihuahua named Pepe. As he got up in years, he’d meet the neighbor’s dog, a huge spaniel named George, out on the sidewalk of a morning and the two of them would stroll down about 6 houses, then turn around and come back. They looked just like two old gents going for their morning walk together. I wish we’d thought to get a photo of that!
Thanks for sharing Bob and Cody with us this morning… 🙂
My brother named his hamster Art Linkletter.
Hmm…wonder why…🤔
I have been fortunate enough to have been owned by a number of dogs (and a few cats), over my life… and like any good parent, none of them were my favorite – they all were…
From the Beagle named Boy that (who) I looked after as a kid, and the English Springer Spaniel named after Amelia Earhart (her brothers were Orville and Wilber – they lived with an airline pilot you know…) to the mixed rescues and pedigreed Goldens, I’ve been fortunate to have had canine companions most of my life…
Currently there are three bigguns (two from our youngest son who had roommates or girlfriends who ended up being allergic – his loss/our gain) – a 90 pound, hair-shedding mix-rescue, and two Golden Retrievers… You should see them walking/dragging me down the country road here, especially when their ears perk up because of some squirrel or cow that catches their sometimes divided, but oftentimes combined, attention…
As to having them as characters in my yarns it all depends on the story… but they do humanize things a bit, and I try to at least reference one when I can… and have them as more than just set dressing…
Though I don’t often see pups/pets in things I read, there are a few from time to time that make MY ears perk up… I especially like Longmire’s dog, Dog… now there’s a name that rivals my Beagle’s…
“…fortunate enough to have been owned by a number of dogs”… yep, George, that’s how it is. We think it’s the other way around, but when your dog brings you the leash and drops it at your feet, the truth stares you in the face.
I like Longmire’s Dog also, and didn’t John Wayne have a dog named Dog in one of his movies?
Thanks for adding a bark or two this morning!
Yup… I think it was Big Jake… and rumor (okay, Google), has it that that’s where the Duke got his nickname – from HIS dog…
Aha!
Thanks for dogging that bone for us, George!
🙂
Cats cats and more cats. I currently live with 2 felines in my motor home. Whoever said cats are standoffish have not met my two knuckleheads.
Hi Jane! We’ve had a few cats over the years also. And you’re totally right about their personalities. My favorites were our three black and white tabbies. The first was named Sylvester. He was huge, and looked just like the Looney Tunes version except his nose wasn’t red.
And the other two, what a pair! We got them on the same day as kittens, from two different owners, one had long hair and the other was a short-hair. Their names were . . . Smith and Wesson. We’d always thought of having a small gate sign made-“This property protected by Smith and Wesson”, but alas, we never got around to that.
Have a great Friday!
I have a dog. We got her from the local animal rescue shelter twelve years ago.
Some of my characters have had pets, and some have significant roles. (But they don’t talk, and don’t have POV status.)
Asking which pet over the years–we’ve had fish, dogs, hamsters, gerbils–is like asking me which of my children is my favorite. Or which of my books is my favorite.
Morning, Terry! Yes, it’s hard to choose. We try really hard to not let Hoka know she has predecessors…she thinks she’s the only one!
Thanks for chiming in here this morning.
Great topic, Deb.
Hoka looks like a real sweetie. She also looks like she is analyzing you.
My wife and I have not had dogs in recent years, because we were both working away from home for long hours.
My favorite dog was a pug, Teddy. Although Pugs are supposed to be lap dogs for old ladies, when Teddy was young he could run and dodge for hours. My four siblings and I would chase him in our yard and try to catch him. He could dodge like a running back. Great memories!
Have a great remainder of National Pet Month!
Hey, Steve!
Analyzing me?
Yep-she likes to sit and watch me while I wrangle words out of my laptop. And, don’t tell anyone, but I talk to her sometimes. Try out ideas for a scene on her. She has an “I like it” face; and she has a “meh” face. I swear she knows what I’m saying!
Thanks for sharing your running back, Teddy, with us today. He sounds like a great doggo…
Have a great day!
Happy Friday, Deb! Hoka looks like a wonderful doggo. Reminds me of Katie, a German Shepherd that used to be in our “Read to the Dogs” program at the library, which let kids read to resting service dogs. She was a real sweetie.
With our beloved cat Mittens passing in March at 17 1/2, we currently have no cats. After 35 years of always having cats, we’re taking a bit of a break, but the house is definitely emptier. Mittens and his litter mate brother Simba (who died in 2019) were my writing buddies for much of their lives.
There is now a kitten in my library cozy series, Honorius (named after the 5th century Roman emperor).
As for favorites, I loved all of my cats, from orange tabby Tango of my youth to Siamese-domestic short hair mix Kuan-Yin (now she was a queen), black Indra, Max the Manx, Sylvia the Turkish Van (inherited from my late father), and of course, Simba and Mittens, big domestic short hairs.
Have a wonderful weekend!
“Read to the Dogs Program” . . . what a wonderful idea, Dale! I’ll bet that was a popular day for kids and their grown-ups.
Mittens lived for 17 1/2 years? That must’ve been hard to lose him. My Sylvester lived over ten years, and I thought that was a long time.
Love the names you gave your cats. They’re a regal species for sure and deserve kingly and queenly names.
Thanks for adding to the discussion, and have a great weekend, my friend!
Currently I have 7 fish. My house can’t handle dogs or cats. An Axolotl will be joining us if he survives the drive from Lexington, KY to St. Louis. He is the last of a group of four sprung from a biology lab.
I have been a dog sitter from time to time. Pablo was a standard poodle I took care of from time to time. His parents were show dogs. Pablo couldn’t walk straight enough for Westminster so he went to a more normal house.
When my brother’s dog died he couldn’t take having and losing another dog. For about 20 years now he has volunteered and an animal shelter. They love him. He is a bigger guy and walks the larger and more aggressive dogs.
Good morning, Alan!
My daughter kept fish for a long time. She had some beauts, and always swears up and down they have personalities just like any other pet. I guess you’d have to live with them to see that. I once had a couple of parakeets, a blue and a green, who’d swoop down and steal the Monopoly pieces off the board when the kids and I were playing.
Love that your brother is putting his grief in a good place. It’s hard find a healthy outlet, but it sounds like he has found it. Good on him.
Hope your Axolotl makes it. I did a search on it, and it looks like an extremely entertaining life form. It said it’s also known as a Mexican Walking Fish. But there was also something about a salamander…so, it’s a fish with legs?
Have a great day!
Translation of Hoka’s head tilt: “Deb, are you sure that character has a convincing motivation?”
We always talked to our dogs. They had excellent vocabularies and recognized many words but their faves were always “Walk” and “Cookie.”
Having a dog now isn’t practical so I “rent” neighbors’ dogs to take for walks and to spoil with peanut butter treats. Also during walks, cat regulars come out to say “Rub my ears.”
A local cat’s slogan: Cats rule, dogs drool.
Ahh, Debbie, renting the neighbor’s dog for a walk. How cool is that?
Speaking of vocabularies-I forgot to put this in the post, but I’m convinced Hoka can now read lips! I’ve been working with her on that, and she recognizes it when I say, “Is it time to go?” with just my lips moving. Absolutely no sound!
Wonder if we could somehow monetize that… 🙂
Love the pic of Hoka, Deb. She’s a beauty.
We don’t own any pets, but the main character in my Watch series has a border collie named Barkley. Barkley likes to chase squirrels and ducks while on long runs with Kathryn. He hasn’t solved a crime yet, but you never know. 🙂
Barkley-love it, Kay!
Hoka will chase anything that moves, although she seems to know that she’s no match in the speed department with the quail population around our property.
So, will Barkley get to solve a crime in an upcoming book? Do tell . . .
Cats! My first cat, Elsa, was a special favorite. So was Monty. Actually, I love them all.
Hey Elaine! Good of you to meow in…🤡
My mom was fond of saying, “Pets are people, too.” I fully agree with that, be they dogs, cats, fish, or parakeets.
Dad used to say, “________ (fill in the blank) is just a person in a fur coat.” Hoka would agree, I’m sure, and so would Elsa and Monty.
Good weekend to ya!
I have two rescue kitties…Suzy Q who even at eleven gets into everything and Tux, a tuxedo cat that just showed up one day and never left. (Don’t think it was the food I gave him)
I have dogs in some of my stories, but so far haven’t had a cat.
Good afternoon, Patricia!
Love your cats’ names! My little sister had a cat when we were really young, and before she could talk in full sentences.
The cat was mottled orange, brown, and black-not sure of the breed. She got to name him…Kudware…pronounced just like it looks. We never did find out why…😂
Have a good weekend!