Anyone who has read one of my P.J. Benson Mysteries (THE CROWS, AS THE CROW FLIES, EYE OF THE CROW, and EAT CROW AND DIE) knows Baraka, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, plays an important part in each of the stories. No, P.J.’s dog doesn’t solve mysteries, doesn’t talk to her, and doesn’t always make her life easier, but he sometimes does—quite accidentally—help her.
Baraka is 4 months old in THE CROWS and is all puppy, which means he chews things up and jumps on people. He’s 6 months old in AS THE CROW DIES, 8 months old in EAT CROW AND DIE, and 10 months old in my short story EYE OF THE CROW. He’s a year and 4 months in the book I’m working on now. Full grown (bigger than a male Rhodesian Ridgeback should be according to standard) and a central part of P.J.’s family. Will he help save her life in this book?
I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far.
In each book I try to give the reader a little information about the breed and what a Rhodesian Ridgeback looks like, but if you’d like more, check out this website: https://www.rrcus.org/
I also thought you might like to see a few pictures of some of the Ridgebacks I’ve owned so here goes–
Good dogs leave paw prints on our hearts forever.
So true, Jim. Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve always been a “dog person” so I knew something about the breed before reading your post. What I didn’t know is how much a dog can animate a scene and add depth to a character.
You may be seeing more furries in my future writing.
Pat, I look forward to seeing furries in your future writing.