Going To The Dogs (Patricia Potter)

You might have noticed that this is a blog inhabited by animal lovers.
Inspired by Tara‘s new pup, I thought I would explore the subject of critters in my life and in books.
My mom’s in a nursing home. I go over there every night with Ting Ting, my ancient rescue Shih Tzu who loves everyone but particularly older people. Someone found her half-starved in a churchyard with a broken jaw, skin disease and a kidney stone as big as an egg. I am convinced she was formerly owned by a senior citizen because, unlike most dogs, she loves walkers (walking aids, not people who walk). She loves to sleep beneath wheelchairs, and we cannot go by an elderly denizen of the nursing home without her coaxing out a pat or an ear rub. She even goes up the statue of an elderly couple every night and waits with hope in her eyes for them to lean down from their permanent position and say hello. She will be in one of my future books, as have many of my animals. There they will romp and love and be loved once again.

One of the nurses at the nursing home loves books and is halfway through my back list. Last night she stopped me and wanted to know why one of my books didn't have an animal in it since all the others had. I’m not quite sure myself how that happened; I think it must be the only one that does not have a critter of some kind.
There’s a good reason for my critter mania. I just plain have a difficult time understanding anyone who doesn’t like animals, and obviously I had better like and understand my characters. Therefore, my books are peopled with any number of animals.
Most come from my own experience, starting with Trudel the Dachshund. Then came a dog named Ben. Ben was my first rescue dog, a cowardly, lovable mutt I adored. When he died, I wasn’t ready to let him go, so I gave him another life in “Island of Dreams.” He trips the villain and saves the day.
Since then, there’s been Socrates, the bad-tempered monkey owned by a similarly crochety blockade runner. The former was inspired by a monkey that bit my brother (I heartily approved at the time). There’s Abner, a mouse that was owned by a hero who had been unjustly imprisoned. Then there's my ferrets (Tristan and Isolde) in "Starcatcher." Brunhilde the chicken was crucial to several scenes in “Lawless,” and I fell in love with Peppermint, the pony in the "Marshal and the Heiress." One of my favorite heroes – David Farrar in “The Greatest Gift” -- had adopted Gertrude, a blind dog wandering the highway; Henry, another abandoned mutt; Long John, a three-legged cat, and Samantha, a rabbit who’d been destined for a stew until rescued. Now that's my kind of guy!

And it continues. My heroine in my upcoming book – "Tempting the Devil" – has a rescue cat named Daisy and often cares for her neighbor’s elderly teacup poodle called Damien. Damien memorializes my late half-dog, so called since I kept her half the time while her owner was out of town.
But I digress.
My newest proposal for a romantic suspense features a paramedic who is involved with parrot rescue programs and has one called Merlin. That says a lot about her right there. At the risk of giving away the plot, Merlin solves the mystery.
There are more animals -- too many to name -- that made me smile as I told their stories. I especially like rescue animals in hopes it will inspire readers to adopt one. But you get the point. Animals enrich a story and give new dimensions to the characters. They provide moments of humor and, on occasion, tears. Their names alone tell much about the hero or heroine: their whimsy or lack of it, the way the view the world.

But now it’s your turn. Do you have a favorite fictional animal from a book or movie? Or do you have a special critter in your own life that you believe deserves a place in a book?
As Tara said earlier this week, animals definitely make life richer. They make you laugh when you need it, and offer comfort when you’re sad. They are always there, asking very little in return. I can’t imagine being without them, in life or in books.