Dottie Part 1

“Why aren’t your two porties in the book?”

I get this question all the time. The simplest answer is my book has one dog, Dottie, and how could I possibly choose one of my porties over the other? Besides, not everybody knows what a Portuguese Water Dog looks like, but pretty much everybody recognizes a Dalmatian. And finally, porties really don't do fiercely protective very well. Snow and Boo would sell me out in an instant for a hamburger.

Just like my main character, I had a Dalmatian as a kid. We picked her up from the breeder on July 4 when I was seven and my brother was ten. We named her Independence in honor of the occasion, and called her Indy. She was a great dog-- always ready for adventure, play, or belly rubs. She stayed outdoors because Mom was concerned about my allergies. I wish with all my heart that she could have lived in the house with us. As it was, it became too easy to neglect her when the weather was bad or homework had to be done. But her wiggling butt and eager whines greeted me when I joined her outside. Dogs are pretty amazing creatures for their capacity to forgive, comfort, and entertain. Yeah, she was a great dog.

Indy and me on the day we brought her home.

Friends that are familiar with my book, Guardians of Grace, often remark that they picture the cute puppies in the movie 101 Dalmatians and can’t imagine the breed being very effective as a guardian. But Dalmatians are considered a large dog at 50-70 pounds and 19-24 inches tall at the shoulder. There are rumors that the breed includes some Great Dane in their ancestry. Indy was a bit of a runt, though. We chose her against the advice of the breeder simply because she tried to crawl into my mother’s purse. We figured the little pup chose us.

My brother and me with the new puppy.

Dalmatians are well-defined, muscular dogs with excellent endurance and stamina. According to Wikipedia, these beautiful creatures were used as dogs of war several centuries ago, guarding the borders of Dalmatia, a region of Croatia. The breed was also used to guard carriages and horses, and to clear the way through a crowd for the horse-drawn fire wagon. To this day, the breed retains a high guarding instinct. Dalmatians also have a strong hunting instinct and are an excellent exterminator of vermin. I can attest to this ability because Indy, on at least one occasion, proudly presented my mother with a dead rat. Of course, instead of praise, the poor dog was rewarded with a screech. But Dad rewarded her (the dog, not Mom) and let her know she did good.

I’ll stick to my rationale to use this friendly and loyal breed as a companion and guardian in my story. Maybe my porties, Snow and Boo, will make it into a future novel.