New Year, New Dog...by Sheila Claydon

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There are animal characters in quite a few of my books, some wild, some domesticated. A horse, a dog and a lot of birds feature in Mending Jodie's Heart. It's not surprising really as we are a pet loving family. In the past there have been gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, turtles, and the largest lop-eared rabbit ever. He was so tame that, as well as being house-trained, he used to join our dog on the rug in front of the fire whenever he got the chance. The dog, a sheltie/collie cross, appeared to sigh heavily whenever that happened. He put up with it though. Nowadays we only have a dog but our daughter, who lives nearby, has horses, dogs and a very naughty rag-doll cat as well as a 40 year old Reeves turtle that seems determined to live forever. So incorporating animal characters into my books is an inevitability. And now there is another one!

Somebody please play ball

This is Lilo (pronounced Leelo from the children's program Lilo and Stitch). Adorable and naughty in equal measure, she has a back story that is a book all of its own. The last puppy born in a litter of 8, she is far smaller than her brothers and sisters, definitely the runt of the litter, and to add to her woes one of her front feet is minus all its toes. On top of that she has a cough that ends in a spluttering retching sound that has us all waiting for the next breath.  Despite the missing toes and the cough, however, she is the most appealing little thing.  

When my son-in-law went looking for a replacement dog for a recently deceased and much loved 14 year old King Charles Cavalier spaniel (not that it is possible to actually replace a dog) he found Lilo. The rest of the litter had all been sold but because nobody had wanted a tiny, disabled dog with a cough, the owners were considering keeping her for breeding if she proved strong enough. Whether it was because he rescued her or whether it just her nature we'll never know, but she is the most joyous of dogs and everybody has fallen totally in love with her. The other dogs have accepted her too, and the cat. In fact she has very quickly stolen her way into everybody's heart.

The lack of toes doesn't impede her in any way either. She can already keep up with the older dogs, play ball and throw her toys around with abandon. She has a huge appetite too although I don't think she'll ever be very big. And she is the first in the queue for treats. Most amusing of all, because her back legs are slightly too long, she looks like a tiny and very appealing kangaroo when she sits on her haunches with her front legs in the air. 

The cough is almost better now as well and she has been given a clean bill of health by the vet despite her mild disability. 

Paisley, the older dog in the household, is a trained school dog with a job to do. She spent a year training and follows rules and directions to the nth degree, but despite that she seems to enjoy sharing space with Lilo, a dog who is unlikely to follow any rule any time soon, partly because of her appeal and partly because she so loves to be cuddled that the no furniture and no lap rules seem to have disappeared completely.  So, despite her inauspicious start, Lilo appears to have fallen on her (3) feet and has a very happy life ahead of her. We are looking forward to being part of it.

Waiting for her master

Cuddling up to the next best thing to a human

Sharing a bed, any bed, is just what I do!

• I am trying to stay awake but it's hard