After our last dog passed away a few years ago, I didn’t want to get another dog. My husband has dog allergies. We have two cats. I always end up with scoop-the-poop duty. And vet bills can be unpredictable. But our boys seemed to miss having a dog around the house, so so we researched to find a “hypoallergenic” dog that gets along with cats and decided a poodle would be a good fit.
Enter Harley . . .
Harley is a Parti Poodle, which sounds fun but just means the poodle’s coat is at least 50% white and has patches of another color: cream, in her case. Harley even has a big cream-colored heart on one side.
We brought our bouncing puppy home over two and a half years ago. While male poodles often have a closer connection with one member of the family over the others, female poodles tend to make a special connection with each member of the family. And Harley really has. She responds differently to each of us, greeting me with wiggles and wags when I come through the door and cuddling whenever I sit down for prayer, following my husband when he gets home until he has time to pet her, zeal and zest with our nineteen-year-old son, and more subdued and obedient behavior with our oldest son, who has autism.
She is such a special dog. She loves to do training and play catch and go for walks–although she’s much better for my nineteen-year-old than for me on a leash. She also loves to cuddle–my favorite too–and even lets the family know when it’s time to sit down for the evening Rosary, which she probably enjoys because we are all together.
One of my boys discovered how fun she looks in pictures he takes with his cell phone.
Lately, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with filters on GoAart. It’s free and fun.
But Harley is so special she also got a cameo appearance in my newest release, Summer at West Castle! This clean Catholic romance came out January 18, 2023. Story one-liner: A young woman’s act of mercy toward a man she’s never liked puts her on an unexpected path that challenges her to look beneath the surface.
Excerpt:
After driving aimlessly for an hour, sunlit scenery on less-traveled roads doing little to lift my mood, I returned to town, to the city center, and pulled into an angled parking spot across from Saint Michael’s Church. An old man sat on a park bench in the quiet park before me. A middle-aged woman walked a white-and-tan poodle on the sidewalk, right past my car, or actually the dog walked her.
~from Chapter 27 of Summer at West Castle
Yes, I’m the middle-aged woman! And the white-and-tan poodle is Harley! Like I admitted already, she does better on a leash for my nineteen-year-old than for me.
I like the idea of getting exercise by walking the dog, but it’s even more fun to let her go off leash in an open field. I don’t have to worry about her running away because she always stops and looks back to make sure she can still see me. And when I call her, she comes running to me. Most of the time. Sometimes she has to stop and sniff something along the way.
I got the idea for including Harley in the story–even though she just has a bit part–from Leslea Wahl, author of the award-winning The Perfect Blindside and other favorite YA books, all contemporary mysteries. Her dogs often make cameo appearances in her stories: her labradoodle Everest in the Blindside books, labradoodle Kahlua in Into the Spotlight, and her Dalmation Lexus in Where You Lead.
Leslea Wahl even wrote a children’s book To Serve and Protect about a dog named Siena who does her best to fill in for her military family’s daddy while he is deployed. It’s really such a cute story.
And I got the idea for blogging about my dog from inspirational author Carolyn Astfalk when she posted “Puppies, Possibilities, and God’s Generosity” The blog post is HERE. Her new dog, Tillie, is quite adorable! And Carolyn does have a pet in one of her stories too. It’s not a dog though. And it’s not a glamorous role but . . . well, In Ornamental Graces, Emily’s brother’s family has a cat that barfs on the floor when Emily is babysitting. It’s so nice to have pets in stories! And Carolyn’s stories have such real, down-to-earth elements…like with Emily’s brother’s cat. Even though it’s Christmassy, this one would make a wonderful February read because of Valentine’s Day!
The authors:
Here are the pictures of the authors I mentioned: Leslea Wahl, Carolyn Astfalk, and me! Click on the names to reach the authors’ websites. And yes, I totally used that fun GoArt filter thingee on our pictures! I hope the authors don’t mind…. I tried to use filters that were flattering, as opposed to ones that did things like this:
I’ll close my post with one last thought about Harley. I didn’t really want another pet, but Harley makes me so happy every day with her wagging tail and sweet golden eyes and the way she tilts her head when you talk to her . . . She reminds me how much God loves me.
Just think: everything good in the world was created by our loving Heavenly Father for us. And when I think of all the cute, cuddly, interesting, silly, beautiful, and wonderful creatures in the world, my heart stirs to know that God made them for me–to comfort me and make me happy and sometimes to make me laugh. And He made them for you too, of course!
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for Harley.
Things Visible & Invisible 