Pets As Characters

     I had to put my dog to sleep this week. I've had to do this with many pets over the years and it never gets easier. I've had lots of dogs and most of them live (and remain in great health) until they are very old. Then their bodies give out and I have to do what I can to keep them from suffering.
     Tapestry, affectionately know as Pest, was a 10-year-old Irish Wolfhound. He was a rescue dog I adopted from the Irish Wolfhound Association of the Great Smoky Mountains when he was three.
     I have other dogs, dogs I've had longer, ones I have raised since they were puppies, and I love them dearly. But they are not Pest. All of my dogs, horses and cats are individuals, each with a very distinct personality - and lots of it.
     I cannot imagine a life without animals and pets, and I have difficulty imagining a fictional world without them. In my books and stories animals are minor, but important, characters. Even human characters who are not animal-lovers generally live in a world full of pets and pet owners. They have to deal with things like an annoying stray cat, crazy neighbors with weird pets, a dog that runs loose and causes havoc in the community. Fictional pets and animals don't have to be outrageous or even unusual, but I feel they do have to be more than a prop or a part of the setting.
     A book without animals in it  feels as wrong to me as my house or barn without a dog or cat underfoot (or in the bathtub, on the couch or on my keyboard).  When you think about it, animals can add aspects (and dialogue) to a plot that you can't get with other characters, such as: "If you lie on the stairs, we will both get hurt." "Didn't I just feed you twelve hours ago?" or "You don't need a waterbowl; this house has three toilets."
     Pets and animals in fiction can be sidekicks, companions, partners, caretakers, or troublemakers. They can help save the day or add complications or create choas. What they can't be is missing altogether.

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