Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Dogs and Those Who Love Them

Man, I fit that title. My heart has already fallen in love with a puppy who is yet to come into our home. Who may not even have yet been born. I could tell you all about him, but since he's only in my heart, and not in the plans, it would be cheating both of us.

Dogs are half love for humans and half exuberance for life. That doesn't leave much room for grace. Or ego. Or subterfuge. If they have a moment of grace, trust me, it's almost certanly accidental, and quickly replaced by reality.

I admit to some ego. I confess to subterfuge from time to time (in my past, of course). But that lack of grace thing? That is so me. Probably why I love every clumsy attempt they make at being graceful. Dignified. Pulled together. I can so identify.

My WIP (Work In Progress) has some secondary characters who happen to be dogs. They are a trio. McKenzie (named after my white shadow who we lost almost eight years ago) is a therapy dog. Small and loving, he's never a threat to anyone, but a hope to everyone. Socrates (Socks, for short) is a Search and Rescue dog. He lives for finding survivors. Then, there's the star of this story, Gretchen. Gretchen helps her handler find bodies so there can be closure. Her forte is death. Her purpose is to help those that death leaves behind.

I hope you find a smile somewhere in this:





CR: House Rules by Jodi Picoult.

It's all better with friends.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, I absolutely loved your video. And all of my pets have been "rescues" or a sort. That is, they all searched me out, and kind of, sort of, moved in. I have a beautiful 80 lb. German Shepherd/Malamute mix, Miss Mooka, whom I love dearly. She has me going out walking three times a day with her, though the old "Arthur-itis" is getting to her (she's twelve). And, I have three cats, was four, who all had sad stories, came into my yard, hung around, and I took them in. Did check, but didn't find any owners claiming them. In fact, one owner had thrown the cat out, so to speak, as it was a feral kitty (clipped ear) and too hard to catch, when that person moved away.

    Sorry, this was long. And my mystery sleuth, Bridget O'Hern, has a Norweigan Elkhound, Narvik, who helps her.

    Cheers,

    Pat Harrington, Coming, Winter's Soul, a Gothic Mystery novella from Museitup Publishing.

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  2. Patricia, three walks a day? Zowie. When do you have time to write? Twelve is quite a long time for a large dog. It's clear she's been well loved.

    Animals really do bless us, don't they?

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