I’ve never been a huge animal lover.
Growing up, we had dogs and cats. Living down the road from my grandparents’ dairy farm, I was exposed to all kind of barnyard animals.
When our boys were small, we added a beautiful Yellow Lab to our family, but due to our son’s allergies, our Samantha ended up living with a newly married couple on a large farm.
From then on, we limited our pets to aquarium fish and stuffed animals.
When our youngest son went off to college, I struggled with the quietness of our empty nest. That dang living room clock ticked so loudly.
I had been doing research for Lakeside Redemption, which releases in January 2015 through Love Inspired. My heroine is a dog trainer. So, as I did more research, I started dropping hints to Hubby about us getting a dog again. This time, something lap-sized.
Last October, my mom received a beautiful Chihuahua mixed rescue dog for her birthday. From the first time I saw Penelope, I fell in love. When my mom had a heart attack, I took care of Penny. I continued to search online for the right dog for our family, citing facts to Hubby such as owning pets reduces stress, helps with exercise, etc. Hubby said, “Too bad we couldn’t find a dog like Penny.”
In January, my mom had another heart attack. After returning home from the hospital, my mom expressed some concerns about caring for Penny properly and asked if we’d be willing to take her.
So I’ve been a new Puppy Mama since January.
For someone who wasn’t an animal lover, my heart has been turned upside down by my four-legged, furry daughter. She snuggles on my lap when I’m writing, jumps with excitement when I walk through the door, and wakes me up with puppy kisses.
Now I can’t imagine my days without her. Who knew novel research would turn into a real life adventure?
Your Turn: What kind of pet do you have? What benefits do you see to owning a pet?
Married 25 years to her real-life hero, award-winning author Lisa Jordan knows a thing or two about romance. She and her husband have two young adult sons who have their own creative streaks. By day, Lisa is an early childhood educator. By night, she writes contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after for Love Inspired. She is the Forum Coordinator for My Book Therapy. She is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such. In her spare time (ha!), she loves good books, romantic comedies, crafting with friends and feeding her NCIS addiction. Visit Lisa at www.lisajordanbooks.com.
I have a miniature Australian shepherd, blue merle(basically a cool combination of black and white). I love my baby. He follows me everyone and even pouts (in my room) when I’m not home, which is trying for the family if I’m away for a few days, but I couldn’t imagine life without him. He’s always there when I need a hug and is a devoted little friend. He listens when no one else will. :)
Lisa, I love the story of how you got your dog. We used to have a dog and cats and when our kids were young we had hamsters and fish, too. Now we are empty nesters all the way around. We had our daughter’s cat for 12 years after she graduated from college and moved away. Now that we live close to them, she has her cat back. So I visit with him whenever I go over to her house.
I like your story about your fur baby. My newest one is a cat. I have had better luck with cats than with dogs. My last cat was with me for 20 years. She was the only one to come out of my house fire with me. She was my heart. I was so sad to lose her this past August.
Enjoyed your story about how you came to love your Mom’s little doggie. I’m particularly a dog lover; most any kind of dog I love. But I now have a beautiful light brown with white highlights Lab/Chow mix named Buddy. He is such a big baby, but also a wonderful watch dog. We have a good time together. ;)