Usually before I do a blog post, check to see what “National…Day” it is. Often these days don’t fit into my thoughts for the blog, but occasionally they are perfect. When I found out that March 23rd is National Puppy Day…well, I couldn’t resist.
For one thing, I’m a serious dog person. Serious. Part of it is that I’m (unfortunately!) allergic to kitties, but I would be a puppy person either way. Currently we have five dogs living in our house (I know, right?) We’ve got my two dogs, Sadie, my shepherd/pit bull mix:
And my Missy, a terrier mix, who is getting up in years:
Then there’s Mea, shown at the top of this blog post. Youngest wanted a chihuahua she planned to name Romeo. Well…she came across this adorable Chihuahua mix . (A serious Heinz 57 blend. We suspect she may even have non-canine genes, LOL) SHE happens to be a female, so of course my daughter named her Romea. Hence, Mea.
Middle has a Chihuahua named Paris who currently lives with her, and her second dog , a purebred Yorkshire Terrier whom we affectionately (or annoyingly, depending on whether he’s barking his head off when people are trying to sleep) call Jack the Yipper. Jack-Jack is staying at our house until Middle and Youngest move into a house together next month.
And then there’s Oldest and her family, whose last name is Baer. They are currently living with us and are planning on getting their own place in a couple of months. They recently adopted the adorable Yogi. (Ha ha, get it?)
My sister runs an animal sanctuary, so I’ve been known to write everything from goats to kittens to horses, and my personal favorite, piggies. I’ve written mustang rescues (The Cowboy’s Twins) and dog sanctuaries (Texas Christmas Twins,) and even a police dog (Her Valentine Sheriff.)
I have precious little lambs coming up in my June book, And Cowboy Makes Three. Oh, and let’s not forget Psycho Rooster. You won’t want to miss him. He’s hysterical.
So now that you’ve been officially introduced to my pack and the mélange of animals I write in my books, I thought it would be fun to turn the tables on you. Do you like reading about animals in your romances? Which animals are your favorites? What are your favorite books with quirky animals as secondary characters?
Deb Kastner’s next book from Harlequin Love Inspired, And Cowboy Makes Three, will be available May 21st.
Wemble says
Hi Deb, wow you have a busy household!! I like dogs, we used to foster puppies, but when I returned to work full time- no more dogs. I don’t think it would be fair to have dogs when they would be alone for most of the day.
I don’t mind reading stories with animals. Our family are currently reading (and listening to the audiobooks) John Grisham’s’ Theodore Boone series, one of the characters has pet parrot who causes rather a lot of mischief- even imitating the judge when they all end up in animal court!! We all had a good laugh when we read/listened to that part.
Blessings:)
Renate says
Hi Deb! What a fun blog. Loved the title. Delightful animal photos. Always enjoy reading romances that include pets, especially unusual pets. One of my favorites is a stray homing pigeon in Aubrey Wynne’s Paper Love or Pansy, the goat in Valerie Comer’s Urban Farm series. Animal shelters or sanctuary stories are definitely intriguing and inspiring. Read stories that include cats, dogs, birds, pigs, and horses. Congrats on your upcoming release. Best wishes!
Elizabeth says
I love reading books with animals in them! I feel like that’s an added bonus. I enjoyed Melanie Snitker’s Finding Forever in Romance and the animals in that book.
Karen Surprenant says
I was a vet tech, retired now. We have a small farm with chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, peacocks, sheep and a donkey. In the house we have 5 dogs, 6 cats and 15 baby chicks in the basement. It’s too cold to put them out now.. I also take animals from people who for many reasons can”t keep them. Also when the schools hatch eggs for projects they bring them here. Keeps us a little busy. LOL
Melanie D Snitker says
What a fun blog post! I love reading about animals in books. Dogs and cats are great, but unusual pets are even more fun. We only have two dogs, but in the past we used to have a duck, reptiles, amphibians, and a variety of rodents. We did rescue a large tortoise a few weeks ago, but did rehome him as there was no way we could keep something that would grow so large. LOL
Diana says
I enjoy animal stories. I like the rabbits we’ve had. They are affectionate and litter box trained. We’ve also had gerbils , robo(dwarf) hamsters, anoles, frogs, hermit crabs, guinea pigs, parakeets, and fish tanks as we were raising our kids and doing daycare. We always had a house full of kids and critters! Now that we’ve retired and kids are grown we have one rabbit and one hermit crab.
Lila Diller says
We only have one dog. Since he’s hyper and thinks he is my third child, he’s all I can handle right now. ? I do enjoy reading about pets in books. In fact, I incorporated some of the dogs I’ve known into my novels, as well. I can’t wait to read about that hysterical rooster!
Paula. Shreckhise says
I like stories with animals in them. They can be used in so many ways. We have had dogs and cats but none right now as we rent. Hubby would like a hound. I would prefer a cat. Maybe later. Thanks for a great post. I enjoyed it and will look forward to reading about that rooster!
Lori Smanski says
what a fun post. I grew up on a farm in CA. So i love all animals. I was in 4-H, so i rode a Palomino named Goldie, we did a lot of barrel racing. I had a shorthorn cow named Burgandy Rose and we won a trophy for the states of CA, AZ, NV. And then all the other animals. My mom and I saved a runt piggie when it was born. His name was Squeek and he became a 500 lb. boar that was a fantastic breeder after he got over being afraid of other pigs ( he thought he was a human, LOL) While the kids where home growing up we had all kinds of animals at home. Now the kids are gone and we have one talkative and affectionate cat named Shadow partly because he follows us everywhere
Deb Kastner says
Sounds like you’re super busy with your crew, Karen. Peacocks? That’s one I haven’t heard before. I don’t even think my sister’s sanctuary, which has a little bit of nearly everything, has a peacock. So cool!
Deb Kastner says
Sounds like you’re super busy with your crew, Karen. Peacocks? That’s one I haven’t heard before. I don’t even think my sister’s sanctuary, which has a little bit of nearly everything, has a peacock. So cool!
Deb Kastner says
Sounds like you had a fun childhood. I especially like the story of the pig who thought he was a human.
Deb Kastner says
I had such a kick writing about Psycho Rooster. Much of it comes from personal experience from when I was a kid. Roosters scare the dickens out of me.
Deb Kastner says
Maybe I’m showing my age here, but I remember as a kid when hermit crabs were all the rage. Unfortunately, I’m terrified of them. My second grade teacher made me hold one in my palm. When it moved, I instinctively threw it across the room. To be fair, I warned the teacher that I did NOT want to hold a crab.
I’ve heard rabbits make wonderful pets. And I love hamsters!
Deb Kastner says
A tortoise? How cool! I don’t mind some rodents (hamsters) but since the back of our house meets a field, we already have mice. And snakes–which I really dislike. Okay, I’m scared to death of them. I’ve tried holding them to get over my fear, but no go.
Deb Kastner says
I’ve always wanted to foster puppies, but we seem to have our fair share on our own.
Sherri G says
I’m very much a cat person but I love stories with dogs, horses, and of course, cats in them.
Julianne Archer says
Your pictures are adorable, especially the little lamb and Yogi :)
I enjoy stories with animals, probably because I love them! We’ve had a Rottie (you’ve not lived until you’ve seen a Rottie sit pretty!), and now have a Shih-tzu/Yorkie, along with two cats. I’m more of a cat person, but am glad to have both.
My husband told me I couldn’t have a baby Siberian Tiger, if you can believe that, so I got a kitten :). Terror, I mean Kiera is a beautiful sleek black kitten and annoys (hence Terror) our dog and other cat. She’s a reformed barn/feral kitten that someone returned to our groomer that socializes cats for adoption. The groomer got hold of me and voila! we have another kitten. She might be a pain to some, but I love that she plays fetch with me, with the dog’s toy of course, and that she’s 99.99% black!
Jackie Smith says
I do love reading books with dogs featured in them. I especially loved a book with a border collie because we had one and I loved learning more about them, their personality. Sigh…ours was hit by a truck and died 3 wks. ago.
Becky Smith says
While growing up, we had various animals who were abandoned by our corner house. I love the quirky animals in Jen Turano’s books. I remember a quirky cat in one of the Arcadia Valley romances. I think it was Elizabeth Maddrey’s book Muffins & Moonbeams, but I’m not sure.
Linda Rainey says
I love all kinds of animals but currently I have a cat.
Jessica B. says
Wow! You definitely have a full house right now! I do enjoy reading about animals but I can’t think of any specific book titles off hand that incorporated them. I think it’s interesting to read about pets that I’ve never owned.
Deb Kastner says
Oh, no. So sorry, Jackie. Dogs are family members. =(
Deb Kastner says
Now what’s with that? I can’t imagine why your hubby would nix the Siberian tiger. =) “Terror” sounds fun, though. Wish I could have a cat.
Deb Kastner says
I adore horses and get to ride once in a while because of my sister’s sanctuary. But I get to write about them all the time, seeing as all my heroes are cowboys.
MJSH says
Animals are fun in books. I love dogs in stories but can handle most animals in any plot…even reptiles.
Shannon Taylor Vannatter says
Hey Deb, I like putting animals in books too. And I like reading books with animals in them. I’m a rare breed – equally a cat and dog person. I currently have 3 cats. Our son’s chocolate lab died last fall, so we’re dogless at the moment. I have to mourn for a while, so it takes me a while once we lose a pet to get another.
Rose says
Love does and animals Most of my animals are rescues. I have a rescue cat at the moment. Your book sounds awesome. Thanks for the chance to win it.