Author with the real Hershey.
Ever since I can remember, I have had a dog. My first dog, Tiger, used to stand guard over my baby sister when she played in the backyard. Tiger also liked to climb telephone poles after cats—much to the cats’ surprise. He was so gentle with my sisters and I that we could take food from his mouth, but he was also a natural guard dog alerting us when a stranger was near.
When I was in grade school my parents bought a beautiful German shepherd named Heidi. She excelled in obedience training and my father entered her in dog shows. We loved watching her compete and seeing all the amazing breeds of dogs. Those little poodles always looked so sharp in the ring and gave Heidi competition.
When Heidi had puppies we kept two of the males–Beau and Duke. Beau was a huge dog but very affectionate. Both males were extremely protective and we had to carefully introduce guests before the dogs would relax. Even when they knew the guest was “safe,” they would spread out around the room and stare. One of our neighbors came by for a visit one evening and stayed for hours. We later found out from his wife that he was afraid to stand up and leave until we had let the dogs out. We just thought he wanted to stay and talk.
When I was in college I saw a gorgeous Irish setter racing around a field with sunlight glinting off his long red coat. As much as I loved German shepherds, my first dog as an adult was a beautiful Irish setter named Shane. I used some of Shane’s antics for the character Hershey in Hershey: A Second Chance. For example, when the kids were having a snack, Hershey placed his large head on the table and then snaked his tongue out to steal food off Dylan’s plate. Shane did the very same thing to my guest’s dinner plate.
My next dog was a yellow Labrador retriever. A colleague bred their female with a champion sire and one of the results was Grendel. He had a huge head and was more white in coloring than yellow. He had the sweetest disposition and was very eager to please. He was easy to train because just a firm word would get his attention. When my children were born, he was very careful with them. I supervised to make sure they did not pull his tail or poke him, but he loved cuddling with them.
Less eager to please was my Airedale terrier. Rusty was almost full grown when I brought him home from a rescue. He had clearly had some training because he knew how to walk on a leash. Just like Hershey in the book, he pranced. People often commented when I walked him on how beautifully he moved. He was very patient with my son’s small parrot and would graze under the birdcage for seeds and nuts. Sometimes we would open the cage door and Winkle would hang upside down from the cage door and pluck hairs from Rusty’s back as the dog hunted under the cage for a snack, completely unfazed by the plucking. Rusty also got along well with our cat and they often napped and snuggled together.
Next was my first small dog, but he didn’t know he was a small dog. Ralph was a wire fox terrier with attitude. When we walked with larger dogs, he insisted on being in front or side by side. He was very stubborn and hard to train but full of life. He walked like a cartoon character as he strutted along beside me. He greeted everyone with glee and seemed puzzled when the occasional person did not respond. He was filled with energy and would run laps around the yard grunting little pig snorts of joy. Ralph considered himself a great hunter–mostly lizards–and did not get along well with the parrot or with the cat. He loved people, though, and would turn down free treats at the local pet store preferring a pat on the head.
I confess that my Hershey series borrows from these special animals I have shared my life with.
