Do
you have a pet? Have you ever had one? Growing up, I always wanted a dog. With
seven kids, the last thing my mom wanted was something else to look after. Dad
bought a pure-bred boxer puppy. Dumb as a post. And a runner. Whatever dog food
she ate came right back up. Just what Mom wanted to do—clean up puke. One day, the dog ran off. At least, that’s what Mom said. I hope she found a good home.
As
an adult, I still wanted a dog. We’ve had three. One was a cuddler, the next a
runner. You can’t imagine the number of times I chased after him around the
neighborhood. The last was the most well-behaved. A sweet dog who originally
belonged to our son. Right now, we’re between dogs. And I miss the sound of
nails on wood floor as our pet raced to the door to greet me.
In
two of my science fiction series, I worked in dog-like pets. Did they resemble
dogs here on Earth? Sure. Why not? One belonged to an elderly character (The
Chameleon) that helped track a kidnapped victim. In my first sci-fi romance
(Switched), the caninus belonged to the hero’s uncle. If I were a
cat-lover, I imagine I would include a feline in my stories.
There
are two reasons I thought of pets. My son and his family just adopted a Great
Dane puppy. He is so cute . . . and growing like crazy every week. The other reason
is the latest Pets in Space anthology (number 4). I love this series. In
this new release, the pets in each story (by 13 authors) have special
qualities. One is a little dog-like character who reminded me of my sister’s
dog. Another is a snake, and there’s even a burrowing animal that saved a crashed
starship crew from starving.
I
haven’t finished the book yet. So many terrific stories—each about the length
of a novella. Cassandra Chandler was on my blog last Wednesday and shared a bit about each of the stories. She will be here next Tuesday to share more about
this book. Then on November 2nd, our friend and former contributor
Veronica Scott will tell us even more.
I
have no monkey in that circus. I just liked the series and wanted you to know about
it.
Have
fun reading, no matter what you enjoy.
Do
you include pets in your stories?
7 comments:
I LOVED your dog! We always had one when I was growing up (Dad a hunter) and then I added gerbils then a cat to the mix. I've grown aquarium frogs from tadpoles (son's scouting badge), had guinea pigs, a 40-gal aquarium, the world's best mutt and a parade of cats. I can't imagine NOT having a pet (three cats at the moment plus my sister's aged dog). Even the detective heroine in my "By Moonlight" series has guinea pigs that are freaked out by her shapeshifter mate. In our stories, animals develop character in owner and enemy alike. And I LOVE the Pets in Space series!
I have to confess, those aren't my dogs. They all belong to my son & DIL. The top pic is her Dane that crossed the rainbow bridge last summer. He was such a great companion. The pics of our dogs are the old-fashioned photographs and, I admit, I didn't take the time to scan them in.
I remember the tadpoles. Using pets in our stories adds certain elements we can't do with humans. A dog who growls at someone usually is right that something is wrong. Or a cat whose hair stands up. Little clues that maybe that person is the bad guy.
Dogs are more loving, but I prefer cats. Though I would love to have a Dane puppy! What color is he/she?
We always had either a dog, or cats, (or even a rabbit and a guinea pig) while growing up. Now we have a shih tzu, before that a Lhasa Apso- and the girls had a plethora of critters over the years- hermit crabs, guinea pigs, fish, hamsters etc.
Linda, the puppy is a fawn color with shadings on his body. He has spots on his nose and muzzle. So cute.
Maureen, pets bring so much "life" to a home. You certainly have had a lot of pets. I'll bet it was fun.
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