Semi-fictional stories from an introvert with a dog
Author: Miss Andi
Learning to be unapologetically me but healthier. Shamelessly personifying my dog, Mia, who is my soulmate, though doesn't let me read as much as I used to. One day I'll finish a novel that will not save the world - but might make it smile.
This is the most important question going through my head today. It’s sunny today, somewhat windy and cold but great hiking weather. Normally we would be outside in the Buda hills to enjoy the smell of the spring, the budding flowers, the new green. Instead, I chose my Muse, and stayed inside. Just like the past 2 weekends. When will Mia have enough?
Why yes, I’m 100% searching for books that feature a dog! This promised an easy read, romance and happy ending, and it mostly delivered.
The human main characters, Margot and Will are both carrying a lot of baggage, pain and self-doubt, and it takes a dog to heal them.
They meet at a shelter where they both fall in love with the same dog: it happens, but then, without knowing each other, they decide to “share” the ownership: one week here, one week there. (I did need to suspend my common sense here for a bit. I mean, no way, that can realistically happen. But once you accept that it does, the story is cute.)
The dog in question is Blossom, a shy staffie. I liked how Blossom brought everyone together, how she helped them open up, not just these two but the others connected to them as well. Will’s mom, who didn’t want a dog but fell in love with Blossom anyway,
I found her own process of healing very similar to my own rescue, shy first, rebellious later, it was well written. The romance was also good, slow, detailed, precious although I could have done away with the agonising in the last 70 pages or so.
All in all this book delivered what I wanted, what it promised: romance, dog, family.
Our family had a very affectionate cat for 20 years. Barbi was thrown into our garden with her 2 sisters a day old. Me and my ex kept feeding them every 2 hours, and Barbi had a lot of spunk. She hissed, fought through her very first days, and then suddenly she relaxed, and loved us with all her might.
She lost her sisters, and gained two dog brothers. She saw our pack grow, saw us getting a divorce, moved with me from a house to an apartment, and stayed with my mum and brother when I moved abroad.
I was away for 8 years. She was loved by family, yet she recognised me when I moved back home. We had a little more than a year together. She was gone in a week as old age caught up with her. Her life came to a circle as I was feeding her again – a bite here, a sip there. She couldn’t bear more.
I held her as she took her last breath. She was calm, pain free – and grateful for us letting her go. I was left without her affection and playfulness but all the memories of those beautiful, beautiful 20 years.
All my pets were rescues: but it was them rescuing me, not the other way around. I wish every one of them would get a chance to save a human.
This is Day 2 in the #100daysOfThoseDays. Today is International Rescue Cat Day. The series was started by Christine and Gloria and uses the “National/Global Something” of a particular day as the basis of the post. You can choose your own, and posting doesn’t have to consecutive.
To some, the idea of neutering your beloved furry friend might seem daunting or even downright cruel, but there are life-saving benefits to go through it.
For some, research is either the necessary evil or the to-be-avoided nuisance when it comes to writing. I love it. I love the random connections as I fly from one question to the next, one fascinating story to another. More often than not it takes me down to hilarious paths.
“Sometimes the like button is not about what’s in front of you, but what is not. The doubts that person overcome, the effort they made, the courage to open up. It can say, hey, I see you. Nice effort. Keep going.” (Andrea Michaels, aka Missy.)