Animal Inspiration ~ My New Blog Series

Committing to write a blog series was no easy decision for me. It was one more thing added to my schedule that is already full. None the less I've decided to go ahead with my plan.

My new blog series is called Animal Inspiration and will begin on Monday, June 11th. I knew if I had to commit to continuous blog posts weekly, I would need to blog about something important to me, important to others, and something that inspired my writing.

I don't believe it's a coincidence that I write fantasy and ended up dreaming about bizarre animal-like creatures. You'll see what I mean when my blog posts start. It's going to be an exciting journey, one I hope that everyone will share with me by participating in the stories.

So starting next Monday, grab a treat and beverage, find a nice spot to read, curl up with your critters and join in the fun!

PANDA

When my brother and I were about six years old, my parents got us a little pup on my birthday. He was tiny with large black and white pieces of fur, thus the appropriate name of Panda. I can’t tell you how excited we were to have him.

My brother and I are only ten months apart and have always been very close, but Panda made things even better. We were too busy playing with him all the time to even think about picking on one another. Perhaps my parents planned this all along.

We loved him to pieces and I can’t imagine any pup getting more attention than he did. He was spunky with tons of attitude. In the photo I’ve included he is actually dancing around a large Alaskan Malamute named King. King was not ours, but belonged to a friend. Panda was fearless and of course King was a gentle giant.

Unfortunately, we did not have Panda in our lives for very long.

Jasper, Alberta is where both my brother and I were born and for a very long time most our father’s side of the family resided there. We moved a lot, but we also visited family a lot.

One sunny summer day in Jasper, we decided to pay a visit to our cousin’s house. Fun, fun and more fun is all we ever had while staying with them. This time was especially great because we had our new pup.

My three cousins were so excited to see Panda, and now if it were possible the little guy became consumed with even more love and attention.

While the parents visited inside we played outside in the yard. It was a great place because to our happiness there was a large park right across the street. On this particular day Panda joined in the fun while we did somersaults and cartwheels in the back yard. He chased our heels and pulled on our pant-legs. We’d fall to the ground and Panda would pounce his little body on top of us as if to say, “Ha, I won!” We laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

The boys then decided to head to the park. My cousin was a bit older and my brother tagged along with him leaving us girls in the yard. Panda was torn. When he saw that the boys were across the street he dashed out of the gate before we could catch him. I think you can imagine what happened. To this day I still remember the two-toned brown truck with a camper that ran over him. I also remember how sorry the couple was who drove the truck. They offered to do what every they could, but it was too late.

I still remember the pain even typing this today.

I struggled really hard to put a meaning to what happened and why. To this day I think it was my fault, I should have kept him on his leash.

The next morning we prepared to leave and my tears still ceased to fall. But this is the part I will always remember and has forever been embedded in my heart. When we came out the door and went to get into our vehicle I saw small little paw prints all over the hood, up the windshield, and I’m guessing the roof but I was too little to see any of that. My eyes widened and for whatever reason I believe they belonged to Panda. I was so happy. My mom gently bent down in front of me and said, “Yes, perhaps those are Panda’s paw prints. He jumped to the roof and flew to heaven with the angels.” I believed with all my heart that Panda had done just that. He’d gone to heaven. I remember riding home and staring up into the sky with a smile. To further my happiness I found a black and white cloud that to me looked just like Panda.

So now you might wonder how that relates to me today and to my writing? My novel Impossible to Hold has a critter who lives in the sky and dances around on the clouds. I owe that to Panda, who I believe looks down at me from the sky.

I'm sure some days I see him. He's pouncing around above me, just like he use to do down here.

A SNEAK  PEAK FOR NEXT WEEKS BLOG!

As I myself seem to get older each year, I wonder about my pets. What happens to them and when do I decide...I shouldn't have another pet? Is there a magical age when that happens?