by Amy Shojai
Some of you know that my heart-dog Magic inspired Shadow’s character. We lost Magic in 2018, and I struggled with continuing the series. His best friend Karma-Kat mourned his GSD buddy and slept with Magic’s collar for two weeks after he died. To honor their relationship, I included those names in the contest poll for FIGHT OR FLIGHT, and you—the readers—voted overwhelmingly to bless this and future stories with their names. For that reason, Karma the Rottweiler police dog (named after dog-loving-Karma-Kat) stars in this thriller. And the puppy-son of Shadow and Karma is named Magic, destined to share many future hero dog adventures. (Oh crap, now I’m crying...)
For HIT AND RUN, folks offered 158 cat names and 172 dog names, so many that I decided to include six hero pets in the story. I narrowed it down to sixteen each, and y’all voted 43,300 times to name the following winners:
Sherlock the white cat with green eyes was nominated by Lisa Mahoney. This loving cat enjoyed shoulder perching, snuggling in wet hair, and adored his big brother-cat Pie. I added the seizure-alerting behavior to Sherlock in the story, to better help his new friend Charlie.
Meriwether the orange and white cat was nominated by Kate Holly-Clark. Named after the explorer, Meriwether gets into everything, and is “a bit of an idiot and a real klutz.” The Meriwether in this story certainly gets into everything and should be even more fun in future stories while partnered with Teddy.
Kahlua the black and white cat was nominated by Darla J. Taylor. She adopted Kahlua after a bad car accident. Kahlua became Darla’s unofficial therapy cat, always able to relieve a bad mood. Kahlua in this story keeps Sharon from being hurt in the explosion, and will comfort and hopefully heal her emotionally, as she did in real life with Darla.
Bishop the black and white very large Akita was nominated by Cyn Clarke. He loves children, and adores the snow and cold weather, and like all Akitas, is known for bravery and loyalty. What a joy to add Bishop as a hero dog to save Charlie from freezing, and alert Tee to rescue the girl.
Kismet the very intelligent Great Dane was nominated by Robert Browning. Now eight years old, she’s still very active, and loves all animals and wants to be your best partner and share the sofa with you. Even her name—Kismet—fits the story, as destiny brought Teddy together with this lovely Dane girl at the perfect moment.
Oreo the Border Collie was nominated by Sylvia Finch and was named by her granddaughter for her half black/white face. She’s an extreme people lover and more laid back than many BCs. I hadn’t planned for more than two hero dogs, so it took a while for Oreo to tell me where she fit in the story. But what a perfect adoption option for the retiring cop to bring a sweet cookie-of-a-dog into his son’s life—and save his own.
For more about the winners, and pictures of some of the hero pets, visit the blog page here: https://amyshojai.com/hit-and-run-winners/. Congratulations and THANK YOU to all the winners. I think they all deserve treats. Maybe even bacon!
FACT: Therapy dogs can work wonders when partnered with autistic individuals. Emotional Support Animals (ESA) also partner with a variety of people, from children to adults, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Only dogs and guide horses for the blind can be service animals trained to perform a specific function for their human partner (usually three or more tasks), from becoming the ears for the deaf, eyes for the blind, support for other-abled and alert animals for health and physically challenged individuals. Of course, there are amazing people-pet partnerships that develop without any formal training—like Charlie’s seizure-detecting cat Sherlock—and many animals like Shadow and Karma intuitively provide the support their humans need.
Learn about the differences and the benefits of pet-people partnerships at http://petpartners.org. You can also find out about “fake” credentialing services that hurt legitimate partnerships in this blog post: http://amyshojai.com/fake-service-dog-credentials/
FACT: This book would not have happened without an incredible support team of friends, family and accomplished colleagues. Special thanks to my fantastic editor Nicola Aquino of Spit & Polish Editing, who keeps me on track, catches the problems, suggests brilliant fixes, and deletes extraneous commas (I, love, commas, it seems *s*). I’m indebted to my first readers—Kristi, Bonnie, and Frank—for your eagle eyes, spot-on comments and unflagging encouragement and support. Wags and purrs to my Triple-A Team (Amy’s Audacious Allies) for all your help sharing the word about all my books. Youse guyz rock!
I continue to be indebted to the International Thriller Writers organization, which launched my fiction career by welcoming me into the Debut Authors Program. Wow, just look, now I have five books in a series! The authors, readers and industry mavens who make up this organization are some of the most generous and supportive people I have ever met. Long live the bunny slippers with teeth (and the rhinestone #1-Bitch Pin).
Finally, I am grateful to all the cats and dogs I’ve met over the years who have shared my heart and oftentimes my pillow. Magical-Dawg (the inspiration for Shadow) and Seren-Kitty continue to live on in my heart. Brave Bravo my Bullmastiff now a tripawed dog fighting osteosarcoma inspires me every day along with his best buddy Karma-Kat. And newcomer Shadow-Pup (yes, named after the book’s hero!) showed up when we needed him most. Read about Shadow here: https://amyshojai.com/shadow-of-hope-comfort-puppy/
I never would have been a reader and now a writer if not for my fantastic parents who instilled in me a love of the written word, and never looked askance when my stuffed animals and invisible talking wolf and flying cat friends told fantastical stories. And of course, my deepest thanks to my husband Mahmoud, who continues to support my writing passion, even when he doesn’t always understand it.
I love hearing from you! Please drop me a line at my blog https://AmyShojai.com or my website https://shojai.com where you can subscribe to my PET PEEVES newsletter (and maybe win some pet books!). Follow me on twitter @amyshojai and like me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amyshojai.cabc
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant, and the award-winning author of more than 35 bestselling pet books that cover furry babies to old fogies, first aid to natural healing, and behavior/training to Chicken Soupicity. She has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reader’s Digest, and Family Circle, as well as television networks such as CNN, and Animal Planet’s DOGS 101 and CATS 101. Amy brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to public appearances. She is also a playwright and co-author of STRAYS, THE MUSICAL and the author of the critically acclaimed THRILLERS WITH BITE pet-centric thriller series. Stay up to date with new books and appearances by visiting Shojai.com to subscribe to Amy’s Pets Peeves newsletter.
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