Pets in Books

1. Ella Fitzgerald

I don't post all my videos on my blog (you can find any you missed on YouTube), but this one was so much fun. You get to meet my dog, Ella Fitzgerald and we talk about her rise from cover model, to movie star. Okay, what Susan and I really talking about is pets in books, but that's not how Ella sees it! LOL

Speaking of Susan, we're filming more Trippin' videos tomorrow. If you have any questions for us, or topics you'd like us to discuss, please feel free to send them to me!

Holly

PS Check out my books!

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And the winner is....Tracy and her dog, Nora! I'm sending Tracy a private note this morning. Thanks for making this contests such a huge success!

I'm planning a new contest in the near future. I'll be posting both here, and at the website, so keep checking back!

Holly

More pets (the contest ends next week, so do send in your pet stories!):

My favorite pet is a little all grey cat who my son and I adopted from the Humane society.
What did it for us is that the poor little thing was hitting his head on the cage at the HS because he wanted to be petted so bad.
So we opened the cage and he just started purring and purring Matthew asked what’s his name Mom? I said Storm.
He said we have to get him.
I said I’ll call Dad.
Storm or Stormy looks like a Russian Blue he is all grey with green eyes.
He is real sweetie ~Beth

My favourite pet is our little 2 year old yorkshire terrier named precious.he is a real little darling. He is a member of our family and has all of us well trained to perform certain tasks for him. ~Linda


I lost my favorite pet last year. Skeeter was a wired-haired dachshund and my constant companion for 18 years. I really miss her. ~Kathy
Kathy, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how bad it can hurt. We lost our Mastiff last year and still miss him. Sending hugs!

My favorite pet was a dear sweet Maltese named Angel. I had visited the local Humane Society and told them I was looking for a small lap dog. They said they would call me when they received one. When I received the call I rushed to the Humane Society. There was this precious little neglected Maltese. They told me the owner brought her because they were moving and couldn't take her. That was the best thing that could have happened to her. She immediately stole my heart and became a member of our family. She was around 5 years old, matted pink tinged hair, what looked like black coffee grinds in her ears and bad green teeth with horrible breath. I headed straight to the vet's office to get her shots and have her spayed and get her teeth cleaned. When they spayed her they found a bad infection in her uterus. They said I saved her life by bringing her in to be spayed. Then the next trip was to the groomers. She was a different baby when I picked her up. She was white, fluffy and! full of love. I was confused at why she didn't come when I called her name "Angel". I tried different names thinking maybe that wasn't really her name. I still had no luck. On day she was asleep next to clothes hamper in the hallway. I accidentally dropped the wooden lid with a loud bang. I noticed she didn't flinch. I dropped it again. Still no movement. Then I realized why she didn't come when I called her name. She was also deaf. It made me so mad to think of how the previous owners neglected and abused her. We think someone who wore a baseball cap abused her. The first time my husband came through the house with his ball cap on she ran up to him barking, growling and nipping at his leg. She reacted this way whenever anyone had a ball cap on. When they would take the hat off she would change back to the sweet loving baby she normally was. She lived to be 14 years old and was such a blessing to our family. Everyone that came over fell in love with her and wanted to take her home. We had to put her asleep 8 years ago and we still miss her so much.
~Crystal

My favorite pets are my two marmalade kittens - two identical sisters. I called them Fatso (she's twice the size of her sister) and Red. Fatso is very pushy, always climbing on top of you, begging scraps of food and attention. Red is very lady-like. She would stick around, making sure she is noticed but very dignified. Red is also very independent. She is the proverbial cat who walks alone. Fatso, when petted to her heart's content, scrunches to a little ball on the nearest available surface and can snooze for hours. I love them both to pieces. ;-) ~stasy

Another celebrity cat. First Kate Walker's, now meet Cathie Linz's (see the previous post about her current releases)!

"The photo is of Whiskers, who is an official cover model -- he was on the cover of Dec 2006 RT!

This is his follow up photo for Valentine's Day (notice the teddy bear and heart in the background). Whiskers is five years old, and he's a rescue shelter cat that I got as a kitten. More photos are on my website (a cute one on top of my newsletter section shows him and his brother Rascal as kittens). Did I mention that Whiskers faithfully sat at my feet while I completed my new book BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY (coming out in October). The fact that the hot air duct was there and it was cold had nothing to do with his feline loyalty .

This is Whiskers brother Rascals (who lives up to his name every minute of every day!) "

You can visit Cathie and see more pics at http://www.cathielinz.com/.

Happy Valentine's!

Holly

Pets again!

I'm going to confess, I've enjoyed this contest so much more than the others I've had on the website. It's been great to see a more personal side of all of you. I've loved meeting your pets as well. My Ethel is curled up next to me on the couch as I do this week's blogs. It's been a year since we rescued her from the pound. We suspect she was abused. But over this last year, she's gone from skittish to cuddly.

Okay, another contest, favorite pet, entry:

I have had several unforgettable pets who, to my joy, have lived well beyond their life expectancies. My delight now is my English tortoise haired feline named 'Banshee'. Born a wild barn cat she has embraced the pampered indoor life. She runs to greet me at the door when I return. She 'answers' me when scolded for jumping on the table. (Very sassy!) If I am not feeling well she is at my side. Her cold nose prods mine if I do not rise early enough. She asks for very little. An ear scratch, food, water. Oh yes, please check..the BOX. In return she is a great comfort. ~Peggy

Only a couple more weeks to enter. I'll draw the winner on March 1!

Holly

Only a couple more weeks until Laugh Lines is on the shelf. And the favorite pet contest only has a few more weeks to go. Here are two more favorite pets....

We have this wonderful and adorable dog, Bogie. Bogie has a special personality, friendly and sweet. He is small, part Corgi and German Shepherd mix and is active, interested in people and has to know everything going on. He has become such a part of our family and has endeared himself to friends and neighbors so quickly.

My favorite pet was my cat, Pooh. I got him from a pet shop, not knowing he was too young to be taken away from his mother, I think he was scarred mentally for life! He hated everyone but me and would literally chase people out of the house. He must have had dozens of lives for all the death-defying acts he pulled -- he lived till he was 21 years old! There will never be another cat like him! ~Carol

More Pet Posts....

Don't forget, send your "favorite pet" post to me at Holly@Hollysbooks.com, or post it in the comment section here, to be entered in the contest for a copy of Night Calls.

My favorite pet: Nora About two years ago we lost our 11yr old Rottie - the love of our life since she was a tiny pup. Not thinking I could ever love another the way I olved her, I shied away from getting a puppy. We heard about a senior girl rottie from a rescue we volunteered for. She needed a home badly. I thought I would not have to love her, just make her life better. Well, Nora has made our life better - mended our hearts and I love her more than anyhing - way more than I ever thought possible. ~ tracy

My favourite pet is a yorkshire terrier we named Gizmo.he is 10 years old,spoiled rotten and we love him tremendously.please enter me in contest. ~Linda

Alrighty....... My favorite pet would be my baby skipper. He's huge, he's a mutt, but he's the biggest baby you've ever seen. Skipper is so beautiful. He has one crystal blue eye and one brown. He loves to cuddle up to my feet no matter where i am. he's one of those dogs that just seem to know what i'm feeling. I tell him all my secrets (cause i know he won't tell). He's also the family gaurd dog, which seems so odd to me. He's such a loving baby, but when it comes to strangers, he's so protective over us all! he really is my best friend. I love that boy to death! he's been around for a lond while, 10yrs, and i'm very much afraid of losing him. No one wants to lose their best friend! But for now i'm gonna just keep on lovin' him and babying him. lol ~Amy

Okay, a few more pet posts. (I'm giving away a hardback copy of last year's Night Calls to celebrate my new release, Laugh Lines) Speaking of pets, our dog, Ethel Merman, has a whole new trick to getting attention. She's become a cat burglar! Yes, I know, a dog who's a cat burglar, but there it is. She goes into stealth mode, stalking any unsuspecting item in the family room, then before you know it, she's gone...and so is the item. She loves socks. The plus side is, since she takes socks, the family have been better about not leaving them all over the house. The bad news is, if you don't take them off, she's not totally against taking them right off your foot! LOL And the last few days, discovered my dh's phone. Thankfully, she's not interested in damaging the items, she just wants to get your attention and play catch-the-dog.

Okay, here are a few more blog-readers' posts on their pets:


My favorite pet was our family dog, Casey, who passed away a year and a half ago. She was a big dog who had no idea how big she was. She was part Black Lab and was wonderful with our children. She never growled or snapped at them no matter how they tortured her. It was awful for all of us when she died but now we can look back at the good times. ~Maureen

My favorite pet was a cat named Bobby Socks. He was a realy neat cat and would actually knock at the door to be let in and out. He was sadly hit by a car and returned home injured. The vet said the only reason why he was alive was because of his love for us. ~Debby

My favorite pet is a cat (my cat is Muffin). I love the personality of a cat. ~Judy

Hope you all have a great week!

Pets

We're still talking about pets we have, pets we used to have...pets we love. (In case you missed the original post, I'm giving away a copy of Night Calls, which featured an Old English Mastiff modeled after our dog.) Here are a few of the posts...

"My favorite pet is my almost four-month-old salt & pepper female miniature schnauzer, “Pepper Too”. She’s a bundle of joy and energy. My 13 ½ year-old salt & pepper female miniature schnauzer, “Pepper”, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on October 19, 2006 – and her sister, “Heidi Jo”, my 14 ½ year-old black female miniature schnauzer joined her on December 2, 2006. " ~I Love Schnauzers

"My favorite pet is my 10 year old Maltese, Annie. I had her sire for 13 years and I am afraid that she is the last of the line. She is a very happy dog (my Granddog) and I love her to death!" ~Cheri

"A favourite pet is something difficult to decide. With 6 dogs, three large and three small and each with their own distinct personality, how does one pick one ? But I suppose our cross chow/bull terrier, Simba probably comes first to mind. Although he is a very heavily built dog with a massive head and jaws, he is the gentlest thing you could ever hope to find. He gets pulled around on his neck by the other two large dogs and licked to death by the smaller ones, but remain totally un-perturbed. I think he must be a distant relative of Ferdinand the Bull, because he also loves to sniff flowers. About the only thing that gets him going is snakes as them he attacks with ferocity." ~Carol

"My favorite pet is my Snoodle-part Schnauzer and part Poodle. His name is Sandy. He is blonde like me. He turned 15 in November but still looks and acts like he is a much younger dog. Whenver I take him to the vet he jumps up and down eager to see the Doctor who says "I can't believe he is this old." He is my best friend and travels with me wherever I go. It seems at times he can read my mind and know what I am going to do. He is the smartest dog I have ever owned. I thank God every night that he has let me have Sandy for this many years. I love him very much." ~Jackie

"My favorite pet now is Willie a hyper, book loving Jack Russell terrier. He keeps me busy and if I am reading a book and happen to lay it down where he can get at it-well, I can't tell you how many times I have had to go to a bookstore and finish reading that book. He shakes and bites the pages out of them. Doesn't bother a hardback, just the paperbacks. I guess he does that to see me chsse after him.He is an intelligent dog and very lovable but certainly different from the dogs I have had in the past (chihuahuas)." Joy

More posts to follow...keep sending them in! (See contest rules)

Holly

Well, since we're talking about pets (see my current contest) and I've been getting emails from all of you (I'll start posting reader's pet's soon), I thought I'd kick off the pet posts with one about one of my favorite pets who isn't mine. He's Sid and he owns Harlequin author, Kate Walker (not the other way around LOL). I've heard Sid stories for years, and asked Kate (a brilliant writer and a lovely, lovely friend) to introduce Sid to all of you!

Holly


Kate Walker:

Sid is my cat. – well, one of four - I never intended to have four cats. Some years ago I had three and 3 is a nice number. There’s one for my lap and one for the BM’s – and one left over for any visitor who wants a lapwarmer. But cats decide who they’re going to live with. And one night we opened the door to let the cats in and in came Bob, Dylan, Spiffy – and Spiffy brought a friend with him. A handsome, big (very big) black and brown tabby who just about announced that he lived here and would I please show him where the food was. (Actually I don’t believe he said please – just 'Lemmme at the food!’)

And so Sid came into our lives. We tried to keep him out in the hope he would go home, but he just sat outside our patio doors and yelled and yelled and yelled. We couldn’t sleep. The neighbours couldn’t sleep and Sid was not moving. So we let him in. We tried to find his previous owners at the start - but then when we found that he had half his whiskers pulled out and air gun pellets in his stomach, we decided they weren’t worth looking for. We called him Sid because of an ancient radio comedy programme called Round the Horne which had a character named Rambling Sid Rumpo in it. Rambling Sid suited the wanderer. At first he was a rather pathetic creature. He was nervous and panicked if anyone went near him, he slept with his eyes open and twitched and moaned in his sleep. His head and his tail – a wonderful, thick, richly furred tail - stayed down. He didn’t even have enough spirit to lift his tail for the first five months he was with us.

But once he was secure in his chosen home, Rambling Sid turned into A Force in Fur. He lost the ‘Rambling’ part of his name and gained a knighthood. As TS Elliott says, cats have many names – and this is certainly true of The Force - his full title grew until it became Sir Sidney St John Willoughby Portly-Lummox ACOSB (A Cat of Superior Breeding). Anne McAllister has added to that by awarding him the honours of Earl of Hellions Bumpstead and Lord of Blubberhouses. (And for those of you who are laughing at those ridiculous names, I assure you they are real, genuine English village names the first in Essex, the second in North Yorkshire.)

Since his arrival Sid has become A Personality (note – I resisted the temptation to say A Purrsonality). He now regularly appears on my web site – where he often gets more fan mail than I do). He is the one who ensures total fairness in the choice of all the winners of my contests. I put all the names of the entrants on pieces of paper, top each one off with a cat crunchie and the one Sid eats first is the winner. If this was the 1600s and not the 2000s, he would probably get me accused of being a witch and having him as my familiar as he rarely leaves my side. He sleeps on my bed (well – he sleeps on me!). He sits on my lap, and if get up he follows me. And during the day, when I’m working, he sleeps on my desk, curled around the computer keyboard. He’s there now – dozing contentedly and occasionally reaching out a paw to pat my hand as I type. If I pause to think then he senses the silence, lifts his head and pushes it under my hand so that I have to stroke him. As an aid to thought it’s pretty good. He just wonders why it took us so long to realise this was where he belonged – he knew this was home from the moment he saw it.

The only fly in the ointment - or cat in the way of the firespot, is Dylan. Dylan and Sid will never be friends. So that’s Sid – or, as he’s usually known to my readers Sid The Cat. The capitals are important. In his mind, he’s The Cat and no one else gets a look in. Oh well, four cats is a very nice number - there's one for the BM's lap and two for anyone visitors. There's no room at all on my lap - that's Sid's territory and only his. ~Kate Walker (you can visit Sid and Kate--notice Sid came first--at "their" website or blog!)