Why did I use a dog to tell some of my stories? Who better than the main character himself to tell us what’s happening?
I began using dog storytellers with the Long Dog D’Silvo adventure books, with the Dachshund pup telling his story of adoption, then of life aboard the Sea Maiden yacht and his adventures with the Doggie Gang. All unfolds through the eyes of Long Dog—what he sees and hears, his feelings and thoughts. Most of his interaction is with dogs, the occasional cat or seagull, and of course, his people. They’re all just characters.
Using a dog storyteller allows for some humor because of course he sees things differently than his human counterpart. It required a good deal of thought on my part, and a knowledge of those special looks and the body language pets use to make their thoughts known. Besides, it is my ‘literary license’ to write it that way!
In the Hercules and Big Bertha mysteries, the main difference is that all interaction is with humans. While the humans might talk and act, we are not privy to their thoughts or feelings except as interpreted by the Chihuahua/Terrier who thinks of himself as a Dog P.I. Again, this makes for some humorous moments.
I like a good laugh and these types of stories lend themselves nicely to that. After all, we’re dealing with fantasy so why not take it all the way? Who knows if dog’s are or aren’t capable of fully communicating with each other. Dogs hear sounds beyond human range so maybe we just haven’t unlocked the key to Dog Talk yet! After all, it’s only recently that we’ve discovered elephants project low-pitched ‘rumbles’ over long distances, ‘talking’ to each other, and whales send sonar-like sounds hundreds of miles through the oceans.
