Here It Is!

My 15 Minutes of Fame post from 8/28/06 stated that: "Today, I found out that I'm a minor character in a children's book, written by an award winning author."

In December, I bought the first 4 books in the Dog Watch series. I recently discovered myself on page 19 of the 2nd book in the series: Dog-Napped.

Just then, tshsmom stormed out of xxx restaurant with a broom in both hands. She knew everyone's name in the village--dogs included. "Lucky! Gunnar! Schmitty! Tundra! Kito! Chester! That's enough of your racket. Break it up. We don't need dogfights in Pembrook. Move on--you'll scare away customers." Then she turned on her heel and headed back inside. The smells of French toast, sausage, bacon, and cinnamon rolls wafted out.

For some odd reason, Mary changed the name of almost all of the dogs in town, but she used my real name. Alrighty then...
I also need to clarify a few things. I have been known to break up dog fights, but I've NEVER used a broom! I always reach in, bare-handed, to pull the dogs apart. So far I haven't been bitten. I DO appear outside, with my broom, to sweep off the handicapped ramp that encircles the restaurant. "Pembrook's" dogs frequently keep me company while I sweep.

ALL of the Dog Watch books are prefaced with the page above. Our village has actually made national headlines with our no-leash-law/dog-mugshot policy. (Mary has renamed our village Pembrook, so that's how I'll refer to it. ) Many of us have chosen not to take advantage of Pembrook's no-leash-law policy. We keep our pets tied or fenced in our own yards, where they're safe and aren't creating a nuisance for the neighborhood.

Free roaming dogs do make a cute premise for children's books though. The books are cute, but I wouldn't recommend them for anyone over the age of 8. Mary has written much better books for the 12-14 age group. The Dog Watch series is far from her best efforts.

I found the books interesting due to the real-life dogs and people. Several of the book's characters are long deceased, but I enjoy re-living their quirky personalities. Mary portrays herself and her husband as Mr. and Mrs. Hollinghorst, who live in Mary's real-life house. My greatest disappointment in Dog-Napped was that the evil Dr. Elizabeth(a renamed, real-life character) wasn't the culprit. The culprit turned out to be Howie, a cross between our former dishwasher and an eccentric bait seller.

The following dogs are real.

Gunnar: Mary's former basset hound. Gunnar died after being hit by the school bus while playing with the kids at the bus stop.

Kito and Chester: The heroes of the Dog Watch series, and Mary's current pets. After what happened to Gunnar, this chow-chow and beagle are ALWAYS on a leash or tied in their yard.

Tundra: The "alpha dog" of the Dog Watch series. Tundra is actually a male dog named Bucky. Bucky is no longer allowed to run free after he ate too many Slim-Jims at the tavern and developed peritonitis.

Willow: Willow is the sweetest golden retriever cross you'll ever meet. Unfortunately, someone has mistreated her. This is another hazard of allowing your dog to run loose. The last time I saw Willow, she cowered on her belly and crawled to me in total submission. It broke my heart to see this fun-loving dog's spirit broken down like this!

So far, I've only read the first 2 books in the series. I'll let you know if I make another appearance in the series.