As a mystery writer, I love writing humor. Think Seinfeld meets Mary Higgins Clark. You know there is going to be a dead body or a crime of some kind, but you'll be laughing along the way to solving it.
After many years of writing and being a dog mom, I decided to combine the two. After all, I was gifted with my first Pomeranian puppy when I was five. I grew up with a dog beside me with only one small gap of about a year or two when one dog passed and we didn't get a replacement. That emptiness was soon resolved by the appearance of a Chihuahua who one day showed up on our front porch. The little thing had swollen pads, was underweight, and not at all friendly, but could you blame her? Yet she became a loving family member who was one of the most devoted dogs we ever had. We named her Bambi since she resembled a fawn.
Bambi showed us how loving a Chihuahua could be, whether it was settling down on your lap or pawing your arm to be petted. She also liked to situate herself on the couch between my boyfriend and I, growling at him and giving him the Chihuahua eye. Never mind that she was 6 pounds and he was a 6'1" trucker. The attitude was evident. Now if that's not a funny sight.
Poor Bambi had epilepsy, which we treated with meds. We had no idea how old she was, but the vet guessed about two. We had her for seven years before she passed. Not very long for a Chihuahua, but those were happy years.
Sparky, our Shih-Tzu Pomeranian was about four weeks old when he picked us to be his family. That dog was human! A little man with fur. Scary smart. He understood the name of every toy he owned, probably twenty or more. There was Oscar the Ostrich, Lamby the Lamb, a ball, a sock, etc. If you said, "Go get Oscar," he got Oscar. But he also knew, "Go get the ostrich." He amazed people all of the time.
Then there is my little Peanut Girl, known as Sassy. She's a long-legged apple head variety of Chihuahua that we got when Sparky was almost sixteen. We knew he wouldn't be with us much longer and Sassy was such a help with the transition of losing him. She weighed about a pound and a half when we brought her home. People would say things like "For a few dollars more, you could've got a real dog." Or "My cat's bigger than her." But Sassy quickly grew into her name and became quite sassy. I also call her Missy Moo because she is black and white, with one black ear and eye and one white ear and eye.
Despite her small size, Sassy excelled in obedience class. She learned numerous tricks like playing the piano, jumping hurdles, and moving objects when told to do so. The class was in clicker training and she graduated with honors.
So she wouldn't be lonely, we got Rex, another black and white Chihuahua, only he has long hair and resembles a Papillon. It must be the ears and the mask. For the same reason, some people mistake Sassy for a fox terrier. If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me, "I didn't know they have black and white Chihuahuas", or "I didn't know there are long hair Chihuahuas", I could have bought a really nice snuggle bed for them. Which they have anyway. Sassy, being the smaller dog, decided she wanted the bigger bed, so Rex was relegated to the smaller bed. Just like husbands and wives, you know who's in charge.
So when I decided to write a humorous novel, what better way to incorporate those funny stories than by drawing on my own experience as a dog mom? I just hope the reward of writing this novel will be as rewarding as the love of all of my dogs has been for me.
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