Wintery Writing Companion

 Ahhh a tribute to our furry writing companion(s)?

Checks the outdoor temp.

A balmy 21 degrees.🥶

Leans back in chair

Eyes the porch

Spots this winter baby and all her DNGAF glory:

Oh, I know it's cold out there. She's a husky. All that floof? Multiple layers of furry insulation. She'd rather be lolling in the snowdrift that's beyond the frame of the photo but is settling for the outdoor couch. This same girl leaps into bed at the asscrack of dawn during a snowfall to inform me that The Great White Wet is happening and that I ought to be joyful and when, oh when, am I taking her outside to frolic?!?

See that look on her face? That's the look of "unless you're bringing me a cookie, it hasn't been two hours since our last outing, so get back to work."  sigh Such a taskmaster.

I wouldn't trade her for the world. 💖

Furry Editors

This week's post topic is An Homage to Writing Buddies: Be they furry or friendly!

I'm pretty sure I've shared pics of my baby dogs before, but since we're bestowing a little special honor on those who help (and sometimes hinder) us through this writing gig, I'll be sharing a few more.

This is our old girl Harley. Harley is the sweetest German Shepherd in existence. She is 15 years-old and hates getting her picture taken. She's a beautiful queen. Super gentle. Astonishingly smart. And she's been at my side for a very long time, watching me write several books that will never see the light of day--and some that will. She's my best friend.

This is Roscoe the English Bulldog. Where Harley is my BFF, Roscoe is my child--the baby that cannot be without his mom. He's painfully cute and his hobbies are sleeping, eating, and shoving my laptop off my lap so he can plant his eight pound body on me. As you can see, he is ever at my side and constantly trying to figure out how to get closer.

And this is Nash, Roscoe's brother. Nash is...well, Nash. He's so sweet sometimes and a bit of a handful absolute terror at other times lol. He keeps things lively in our house, that's for sure! Sometimes he just wants me to be done with writing, and when that happens, he does this 'stare down' thing. It's what I call the HURRY UP stare. He's also been known to use his paw to slam my laptop closed if I don't pay attention to him. Needless to say, I unfailingly let him win.

And those are my furry editors, always at my side. I love them with my whole heart.

Bela {bey-LA}

She is also (sometimes) called Pook, Pookie or Pook-a-hontas, but don't you DARE call her Bella. {gag me} She is Bela, as in Bela Lugosi, and if you ring my doorbell she will make you think she's coming through the door to eat your face.

posing for Yule pictures

We found her at a no-kill shelter when she was about nine months old, by their surmising of her teeth. She's been the floor-pillow for my boys, the reason we go for walks, and the reason we sometimes hastily clear the room for over ten years now. I've seen her catch and kill small vermin and -impressively- a few ground hogs. I've seen her mope when the boys go to their dads. 

When mom moved in, I worried this big dog might knock her down the steps, but they established a 'dog-goes-first' rule and they regularly went outside together, especially when my mom would say, "Let's go smoke, Bela." Since moving north, Bela has missed mom...but she visited this past weekend. And yesterday, Bela laid in the floor of my guest room from the time the bus ran {i.e. when Thomas left for school} until it was time for it to bring him home. 

She misses my mom. If you add up dog years, they're comparable --if spunky-- old ladies. (:

her spot in my office

 FUN FACT: Bela hates treadmills.

her badass sweater 

  

FUN FACT: Bela loves bread and stinky cheese.

her spot in the living room

FUN FACT: Bela once nearly toppled a grooming table 

freaking out over getting her nails clipped.

she was both the bridesmaid and the groomsman at our wedding

FUN FACT: Bela is believed to be part Rottweiler, 

part Black Labrador, and part German Shepherd or Chow 

because of the spots on her tongue.

of course she only wanted food

this was her pose for the group shots

She has been with me longer than I have been published. 

She's been at my feet nearly every time I write.

So she is definitely part of my process, 

what with her quiet snores and her keen ability 

to force me to forego my sedentary ways 

for short periods of time. {wink, wink}