Shortly after Christmas, my husband Dan and I adopted a pup from a surprise litter at a rescue organization. We both love dogs, so how hard could a brand-new puppy be?
Oh. My. Word. (Stop laughing!)
Needless to say, we spent the first few months of 2022 exhausted as Dancer, aka Dani, trained us to be good puppy parents. Thankfully, she’s matured a bit (and so have we, Lol). At seven months old, Dancer is adorable and fun and makes us laugh every day.
Dogs have such personalities, don’t they? This is why I’ve written pups into several books. There was Moondoggy in A Shore Thing and Wolfy in The Christmas Thief, and coming soon—Olive in Reunion in Saltwater Beach.
What can I say? With our new dog’s sweet personality, I was inspired!
As I mentioned, Reunion in Saltwater Beach releases soon—in two days, actually. It’s the story of a big city lawyer, a small (beach) town girl, and a foster pup who needs some lovin’. I hope you’ll click over to Amazon, read a little bit more about it, and either preorder or add it to your wishlist. (It will soon be available on Kindle Unlimited as well.)
Here’s something fun: Answer one of the questions below for a chance to win the ebook version for your e-reader. (Hurry! Winner chosen the morning of June 22.)
Questions:
In addition to Dancer, we’ve had three more pups in our family: Casey, Pixie, and Charlie. What’s the name of one of your pups and why? And if you’ve never had a dog, what would you name one if you could?
JULIE CAROBINI writes inspirational beach romances. She is the author of two dozen novels known for spirited heroines, charming heroes, quirky friends, and the secrets they keep. Her bestselling titles include Walking on Sea Glass, Runaway Tide, Beach Sunrise, Reunion in Saltwater Beach, and more. She has won awards from The National League of American Pen Women and ACFW, and her books have received bestseller status many times. Julie is Mom to three young adults and lives on the California coast with her husband, Dan, and their rescue pup, Dancer. Grab a free eBook here: www.juliecarobini.com/free-book
We have two giant Schnauzers, one of whom is called Rhoda, after the servant in Acts12. But there’s more to the story… about twelve years earlier we had acquired a ‘ spoodle’ of questionable origin, and I immediately decided that it would be called‘Rhoda’. You can imagine the teasing from my children when we discovered Rhoda was a male, whose name was hastily changed to ‘ Kish’. But the name remained in reserve until we got a female who could be called Rhoda!
Hi Julie! Oh puppies are fun and lots of work to train them to be good doggies. Our family enjoys the herding breed Shelties. They stay in their yard, are a watch dog, and good with children. Hubby and I had McBeth for 12 years. In the 1980s he guarded our children boys when we lived in Chicago. Then for 16 years we had Penny. She was so very good with our youngest son and all 4 our grandchildren. Our oldest son has Mocha. Penny and Mocha were the best friends. When Penny passed at almost 70 with health issues, we now don’t have a dog. Our son’s children missed Mocha and now have a Blue Merle Sheltie Ivy, which we share so these old folk can get their doggy fix. Ivy was the school mascot during Covid when the three oldest grandchildren attend Oma’s Virtual Academy and visits on a regular basis. She visited Opa yesterday for Father’s Day. Our son says she acts more hyper like Penny when she is at our house, and more laid back like Mocha at their house. Have to love our beloved 4 legged family members. Best wishes. Enjoy reading books with animals.
Mom got a dog when I was going into college. She is a sports fan, so they came up with the name Rookie. We were all in “new jobs” at the time, and that sweet dachshund/poodle mix gave us all love and challenges.
I like dogs if they belong to someone else. They are adorable but they tie you down.
We rescued Weezer, an 11-month old coonhound. She was a stray and it was clear she’d never lived in a house before. There were some challenging “what have we done?” Moments. But now, approaching her 4th birthday, she’s the sweetest , most affectionate, funniest dog ever.
The rescue named her Ouiser after a character in Steel Magnolias. We changed it to Weezer and it fits.
Candy was a member of our family for 15 years. She was a terrier/mixed breed (mutt), a sweet dog, a playmate for our kids. But we decided not to get another dog after her because we couldn’t always take her with us when we travelled, and a kennel was too expensive. I enjoy being friends with others’ dogs.
My son named our dog Dunkin because he likes Dunkin Donuts.
My new puppy is Max (female) for Max Black in Two Broke Girls. My last dog was Puppy. We adopted him at 4 y/o and called him Puppy for the first year because we couldn’t agree on a name. He answered to it so it stuck and he remained Puppy until he passed away at 18.
I use to have a white dog named stella it was half havense and half cottondeTulare but I got rid of it I got sick of it
We had one dog while I was growing up, and we named him Spot. We’re definitely more a cat family, as we had more of them. Now, when I need a pet fix, I visit my neighbors, since they have dogs and cats.
On the farm we had an Irish Setter named Sherrie. This means “Darling” and she was such a sweet lady girl. We also had a Cocker Spaniel mix we got when us five kids were little. Her name was Lady. Because she was a girl and so sweet. Shortly after I got married we got a Keeshond. Her papered name was “Penelope the Persistence” we called her “Penny” for short. But she was the most Persistenant dog I have ever know. LOL She kept our family lively and fun.
I’m glad you got your Rhoda! And how funny, our Dancer is part husky, poodle … and schnauzer! :-)
Renate, I love all the names! And what a perfect idea to make Ivy the school mascot during such an unprecedented time in our lives. Dogs can be so comforting.
Rookie! So cute. Love it.
I hear you. Thankfully, we found a great doggy daycare nearby. It’s owned by a family that our kids went to school with. Dancer loves it there (and she gets super tired out so she’s calmer at home, lol).
Ah, sweet Weezer. Great name!
Yes, travel has been interesting. We took ours to Yosemite and that was fun. Otherwise, one of my adult kiddos watches us for her. Love the name Candy :-)
Haha!
Puppy … so cute. My neighbor has an old dog named Kitty. :-)
It’s funny, Trudy. I only had cats growing up. Wasn’t a dog person at all. I think I just fell in love with my little Pixie…was in my 20s at the time. Then dogs stuck.
Penelope the Persistence! Love that her name fit her so well :-)
She is adorable! I’ve only had one dog. I recently had to let he go after 17 years. It’s been heartbreaking. Her name was Roxie 💜. I’m not sure about another dog yet but if I did I might name her Daisy or Winnie.
I’m so sorry, Tonya. I understand. It took us about two years before we were ready again. They just wriggle their way into our hears, don’t they. Love the name Winnie ❤️
Hi Julie, your Dancer pup is Beautiful! We have one pup and he is 9 yrs old and he is half Schnauzer, or so we thought. Our son’s girlfriend got us a DNA kit for him and he is of 13 breeds of which Schnauzer is at the bottom of the list. according to his DNA Poodle is at the top of the list and so are other breeds. And to think of that when Honeybear was like 6 weeks old or less his original owner was giving away the whole litter because they were not full Schnauzer , they had even cropped their little tails. Well, we had just lost a pup we had had for 7 yrs and I was not ready for another pup but my husband went and picked out a pup for me and all I can say that I will forever be thankful that he went and got us our pup . Our pup is our great gain and the original owners big loss. Our pup is so very sweet and I would not trade him for the world. I love pups in books. Have a great week and stay safe. (not entering this giveaway as I am not tech savvy and I don’t read ebooks at all, but thank you.)
Alicia, I’m so happy you have your sweet pup!! Dancer is part poodle too and doesn’t shed … we didn’t plan it that way, just another blessing. I wonder if this is the same for you? Thank you for the kind words. Reunion in Saltwater Beach will be available in paperback later this week, if you’re interested. Please check back.
I had a dog whose name was Faith. She was half Maltese and 1/4 Yorkie and 1/4 Poodle. I got her as a small puppy. She died at the age of 18. She was an awesome dog!! I miss her so much!
Wow, Kathleen, your sweet pup lived a long life. She sounds precious.
no pets; Grace?
My mom & dad had a dog when I was little named Heidi. She was a miniature Schnauzer who had a curly tail because we never docked it. My husband and I only had two dogs in our marriage, the first one was a Lhasa Apso named Abby & then a Chihuahua Terrier mix named Rosie.
Abby was already named before I married my husband and Rosie we named together. She just looked like a Rosie, I guess :-) We don’t have pets anymore since we had to put our dog & cat down within about a year of each other (old age/ cancer). It’s too hard to think about having to go through that again somewhere down the road.
I love reading books with dogs in them (or any animal really), they bring their own personalities to the story!
When I was a child, I was able to name two dogs. I was about 4 or 5 years old. A neighbor of my aunt and uncle’s dog had a litter of puppies. My parents let me pick out one. I named her Candy. When I started college, I went to the humane society and came home with a cockapoo. She was so small as a puppy, she sat in the palm of my hand. I named her Ladybug. They were both such good dogs. We currently have three cats since we are disabled, it is challenging to be able to walk a dog. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
While your pup is cute I am not a dog lover as I have a fear of dogs. I can get use to them but it takes time and some I still cant get use to. People I cleaned for had dogs getting use to them from pups helped but it took awhile. I am more a cat lover and have 2 Libby (short for Liberty) and Henry who are both sick right now with cat flu, Libby is improving Henry is at the start (Libby shared). (Liberty was cos I was getting a rescue cat and I figured it was liberty from uncertainty. I also like the quote from Patrick Henry “Give me Liberty or give me death”. Henry is partly due to Patrick Henry I didn’t want Patrick but Henry works and it is also mum’s maiden name and if I was a boy I would have been Michael Henry. when hes naughty its Henry James, turns out that was dad’s fathers name who I never met but it was Henry James Blake so it fits him) I know they are not dogs but I figure I would explain them anyway.
I do like reading pets in books and dogs are funny.
We use to have a sheep dog when dad was a farm hand called Nip (came from the book we learnt to read from nip was the dog and fluff was the cat).
I would definitely put something like cotton or pompom on it
Hi Trixi, I love the thought of a schnauzer with a curly tail :-). And it’s funny because Dancer was named after the reindeer ( she was born around Christmastime.). Her foster mama named her that and we kept it but months later I told my husband that I wish we’d named her … Rosie!
Ohhh, cockapoos are soooo cute. Ladybug is a great name!
Hi Jenny, Honestly, I had a fear of dogs too. It wasn’t until I had my own as an adult that I became less fearful. I love that you call your rescue cat Henry James when he’s naughty. What a crackup! Cats can be so expressive. My aunt has one named Cleopatra, and she acts just like she’s in charge, Lol
I have a Goldwndoodle named Daisy. I picked her name because Daisy’s are happy flowers and she’s the biggest goofball.
Ahhh… goldendoodles are fun! I babysat one for a week and he was a dream. :-)
My last Chihuahua’s name was Samson. The why is probably obvious- such a little thing trying to act powerful!
When I was growing up my family had a collie mix that we adopted from a local shelter. His name was Cody, which my mom was mainly responsible for choosing, but I’m not really sure why she choose that name. If I adopted a dog now I would probably name it Ocoee, after the river in Tennessee, which isn’t too far from where my grandma lived.
I have a puppy named Lola because my daughter picked the name after a girl on the movie , “Hannah Montana”. My daughter was only 4.
LOL
Oh, I’ve never heard of that river, but what a fun reason for naming a pet!
Hi Alicia – You’re the winner of an ebook copy of my new book, Reunion in Saltwater Beach! Congrats! Will contact you via email.
So cute!
Hey everyone, a winner has been randomly chosen for the giveaway! (Alicia) Thanks for entering!