Even The Rescued Fur Family Gets In The Literary Act

Everyone knows my magical mule, Claire.

She is the star of The Claire Saga, and rightfully so.

Everyone also knows I draw all my characters in my books from real life.

That would also apply to the supporting cast of fur family members in the story. Two in particular, Maeve and Blue, are regulars in the first three novels – The Claire Trilogy.

Maeve was an Am-Staff that Lisa and I rescued from a kill shelter in Manhattan in 2007, literally 4 hours before she was scheduled to be put down. Because of her massive size – she was close to a hundred pounds, she was used as a breeder by the animals that raised fighting dogs, then she was tossed out on the street, her eight teats hanging like used Magnum condoms from her belly. Her original name was “Destiny” but we decided to Celtic her up, and named her after Queen Maeve, the archetypal warrior queen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medb

She instantly rehabbed into the sweetest, yet toughest, dog that ever joined the family. Everyone loved her unconditionally.

However, if you weren’t part of the Clan, or a friend of a friend, you kept your distance.

For fun, when she first arrived, Maeve chewed one of the last of Spaghetti’s 12 foot wooden ladders into kindling in just a few days. She had the jaws of a salt water crocodile. The toughest toys lasted seconds.

She would race through the demolition with the speed and pride of a Rubik’s cube master.

She used to carry 6 inch thick tree branches like they were twigs during our extensive walks through Van Cortlandt Park. She literally dragged my 200 plus pound body down the length of the Bronx driveway, with me hanging desperately around her thick neck.

Maeve watched over the family like a sheep dog. She sat in our Bronx back yard and no strangers ever came up our driveway and lived to tell the tale.

But she was the most gentle creature around any child and made the best babysitter ever.

Maeve lived with us for 7 years and ultimately, paired up with Luke’s Italian Mastiff, Cairo, also a tied to the fence Bronx rescue, and moved with Luke and Georgie to Boulder in 2014.

Maeve ended up traveling around the country more than I have. And had an absolutely wonderful life.

We reconnected when I migrated west.

She passed a few years back and is buried back on our fur family boot hill. Cairo made the move with Luke & Georgie and the girls to Oz, where he is enjoying his golden years in sunshine on sandy beaches. Another Bronx boy made good.

Blue came into the family when Mark and his NYPD partner found her tied to a fence in a snow storm in the 42nd Precinct in the Bronx one Christmas night. She was tied there with a pink ribbon.

Mark called us at 12:30 that one winter morning and asked if we could take the pup in, because otherwise the Sergeant would make him drop her off at a kill shelter in Manhattan. Pitties, especially black ones, don’t get adopted often.

You know how that turned out.

In fact, Blue’s full name is Blue 42, named after her original home in the Bronx.

Blue became the newest member of our latest pack, with Phoebe and Jeter.

Phoebe is also out back on boot hill with Maeve and our black cat familiar, Lucky.

So when I was deciding what pets to work into TWA, I wanted to make a statement about kill shelters and the need to adopt rescues. Maeve and Blue were the perfect ambassadors for that storyline, along with being just the right bad ass types.

I love Blue, and find great comfort in her constant presence at Casa Claire. She spends a lot of time hanging outside with the mules, and the rest sleeping on her couch.

If I do nothing else worth remembering in my life, the fact that I have rescued these dogs will hopefully count for something. And the truth is, they rescued me.

Of course, with WTLLM set decades into the future, long after the characters Blue and Maeve, who stayed on earth with the vet Eileen Cotto at the end of KMAG, had crossed the literary veil, I needed another pup to enter the storyline, to carry on their tough terrier legacy.

Whoever it was, had to have a huge personality and the same bond with its human character, along with a certain terrier toughness.

I found just the critter, who happened to be the once upon a time wingman for the basis for a new character I was incorporating into WTLLM. A general named Pete “Buck” Sheridan.

Fergus the Jack Russell steals the show.

So keep your eye out for him when you read WTLLM. He’s a pisser.

Well, its the weekend, so I have animal related chores to get to.

I hope you can take your pet outside for come cool autumn air. And if you don’t have a pet, Christmas is coming, and the shelters are full of wonderful creatures just looking for their second chance at life. Saturdays are a great day to go adopt one or two. And don’t go for the pups, they are easily adopted. Find the older dog or cat who has probably been screwed over by life, and can really use a break. Look for the ones with scars or arthritis, that show their wear and tear. But look at their eyes, that’s where the love hides. They recognize and respond to love. Trust me, they will change your life if you let them.

And I’m partial to old dogs.

So you fine, five readers go see to your Saturday. The fun awaits.

I’m going to cuddle a couple of kitties and then do my rounds. Then I’ll hang with the fur family here on Casa Claire, and thank my creator for their presence in my life.

And whatever we all do, let’s make today a great one.