Hello, all!
As part of the blog tour for the absolutely astonishing Kellyn Roth and her fantastic novel Souls Astray, I have an interview here from my favorite character, Troy Kee! His guest post is about selecting the best type of dog!
Troy Kees, in a strapping business suit
Hello there!
I’m Troy Kee, one of the main characters of Souls Astray. I’m supposed to write an article for you today, which makes me rather nervous. I’ve already written one, but every time it’s a challenge. Writing is not my strong suit!
But here goes.
Today I’d like to talk a bit about dogs—and specifically, about what makes a good dog.
I have a very good dog. His name is Holt, and I raised him from a tiny puppy. His mother abandoned him, as far as I know, so I even bottlefed him at the beginning! He’s a great friend, and I don’t know what I’d do without him.
But what qualities make a good dog like Holt? Well, I think the first and most important quality is a certain indefinable something. Call it magic or a special smell or … I don’t know. But Holt has it! I knew he did from the first moment when I knelt and picked him up, cold and squealing, for under that bush.
The next quality is loyalty. All good dogs are faithful … always faithful. Everyone knows that dogs are loyal, but it’s not true that every dog is loyal. I mean, I haven’t had a lot of dogs personally, but I’ve met some who you can just tell don’t care about their masters. It’s like they’d be just as happy with someone else. You don’t want a dog like that!
The third quality is, of course, intelligence. You need a smart dog! Now, Holt isn’t very good at obeying commands and sometimes he runs into things and very occasionally he’ll get lost between the front door and my bedroom, but that’s beside the point. Holt is very smart. He’s just a bit befuddled sometimes, like any person would be.
Fourth up we have emotions. All good dogs have emotions. Like with being faithful, you can just tell some dogs don’t really feel sadness or happiness or much of anything. Holt isn’t like that! He’s almost never sad—he has a very cheerful constitution, you could say—but he’s almost always happy and sometimes he’s grumpy. Very occasionally, of course.
Then energy. Most dogs have a lot of energy, but there are some poodles and those nonsense dogs that don’t. And that’s ridiculous. You want a dog that can drag you by the lead half a mile. I suppose it’s part strength, part endurance, but defining it as energy is easier.
You also want a dog that’s good with children and protective of them. Because you never know. You might have kids someday.
Of course it goes without saying that all good dogs can rest their paws on your shoulders and lick your face with ease. I can’t stand those little rats that yip at my heels. Dogs need to be big—if they’re not big, how can they attack an intruder? Or have a worthwhile brain, for that matter?
So those are the main qualities a good dog has to possess. There are many other amazing things that are true of Holt that couldn’t really be said of any other dog. He’s just that special. There will never be another dog like Holt.
But you know, I can’t say you should look for a dog like Holt. Because you’ll never find one.
Now, my question for you, my reader, is … what makes a good dog to you? Please tell me it’s not anything squeaky or mouse-like. Do yourself a favor and only have real dogs.
I’d better go now, but I appreciate you reading this article!
Troy E. Kee
If you would like to order this amazing book that I am going to post a review of, hop on over to the link in the picture below and make sure you get it, because if you don’t, you’re missing out on too much!
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