The Writer’s Dog
By Juliet Marillier | May 8, 2019 |
The writer’s dog is a multi-talented individual. He or she carries out a support role essential to the creative process. The writer’s dog is companion, confidante, inspiration, distraction, time keeper, and monitor of all matters health-related: nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep. His or her job includes keeping the writer mostly sane, reasonably fit, and for the most part on task.
I speak from personal experience here. For a long while I’ve worn two hats: writer and crazy dog lady. I spent some years as a foster carer for a canine rescue group, specialising in old and frail dogs, and I have seen quite a few little ones come and go from the household. These days I am down to three permanent dogs, two of whom were ‘foster fails’, that is, animals with whom the foster carer falls in love and cannot bear to part. It is perhaps no surprise that I’ve written so many dog characters into my novels, or that I love reading stories with great dog characters in them, including a few by WU’s own Barbara O’Neal.
I write full time from a home office. My dogs have my working day well under control, with suitable breaks for walks, snacks, and administration of their various medications, of which there are many. If I sit at my desk for longer than an hour and a half at a stretch, they have several techniques for drawing my attention. One, come and sit by my feet, gazing up piteously until I respond. Two, run to the front door barking wildly. Sometimes this means a real person is at the door, sometimes it’s only someone walking up the road (person with dog or dogs gets an extra loud bark), and sometimes it is solely an attention-grabbing ploy. It always works. Fergal may be very small but he has a mighty voice. Three involves tipping over the kitchen bin and scattering the contents on the floor. Four is to sit alone in a distant part of the house and wail as if the end of the world is coming.
The correct response to all of these is to get my eyes off the screen, stand up and take a break. Such breaks must include cuddles. They should involve moving out of the office to an area where at least one dog can get on my knee, and the dispensing of snacks for all.
Dogs love naps. They especially enjoy taking naps with their writers. I take a break from work in order to do this most days, and stay up later to compensate. The dogs give me the sign when it’s time, more or less herding me into the appropriate area and settling around me.
Dogs don’t like deadlines. When a deadline is looming, writers don’t stick to the sensible program the dog expects of them. They sit at the desk far longer than they should, they forget the established protocols and they miss the very clear signs that it’s time to take a break. At such times the writer can be tense and cranky. They may even shout and throw random objects. Basically, they are not a lot of fun to be around. Dogs will make their displeasure clear. We should try to take notice. A quick walk reduces tension. Dogs know this.
However long a writer has dogs, there’s always something new to be learned from them. Today I learned that the most unlikely canine can be an emotional support animal.
It’s easy to feel amused at stories of travellers taking their emotional support peacocks or guinea pigs on a plane to alleviate their anxiety. Travel is not a huge source of stress for me, but I don’t love the publicity that goes with being an author, and I particularly dislike having my photo taken. I have a set of studio photos that were taken with my dogs, and I use those as my official author shots. However, a new publisher needed a standard author ‘head shot’ – just me without a dog. The photographer did the shoot at my house, with Fergal, Reggie and Pip running around at foot level. When I explained how hard I find it to relax in photos, and how having the dogs in the pictures had made my previous shoot easier, he suggested I sit and hold Fergal on my knee while he did the head and shoulders shots. So all those pictures that don’t show a dog actually do have a dog in them, sort of. And they have a much more relaxed-looking writer. (Actually we did sneak in one or two with Fergal visible – he had been such a good boy.) Did I mention that Fergal is a wispy little one-eyed dog with Addison’s disease and glaucoma? His name means ‘valorous’ and in his own way he truly lives up to it.
Last but not least, the writer’s dog takes his human through highs and lows of emotion. I’ve written before about the traumatic loss of a beloved dog to an unprovoked attack. We lost another dear old man about two weeks ago, this time from a mystery illness which, compounded by his severe heart murmur, meant it was time to let him go. Zen came from a situation of neglect, and proved to be the gentlest, sweetest dog I’ve ever known, spreading peace and calm wherever he went. He especially loved babies and small children. It was sad to say goodbye. I write this with tears in my eyes, but such a shining example of goodness can only be remembered, in the end, with joy.
A writer learns many things from a dog. A dog allows us to set free emotions we might not express in front of another human. A dog can show us qualities we may not find in another human. Dogs teach us wisdom that feeds into our creative work, not only when we write about animals, but when we write about life. They teach us sorrow, they teach us hope, they teach us utter joy and blissful contentment. They teach us unconditional love and deep forgiveness. In the end, they teach us pain and they teach us acceptance. I say thank you to each and every one of them, the easy and the challenging. But especially to you, Zen. You sure lived up to the name I gave you.
Photo is by Alex Cearns of Houndstooth Studio. It shows Fergal on the left (before his eye operation) and Zen on the right.
Give us your dog stories, folks! Cat, peacock and guinea pig stories are also welcome! What role does your animal play in your life as a writer?
Juliet Marillier has written twenty-four novels for adults and young adults and two collections of short fiction. Her works of historical fantasy have been published around the world and have won numerous awards. Juliet’s most recent series was Warrior Bards, of which the third and final book, A Song of Flight, was published in 2021. Her collection of reimagined fairy tales, Mother Thorn and Other Tales of Courage and Kindness, had its trade release in 2022. Mother Thorn is illustrated by Kathleen Jennings and published by Serenity Press.
Juliet is currently working on a two-book fantasy series. The first book in this duology, The Amber Owl, will be published by New Dawn in February 2025.
When not writing, Juliet looks after a small crew of rescue dogs.
If not for my dogs I might have become my chair at some point. My dogs have also taught me to try be a better person. I still miss the ones I’ve lost.
Me too. I have the ashes of my two special boys, Harry and Zen, in the house in wooden boxes. Their photos are on the wall, watching over the rest of us. Each of the many dogs who have lived with me has his or her own fascinating story, and each has taught me something. I discovered Mary Oliver’s wonderful dog poems recently, was sad that she had passed away, but took a lot of comfort from her words. Her little dog Percy, about whom she wrote so tenderly and philosophically, looked very like my Harry.
I have almost no regrets in my life but my biggest one by far was that I spent so many years, both growing up and in young adulthood, without a dog. If you have kids, get them a dog! They have so much to teach us.
Just before I checked in here at WU, I got a note from an old friend w/an attached pic of the dog we drove 300 miles to rescue. I got thinking about her boisterous Italian Greyhounds and Jack Russells rushing us as we filed in to her house for our weekly writer’s group. Oh, the barking and the farting!! My own beautiful best friend Brule has been gone for 3 years now and I haven’t yet gotten another dog. I truly feel the vacuum. He was walking companion, confidant, and keeper of the schedules, as you say. And he made us all much more human. I think you may have inspired me today to start looking. Beautiful post. And my condolences for your loss of Zen.
Thank you, Susan. I hope that when you are ready another lovely companion walks into your life and your heart.
I’m working in the bedroom today with two ailing dogs. Alvah, the JRT, has pancreatitis, and Trumbo the beagle, managed to pull a muscle in his neck. Work has been sporadic because of the 24/7 caregiving, but they have been the best patients. No complaints, or, for that matter, accidents.
Sometimes I think that after these two, they’re 12 years old, that I’ll give myself a break and not have a dog(s). Those who know me usually shoot me a look that speaks volumes. “Oh, sure, right. A break from having at least one dog? You? No way. You won’t last a week.” And that’s very true. If I could have more and a bank account that was magically filled with thousands of dollars every day, I’d have my own sanctuary. They’d all be foster fails (because deep down I don’t entirely trust others with the care of *my* dogs) and they’d be loved and spoiled. Ack, now I made myself tear up. My friends are right. I wouldn’t last a week without a dog.
I know that feeling well! A couple of years ago this household had 5 dogs. It’s now 3, of which two are old and the third is chronically ill. Even though I am of grandmotherly years, I can’t see myself with no dogs in the house. I guess I can go on adopting the elderly for a while yet, but the plan is not to have more than two at a time in future. (I don’t think anyone believes I can keep to that.)
How I wish the comments section here on WU allowed posting of photos! (But then, it might begin to look like Facebook.)
I agree! Pictures to go with the stories would have been great. We have to use our writer’s imagination, I guess.
I have a 12-year-old mini doxie names Truffles who hates my office, but loves her dog bed elsewhere in the house; I tried and tried to get her to settle on a bed in my office without success. So, there are three other dog beds scattered around the house for her snoozing pleasure. You are so right that dogs will tell us when to take a screen break – when I am at my computer too long, Truffles gives a stare that drills right through my head. And if I don’t get up fast enough, she just might go pee by the front door. She’s insistent that way. Well, it’s the Doxie Way. She has been a really good listener when I read aloud, though, including tipping her head every so often as if to say she’s not so sure about what I just said.
The best sort of feedback (listening attentively, not peeing inside!) Truffles sounds like a real character.
Ah Juliet, what would I be without my furry friends? They are the best writing companions–my dog is often by my feet and reminds me when it’s time for a walk. The cats pretty much want to type! I love it when they settle down (invariably on my notes) and I can work. Plus, they listen in rapt attention whatever passages I read aloud. Thanks for the lovely post and tribute to your own!
This writer’s dog recently interrupted a live online class — first to insist the door be opened so he could come in and demand ear scratches while I’m broadcasting, next to insist he be let outside before the class was over. Fortunately, the class found this to be a hoot. He NEVER does that otherwise, but I normally don’t sit there and talk to the glowing box for 60 minutes straight.
Wonderful post, Juliet. Thanks. Our pets remind us that there is a world that needs tending to, and they are part of it. It’s easy to forget that when you’re concentrating on keeping your butt in the chair.
Over my years of writing, I’ve shared my home, and office, with no less than six cats, sometimes concurrently. If dogs represent stability and harmony the world, and in writing, cats are its disruptive tensions. They rearrange your desk, clearing it of unnecessary objects (paper clips, inspirational quotes); establish themselves on your lap, demanding attention; and sprawl across the keyboard, committing such editorial acts as 12-line section breaks and paragraphs of “ffff,” “777,” and “////.” They are the yin to the dogs’ yang.
I’ve written quite a lot about dogs, including my novel Just Bill. After all is said and done, I think the greatest thing about pets in general, and (in my view) dogs in particular is this: they occasion daily opportunities for humans to be kind. The pleasure that comes from acts of kindness is hard to exaggerate–know what I mean?
Yes, being kind does give great pleasure, and it’s also good for us as human beings. Looking after dogs has also taught me patience.
Cats, too! Only they tend to sit or lay draped over the computer, making it impossible to see or punch the keys.
Cats have a different way of helping.
If it weren’t for my dog, I probably wouldn’t see daylight on some days. I deal with both anxiety and depression, and would much rather work from bed and never set foot beyond my front door. But my big lug needs lots of exercise, which helps me get the exercise I need. And that exercise also helps alleviate some of the worst symptoms of depression and anxiety. He’s also excellent at keeping the wrong sort of people at a physical distance I can tolerate, and at introducing me to exactly the right sort of people I need in my life – doggy people!
My Buddy – https://www.instagram.com/p/BvsNYgEBH9R/
He is a big beautiful boy! Sounds as if he is doing a good support job for you, Ameila.
Great point about doggy people – I know the names of all the dogs in this neighborhood, but can only name a few of the humans.
I can relate! I’m terrible with names in general, but I always remember a dog. Or a cat. I live alone with my animals, but I’m never lonely with my animals. :)
What a delightful article. I though of you but was not sure you wrote it until the end . I have a kelpie adolescent and a small cross old lady dog. they appear in all I write as do the dog friends who are in heaven waiting for me. sometimes they are a bit wicked, like Bruce of Balmain who is slowly eating his way thought a list of scholarly titles in my next and last book. Alldogeno and Dogstew and Big Lu live on in the Voice of the Earth. Humans have always lived with and loved dogs. It really does not matter that the chairs have three legs and all my mother’s antique funriture is knawed. We are a happy little family with three hens, a few banidcoot, a large python , several possums two fat dogs and one old human
That sounds like a highly unusual menagerie, Antonia! I love your dogs’ names. I have Pippa and Reggie as well as Fergal. Pippa was originally Pipsqueak, named after a character in a British cartoon, but she became Pippa (Pip for short) after I adopted her when her beloved human died. She is extremely small. Reggie came with his name, and Fergal had the generic rescue name Buddy. Clearly he deserved better, and as he was a little waif who had not been kindly treated, I gave him a strong name.
Muggles the littl cross chihuahua seems to be following me around without aim.?Age related. She never puts a paw wrong while the kelpie, named after Henry IV of Gremany, has amused himself this afternoon chewing all the handles off my plastic gardening buckets. Maybe he thinks I am going to give them to Pope Gregory.