Hi! My name is Jack. Do you have
treats? Here’s a kiss on your hand because it has a treat in it, right? Right?
My brother Al will be here in a
minute. He’s sleeping. People call us “old timers”, but our mommy prefers to
say we’re teenagers. We still act like dogs half our age.
(Al,
snorting awake)
Huh? What? Is there food? No? Okay. (Falls
back asleep)
Want to go for a walk? We’re
Mommy’s personal trainers. Since I’m a Labrador retriever and Al is a Lab-husky
mix, we love to go for walkies. If Mommy has been sitting in front of that
glowing thing she calls a “laptop” too long, I stare at her until she takes me
out. I can stare for a long time.
Sometimes it’s because I want food, too. Are you sure you don’t have treats?
Here, I’ll roll on my back in the grass to entertain you.
(Al
leaps up in a sleepy stupor) Where’s Mom? Where’s Mom? Is she in the
kitchen? I love the kitchen! Oh, hi. I’m Al. When did you get here? Do you have
treats? Here, I’ll sit. And nudge your hand. Everyone says I’m very silly.
(They say Jack is handsome, but don’t tell him that. He has a big ego.)
Our mommy does this thing called
“writing romance novels”, which is when she stares at that laptop for hours,
muttering to herself. Jack and I sometimes think she’s talking to us and we wag
our tails. She also talks to “Siri” when we’re out on our walkies and she gets
an idea. Oof. Just thinking about walkies makes me tired. (Passes out in the grass)
Jack again. I was busy digging in the
mulch. Mommy is a finalist in a contest called the Golden Heart. She’s going to
a big conference next week for the Romance Writers of America. That means Al
and I get to hang out at Grandma and Grandpa’s house--yes! The book Mommy wrote is called Puppy Love. It was inspired by the time she spent working at an
animal shelter. Don’t talk about that with Al--that’s where she adopted him
from.
(Al,
chasing bunnies in his sleep) Don’t like cages. Don’t like cages.
The lady in the book is a
veterinarian who moves to a small town in Southwest Michigan to work at an
animal shelter clinic. Some of the cats and dogs in the story were inspired by
pets Mommy knows. There’s a naughty husky who talks she says is like Al, and
two needy Weimaraners she says are like me. I don’t think so. (Crawls up on your lap) Tell me I’m a
good boy. (Al woofs in his sleep)
Our mommy’s a big supporter of
giving pets a second chance at a forever home. The man in Puppy Love is, too. He’s a lawyer from Chicago who’s back in his
hometown to help his mommy because his daddy “crossed over the Rainbow Bridge”.
He rescues an injured dog in the pouring rain at the start of the book. I like
him--he has treats. These two lost people find their way together by helping pets
in need. It’s like the shelter’s motto: Where
Two Hearts Become One.
(Al
opens one eye just to make sure a turkey sandwich hasn’t fallen near him)
Mommy is excited about making lots
of new friends as she pursues her dream of being a published author. She asks
people to “Like” and “Follow” her, which I think means sniffing each other’s
butts at the park. If you see us, say hi! Al and I love making friends, too.
Especially if they have treats.
Do you have a rescue pet story to
tell? Please share it in the Comments!
*****
Kelly Farmer has been writing
romance novels since junior high. In those days, the heroes were the star
quarterback on the high school football team who drove Corvettes and were named
Brad. Now, she writes down to earth stories about the guys and girls next door.
Her current manuscript, Puppy Love, takes place at a small-town animal
shelter in a fictional Southwest Michigan resort town. It is a 2015 Romance
Writers of America Golden Heart® Finalist in the Contemporary Romance category.
When not writing, she enjoys
walking her two large, spunky senior dogs, quoting from Eighties movies, and
following NHL hockey. Kelly lives in the Chicago suburbs, where she complains
about the weather 300 days a year.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyfarmerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyFarmerAuth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyfarmerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyFarmerAuth
*****
J-Dog thinks Jack and Al are awesome, and he will be keeping his paws crossed for Kelly during the Golden Heart ceremony July 25 (which you can watch live - for more info, go here). He's hoping Kelly will write another book called Kitty Crush.
J-Dog wanted to remind you of the good work the Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic does. They provide much needed low cost, high quality spay/neuter services. You can learn more about them on their Facebook page.
One of the great things the Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic does is a TNR program. Trap-Neuter-Return involves trapping the cats in a feral colony, getting them spayed and neutered, adopting out kittens and friendly cats, then returning the adult feral cats to their territory and providing them with food and shelter. TNR significantly reduces noise from fighting, odor from spraying, and more litters of kittens.
J-Dog does all his shopping through AMAZON SMILE. Through this program, Amazon donates 0.5% of eligible purchase to a charity of your choice, like the Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic. J-Dog is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card (purchased through Amazon Smile to help the Spay Neuter Clinic) to one of the people who leaves a comment. Check back Wednesday to see if you won.
Up next week, Lou Anders's fish Lilly Pad and Blue. The fish turn things on their head and make it #FishyFriday. They'll be talking about the latest Thrones & Bones release, Nightborn. It is going to be awesome. Can't wait!
