First, just because I have a Doberman, doesn’t mean she is a vicious hellbeast. I wouldn’t recommend breaking into the house in the middle of the night, but really, once you’ve been let in and approved by the family, Del is more likely to sneak into your bed at night than corner you. We have kids over all the time, and we haven’t had a single incident except for her offering a chewed up and soggy toy by placing it on guests’ feet
I really don’t understand the prejudice against Dobermans. They’re extremely smart dogs, very, very sweet. To automatically disqualify the owner as a prospective renter because of the Doberman is shortsighted. Because you know, I would drop a couple of grand on the pet deposit, if not more.
Don’t get me started on Luka either. Tub-o’-love weighs over 100 lbs, closer to 120. One, rather surly, rental agent told me yesterday that since the only dos they allow are under 45 pounds, Luka is three dogs by himself.
Dear Oregon, I hope you know this means war. If I have to stay in the house and have the carpet put in, I will do it. And then I’ll go out there and buy a damn house. I wasn’t that serious before, but I am now, by God. I’ll rent a stupid POD, load nonessential furniture into it, pair everyone down to one week’s worth of clothes, and we’ll get the new carpet in here pronto. We’ve done it before, we can do it again.
###
Did you know Jeaniene Frost’s fans call themselves “frosties”? :snickers: The question is how much fun-making mileage can I get out of this when I call her later. And the best thing is – Magic books’ fans don’t have any cute names so she can’t get me back.
Cool and frosty. That’s just how J rolls.
Teeeheee.
###
I have a lot of doubts about my ability as a writer. So occasionally I go back and look over the finished manuscripts written under duress to reassure myself that even if it’s not flowing when written, it still flows when read.
So here is a snippet from BAYOU MOON. I remember having a really hard time with the scene and just forcing the words out. Doesn’t read that way though.
I might be a touch scarce the next few days as I try to get the words done before the move, so this is my bribe. 
Warning: this was written in a hurry so it’s not that clean.
Context: William is hiding that he is a changeling. The Mire, where Cerise lives, is heavily influenced by Louisiana and the Edgers there think of the changelings as monsters. William thinks nobody knows. But Cerise just figured it out in the previous scene.
William padded through the night, following Cerise’s scent trail. He’d always paid close attention to female scents. Some were smothered with perfume, some were tinted with whatever the woman had eaten last, Some fragrances tantalized, others shouted, and a few cringed and proclaimed, “Easy prey.”
Cerise smelled the way he imagined his woman would smell. Clean, with a slight trace of shampoo from her hair, a touch of sweat, and a hint of something he couldn’t quite describe, something healthy, dangerous, and exciting that primed his nerves.
Mmmm, Cerise.
He chased her scent down the balcony, around the house, separating it from Murid’s trail. The two women stopped here for a while, the Murid left, but Cerise remained, resting her hands on the rail and looking at something… He leaned over the rail. Down below him Mire pines scratched at the night sky. Pale blossoms of maiden-bells bloomed between the roots, delicate like cups made of frosted glass. Cerise stood here looking at the flowers. Maybe if he brought her some, she’d talk to him.
He leaped over the balcony’s rail, landing into soft dirt. Five minutes later, he climbed back up, with a handful of flowers in his hand, and followed Cerise’s trail. It led him to the back of the house. He turned the corner and ran into Kaldar, carrying a bottle of green wine and two glasses.
Kaldar looked at his flowers. “Nice touch. Here.” He thrust the bottle and glasses at him. William took it on reflex. Kaldar pointed behind him. “Now you’re all set. Small door, up the staircase.”
He turned the corner and went off the way William came.
William looked at the bottle. Why the hell not?
The door led him to a narrow staircase. He jogged up the steps into a large room. The floor was wood. Bare rafters crossed over his head – the room must’ve been sectioned off from the rest of the attic. To the left, the wall opened into a narrow balcony. Two soft chairs waited on the right. Cerise curled in the left one, by a floor lamp.
I found you.
She blinked, startled.
He knocked on the stair rail with the bottle and looked at her.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“It’s me. Can I come in?”
“It depends. If I don’t let you in, will you huff and puff and blow my house down?”
She had no idea. “I’m more of a kick the door open and cut everyone inside to ribbons kind of wolf.”
“I better let you in then,” she said. “Is that wine for me?”
“Yes.”
He crossed the floor and handed her the thick bottle. The light of the lamp caught the wine inside and it sparkled with deep emerald green.
“Greenberry.” Cerise checked the label. “My favorite year, too. How did you know?”
He decided not to lie. “Kaldar gave it to me.”
She smiled and he had to hold himself back to keep from kissing her. “My cousin is trying so hard. It’s not his fault – he’s been trying to marry me off for years.”
“Why?”
“It’s his job. He arranges the marriages for the family: haggles over the dowry, makes preparations for the weddings, that sort of thing.” Cerise looked at the flowers in his hand. “Are those from Kaldar, too?”
“No. I picked those.”
Her eyes shone. “For me?”
“For you.” He offered her the flowers.
She reached for them. He caught her hand in his. His whole body strummed, like he awoke from a deep sleep because someone fired a gun by his head.
What the hell was he doing? William let go.
She took the flowers and smelled them. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He watched her pull the stems apart on her lap. She took three flowers, added a fourth and wrapped its stem around the first three.
Want. Want the woman. Want.
“Will you pour us some wine?” she asked.
Yeah, because wine was exactly what he needed right now. William opened the bottle and poured the shimmering green into the two glasses. It smelled nice enough. He sipped it. Nice, a bit sweet, but nice. “Good.”
“It’s home made.” Cerise kept weaving flowers together. “It’s a family tradition. Every fall we go to Fisherman’s Tree to pick the berries and then we make wine.”
She sipped her wine, he drank his, and for a while they sat quietly next to each other. He wanted to reach over and touch her. She made him feel like a child made to sit on his hands. What would she do if he just kissed her? William drank more wine, feeling the warmth spread through him. She’d try to cut off his head right there.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked.
“Because I thought of something funny.”
Cerise wove the last flower into her tangle. It looked like a large circle now. She picked it up and put it on her head.
Oh yeah.
He’d have to stalk her, he decided. Carefully and patiently. He would bring her flowers and wine and whatever else she liked, until he was sure that when he pounced, she wouldn’t want to run away.
“Is this your place?” he asked to say something.
“Yes. That’s where I hide, when I have a fight with someone.”
He didn’t remember her fighting with anyone. She sat at the table for a while and then just left.
“Who are you fighting with now?”
Cerise got up and walked over to the wall. He followed her. Pictures hung on the wall behind the glass. Cerise touched one of the frames. A man and a woman stood by the pond, both young, almost kids. The man was a Mar: lean, dark, tan. The woman was blonde, soft, and slender. Fragile. If she was his, William thought, he’d be worried about breaking her every time they touched.
“My parents,” Cerise murmured. “Gustave and Genevieve.”
“Your mother looks like a blueblood.”
She glanced at him. “What makes you say that?”
“Her hair is curled and her eyebrows are plucked down to nothing.”
Cerise laughed softly. “I pluck my eyebrows. Does that make me look like a blueblood?”
“”Yours still looks natural. Hers look odd.” He grimaced. “She looks very well taken care off. Like she never saw the sun.”
“It’s their wedding. My dad was eighteen, my mother was sixteen. She’d only been in the Mire for a year. Here look at this one. You’ll like this one better.”
He looked at the next picture. In it a young woman about Cerise’s age sat on top of a huge dead croc, leaning on its head with her elbow. Her grin cut through the mud caked on her face.
He nodded. “I do like this one better.”
“She caused my grandmother no end of misery. That’s her over there. Grandma Ive and Grandpa Vernard.”
She reached to a fist-sized glass box with a small crystal at the bottom and pushed a button. A tiny spark ignited within the crystal and a three-dimensional portrait of a couple sprung into life above the box. One of the Weird’s keepsakes and not a cheap one either, since it survived the trip to the Edge and lasted all these years.
William scrutinized the couple. The woman resembled Genevieve in her wedding picture. Same brittle quality, like a she was made with fine crystal. A man sat in the chair next to her, leaning back and looking awkward. Long skinny legs, long skinny arms. Even sitting, he was very tall.
They were bluebloods, no question, and the ones with long pedigrees. And money. The clothes looked expensive and the emeralds on the woman’s neck had to have cost a small fortune.
“My Grandpa and I were very close. He was brilliant. So, so smart. He always made time for me. We used to garden together. And tomorrow we’ll have to go and cut the Sheeriles out of his house.”
Cerise’s shoulders went rigid. “My grandparents were from an old Weird family. My grandfather did medical research. He was famous, actually. They had status and money. My mother used to tell me about their castle. It was somewhere north. They had dogwood trees and they would bloom white in the spring. She said they would host balls, and people would gather from all over and dance… Have you ever been to a ball, William?”
He’d been to too many of them. Casshorn, Declan’s uncle, had adopted him to get him out of jail in hopes that he and Declan would kill each other. The adoption came with etiquette lessons. “I have.”
Cerise glanced at him. “Is it fun?”
“I was bored. Too many people, too many colors. Everything is too bright and too vivid. Everyone is talking, but nobody is listening, because they’re too concerned with being seen. After a while it all just blends.”
“I’d like to go to one,” she said. “It might not be my thing even, but I’d like to go at least once to say I’ve done it. Sometimes I feel cheated. I know it’s selfish, but sometimes I wonder what it would’ve been like if my Grandfather didn’t get himself exiled. Who knows, I might have been a lady.”
He didn’t have much use for ladies. A lady was someone else’s wife, or daughter, or sister. They were not real, almost like trophies forever out of his reach. She was real. And strong.
She looked about to cry.
“Would you like to dance?”
Her eyes opened wide. “Are you serious?”
Once he learned something, he never forgot it. William took a step forward and executed a perfect deep bow, his left arm out. “Would you do me the honor of dancing with me, Lady Cerise?”
She cleared her throat and curtsied, holding imaginary skirts. “Certainly, Lord Bill. But we have no music.”
“That’s fine.” He stepped to her, sliding one arm around her waist. She put her hand on his shoulder. Her body touched his and he spun with her around the attic, light on his feet, leading her. It took her a moment and then she caught his rhythm and followed him. She was flexible and quick and he kept picturing her naked.
“You dance really well, Lord Bill.”
“Especially if I have a knife.”
She laughed. They circled the attic, once, twice, and he brought them to the center of the room, shifting from a quick dance to a smooth swaying.
“Why are we slowing down?” she asked.
“It’s a slow song.”
“Ah.”
She leaned against him. They were almost hugging.
“What’s bothering you?” he asked.
“I’m scared to death.” Her voice was barely above whisper. “And mad. I’m so mad, I can’t even breathe. I have to save my parents. I love them so much, William. I miss them so bad, it hurts. I have to rescue them, even if they were horrible people, because if I don’t, our reputation will plummet. People will think we’re weak, and they will peck us apart little by little. But to save my parents, I have to sacrifice some of my family. Tomorrow they will die, their seats at the table will be empty, and for what? So we can keep living in this mud and squabbling over it. Gods, there has to be something more to life than this…”
She closed her eyes.
He held her close. “You’ll do fine. You’re a natural.”
“A natural what?” she asked.
“A killer. I’ve known people who were better swordsmen than me, but they didn’t have that thing that made them kill. They hesitated, they thought about it, and I killed them. You have it. You’re good and you’re fast. I’ll be there to keep you safe.”
“I don’t want to be a killer, William.”
“You don’t get to pick.”
She pulled away from him. He didn’t want to let her go, but he did.
Cerise hugged herself. “On the wall to your left.”
He turned. Two photographs waited at eye level. The first showed three men standing close. The middle one was Peva Sheerile. He had one arm around an adolescent kid with the face of a spoiled child and the other around a tall blond man with mournful grey eyes.
“The Sheeriles. That’s who we’re killing tomorrow.” Cerise sounded bitter.
He looked at the second photo and stopped. Cerise and Lagar danced silhouetted against a bonfire.
She was dancing with her enemy.
Why? Was he better than me? Did she like him? Did she want to dance with him again? “Did you think of him while we were dancing?”
“What?”
He wanted to rip Lagar’s head off his shoulders. Instead he turned and went down the stairs.
OMG. That was a huge snippet, thank you!!!
I like that Lord Bill (snickers) got her flowers, that was really thoughtful. Kaldar is a hoot.
The scene between William and Cerise is really touching. I like how William really WANTS her, but keeps in control, although it must be hard for a changeling not to act on instinct at all. I like how she opens up to him and tells him about her parents.
AWESOME SNIPPET!!!
And… I’m glad I’m not the only one irritated by eybrows that get plucked into non-existence!
1) Stupid pet policies! I concur with your outrage.
2) Love the snippet. William is great.
Know what you mean about dogs. We have two golden retrievers that live in our house along with 3 cats, all babies, all spoiled. Yours just look scary but I’m sure big babies.
I love Jeaniene Frosts books but I will never be a frostie lol. That’s why I like this website cause we are like bad ass bitches or something cool like that!
Thank you for such a long and really nice snippet. What a way to start a rainy cold day.
Magic fandom: Bad Ass Bitches.
This begs for a T’shirt.
sounds catchy!! I’m a bad ass bitch. Now if only h2b wouldn’t laugh at me when I say something like that.
I was so excited about the snippet I forgot to comment on the dog issue! *slaps forehead*
I hate that people think doberman or rottweilers (or other breeds) are bad or dangerous simply by being what they are. what makes a dog dangerous or not is always the human raising / training / controlling (or sadly, quite often not controlling) him. I think a doberman is a beautiful dog and can be a great companion. Every dog can be dangerous with the WRONG training. Granted, a tiny hand-bag dog won’t be able to do much damage to you ( maybe to your toes), but still… A dog that is in a normal environment with caring people and not trained to attack is not a danger to people.
btw, in Austria tiny dogs (like chihuaha, dachshund or maltese…) are called Wadlbeißer = calf-biters (because they don’t even reach up to your knee)
Oh yes a t-shirt definitely! Bad Ass Bitches you mess with one of us you mess with all of us. Maybe with a sword. Frosties would have like a snowflake lol
Thank you for the snippet! It’s awesome!
Good luck for moving…
My uncle has a Doberman, and he says the same thing. It’s all in how the dog is trained. Thanks for the snippet!
Thank you so much!! That snippet was awesome!!
Thanks to assholes in the past that raised certain breeds of dogs a bad way, we now have people freaking out when they hear those breeds named. I have meet plenty of very, very sweet dobermans and pits.
Bad Ass Bitches…BAB, add an E some how and Kate will kick our asses?
Love the snippet! Thank you!
I grew up with a dobie. He was the biggest lush puppy in the world.
We have a 95 lb pit . We get so much un asked for advice and criticism about our dog. In fact, we had to add a clause to our homeowners insurance & pay more because he’s a pit. Our dog is a huge baby. Though, I wouldn’t give you good odds if you decided to break into our house.
He has never attacked, bitten, or humped anyone’s leg. I can leave him alone in house for a couple of hrs(I dare not go longer-lol) and nothing will be destroyed. He will not leave our yard no matter what is happening beyond fence unless command given. He is MUCH better behaved then my neighbors pommie who craps right in front of my door. Grrrr.
Having this breed of dog severely limits where we can live but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“frostie” *snort* I don’t think I want to be known as a frostie. I’d rather be a Kat.
Love, love, looooove the snippet.
Thank you for the snippet. It’s awesome!
Damn I can’t believe it!! Wouldn’t they at least see that you had no problem in your current home??
By the way excellent snippet
I have a pit bull, Peaches, she’s shy and believes she’s a lapdog. She’s also my 2 year old nephew’s personal toy. There aren’t bad dogs, there are bad owners.
Great snippet! I really love the way William’s mind works.
I can sorta relate.We have greyhounds as some of our pets,most of them come up to my waist and they really do believe that they can climb on our laps to be petted like our terriers do, It’s so cute and funny to watch. And my 2 year old niece is convinced that they are her personal Horsies, she keeps trying to climb on them for a ride. Everytime she does it, I start laughing, since most of them tower over her.
As the owner of a Rottweiler, I sympathize. There are no such things as bad breeds, only bad owners. I have friends with dobies, mastiffs, and pit bulls and we all have the problem with this. Hotels are a pain too.
Thank you!!! Loved the snippet!
(and isn’t it funny how resistance makes you want things that much more?)
I feel your pain in regards to “dangerous” dogs. I sincerely hate closed minded people. We owned 2 pits for over 13 years. Having 13 nieces and nephews, and a few Godchildren, our girls were around kids all the time. They were nothing but complete babies, and would allow kids to do pretty much anything to them and they loved it. Now because of the province wide ban in Ontario, when our beloved girls passed we couldn’t get another pit. We now have a beautiful American Bulldog and I’m just waiting for her breed to get banned as well because of ignorant backyard breeders pumping these dogs out and selling them to punks.
I didn’t read the snippet since I don’t like to be spoiled. I just like to read the books when they get published. I’m sure it was good!
You don’t own a doberman or mastiff….you own large mutts. Way easier and requires much less explanation. So….’We’re looking for a house…I have 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 kids and a husband, what can you provide us?’
great way to start the day,, thanks for the long snippet.. cant wait for the book
What an early morning treat!
I hate the pet policies. I too have a wonderful dog, but because he weighs over 25 lbs. my landlord is very unhappy. He is an English bulldog so although relatively short he is quite heavy and when full grown will probably tip the scales around 50lbs. He is a lazy bum and I highly doubt he will ever do more damage than the yapping, scratching, biting Pomeranian next door. Down with dog discrimination!!!
I still remember the $300 non-refundable deposit (an oxymoron for sure) for having our cat in an apartment. We had no choice so we paid it though hubby called it a “cat fine” from that point on. Cat never messed up the place at all and we left the apartment in better shape than when we moved in. Grrrr.
Hubby had a doberman when he was little. She watched over him and would growl at strangers if they got too close. All other times she was sweetness personified. It all depends on how they’re trained.
This snippet really made me look forward to the Edge 2 more so than before. I really couldnt tell what kind of characters these two were going to be, and if I was going to like them. But they seem awesome now with more info!
Cant wait!
When i read about the ‘Frosties’ all’s i could think of was Cereal.
Kellogs Frosties was my favorite when i was a kid.
Mmmm Frosties…
That could go on a T-shirt.
‘Bad Ass Bitches eat Frosties for breakfast.’
Loved the snippet. I find William really funny. Bless him.
‘Bad Ass Bitches eat Frosties for breakfast.’
I would so wear that!
It would be so funny just to see people ‘think’ they know what it means… but actually having no idea. =D
This went a little too far. Jeaniene is my best friend and while I’ll be the first in line for fun making, let’s not carry it into war territory.
Ofcourse! no offense was meant.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for the snippet.
I don’t think the problem is that people do not like pets. I think it’s some pet owners who ruin it for other people. The property owners doesn’t really know you or your pets so it’s not personal. They just have had bad experience with other pet owners. Try not to take offense. If you are willing to pay a bigger deposit and tell them that up front then they may feel more comfortable with the furry family members.
We so want a Rottweiler, but haven’t gotten one for fear of neighbor persecution. We live in suburban hell, where one neighbor’s ankle-biter can yap all night and the other can not neuter their tom, so it sprays our bushes and car. But if we mention the dreaded “R” or “D” word as possibilities for a pet they get all worried and start making pointed comments about how they heard on the news the other day that one of those dogs ate 10 children for breakfast.
Anyhoo, thank you, thank you, thank you for the snippet. And best of luck with the move.
To be fair to Jeaniene you did asked us to pick what animal we would be aka bear clan, cat clan …etc…. I not sure what that you make your fan base … wild childs.
lol
Hmmm … jealous William. So good.
I once house/dog sat for a friend. Their dog was a sweet, slightly older beagle. This beagle would go crazy, lunging and barking at any other dog it would see while on his daily walks around the neighborhood. One day, we happened to come to a corner at the same time another neighbor was walking his doberman. Beagle starts in on his shenanigans, while the Doberman owner calmly stops, looks at his dog, says sit and then waits while I drag the Beagle across the street. The whole time the Doberman just sits there so calmly, relaxed and patient. No barking, twitching or anything other than friendly curiousity. It was amazing and so nice to see. not that the Beagle learned by example.
My family worked with the doberman rescue league when I was young, and we had three dobermans who were the kindest, gentlest dogs you could ever wish for. A child could walk right over them and they would not bat an eyelash. And yes, for large dogs they are very sneaky and will climb into even a water bed without waking you up
Excellent, excellent excellent snippet! Thank you so much Ilona, you rock.
“Bad Ass Bitches eat Frosties for breakfast” *snort* There’s a shirt that begs to be worn..
As far as the dog thing goes, that just blows. Here in California, property management companies rule with an iron fist.( I would assume Oregon isn’t too far different) You’re essentially paying because other people are too stupid and lazy to train their dogs. As someone who’s worked in the vet business, there are no bad breeds, only bad owners. Some of the dogs that have the nastiest reputations have been the smartest, most well trained dogs I’ve ever seen. If there was a way to avoid property management at all, I would… but that’s just not practical. LOL So we understand your frustration!!!
Wow, the snippet is amazing. I think I love William better than any other of your male characters.
Hope the dog/rental/house issue works out.
OK. Color me stupid, but I haven’t been on the internet in 4 days, and I guess I missed the answer to this question. Why are you moving to Oregon? Not that it is any of my business, but I am so curious.(read nosy). I am with KarriB. You have large mutts, not a dobe and a mastiff. And answer nosy realtor questions with, “Yes, it does look like a doberman, doesn’t it? It’s dad must have been one, don’t you think?” Not a lie, but leaves the questioner wondering.
Brilliant
Canada will take too long, 2+ years.
We must move to get out of this school district.
I’m with Susie. I thought you were moving to Canada not Oregon. I love big dogs and don’t like property management people. I really enjoyed the snippet. William is more interesting then I had expected. You two write very good characters in wonderful, well written places. I am glad that you will be writing more.
Canada = 2 years at least.
Kid 1 hits highschool in one year.
The kind of highschool where nobody wants to go to.
Love Oregon. Live in VA, but have to go out there quite bit. I am very jealous – cooler than GA (or VA for that matter). I’ve spent time in Portland and Eugene and thought the people were very nice. Does this mean Kate’s moving too?
We have two big dogs – a golden mix and a very large skinny standard poodle. Neither are scary, but the poodle’s a LOT wilder than my sister in law’s doberman! So I’m in full agreement with the others who have posted. I also agree that it’s harder with large dogs, no matter what the breed. One reason why we don’t want to move from this house is that we don’t want to show it. In between the dogs spreading the joy of mud throughout the house and the difficulty of getting them out of the house while it’s being shown, I never want to move!! Good luck!
You hit the nail on the head there. But he have to move due to our school district going under. Our kids have not had a full week of school since January.
Holy crap! Since January? What’s going on with the district? That is really strange.
I agree that pet policies can be utterly ridiculous bordering on discriminatory. When, Cody was still with us, 140 lb rottweiler german shepard mix (affectionately known as the “rot n shepard”) He was so gentle, he allowed visiting childern to climb all over him, he never lost his temper, though he may of rolled his eyes a time or two. Anyhow, I had to buy a house in the area i wanted, and then had to tell my insurance agent that I had “no idea” what kind of breed he was, due to the fact that hey were not going to allow me homeowners insurance with a rottweiler on the premise. Can you believe that? Good luck, I’m totally on your side.
I totally think your fans are “packmates” which is just as corny as frosties! I love both of y’alls works but I don’t think i’ll refer to myself as either :p
I can sympathize with the school district situation; not as a parent but as a very involved aunt. Our district is wonderful for elementary but the pits from there on out. Luckily here in the DC metro area there are a ton of private schools with huge endowments (1 niece & 2 nephews on full scholarships) and there are also some really great districts that you can be a part of if you get a little creative.
Pet policies suck. A good friend of mine was forced to let her dog go because she really had no choice on moving and could find nowhere to rent with her chow-chow. Shame that people are so silly. On the other hand, they accept little dogs which generally spend so much time yapping and barking as to totally eclipse any problems a larger dog would ever cause.
Ilona, I know it’s a really scary option and I don’t know how strong the support is in your area {altho I bet it’s very strong if you look} but we pulled our son out of private schools {he’d have been eaten alive in public schools} in the 8th grade and started homeschooling. We’d been knocking the idea around for years. Now we just regret not doing it sooner. His national testing scores skyrocketed as a national report found homeschool children test much better than public school kids on the same national test. He’s now duel enrolled homeschool/community college at 16/11th grade. And he’s knocking the CC classes out of the park. AND the colleges are starting to recruit Homeschooled Kids. Best decision we ever made.
We were updating our home-owners insurance this weekend, filling out a survey they had sent out to us.One of the questions asked us to check whether or not we had one of the following breeds: Doberman, Rottweiler, Golden Retriever, Staffordshire Terrier, German Shepherd, Akida, Bullmastiff, or Decline to Answer. We have 2 Bullmastiffs, both male and they both tip the scales at over 125 pounds. When my husband and I looked at each, we knew that if we declined to answer, by omission we were admitting to owning one of the listed breeds. And of course, we were also looking at our 2 boys who were curled up together in the sun looking like a couple of soft, squishy stuffed animals wondering how anyone could consider them a menace. Their only danger is in the amount of food they eat and the amount of waste they produce!
Come to Minnesota. The Twin Cities area is one of the most literate in the nation and we have among the highest graduation rates and ACT scores.
Lots of other authors in the area, too.
Oh wow, I had no idea how hard it was for people with big dog in US. I live in Melbourne and while it would be diffivult to find an appartment for rent where pets would be allowed, finding a house is not a problem. And no one asks what kind of dogs you have. Either the pets are allowed or they are not. **Snipet is awesome***
Dobermens, and most breeds on these lists, are very misunderstood.
It’s interesting you mention dobies…I’m conducting research (and writing an article) on white Dobermens. As a Doberman owner, what do you think of them? What do you think of people breeding and selling them?
Katie, I don’t believe that white dobermans should be continued as a breed. The function of a doberman is to protect and guard their owners. Delilah, although we encouraged her, was never actually taught how to guard. She just does it naturally and it makes her happy.
A white doberman is an albino. They have sensitivity to light, high risk of skin cancers, and they are occasionally deaf. The only reason to continue albinism is because the dogs look different from regular dobermans. That is an extremely selfish reason. White dobermans are useless as guard dogs and their puppies would have the same host of problems.
Legitimate ethical breeders always consider health of the breed and individual animal when matching prospective parents.
I shouldn’t be so opinionated on the subject, but I can’t lie; I feel the exact same way. The entire practice, as well as the arguments of breeders in favor of the “rare” white doberman…it’s unnerving. I won’t even start on the ethics of it all.
Thanks for taking the time to respond! It’s interesting hearing (or reading) the opinions of dobie owners.
That’s not a snippet – that’s practically a 4 course meal! Yummy, and fun too!
Dogs – I do know that a number of friends of mine (who always do rescue animals), If they don’t know you and you ask, although they are pretty sure of % breed; they will say that they can’t be sure; and point out that genetics and dogs can be interesting things… I don’t know how much of that is just avoiding the issue entirely; or that a number of my friends like to be scrupulously honest; and that would be an entirely accurate statement… Once they know you (and consequently know you won’t freak out) they tend to say “we think he’s probably 100% Rottie”, or whatever it happens to be.
The other thing to consider, although I gave you links for the PDX area; there are a LOT of people who rent houses (both in and outside of the urban growth boundary); and I’ve been able to get my pets there when I tired of apartment living for a while. Admittedly, my dog tops the scales at 50 (Dalmatian); but it seems like home owners are less paranoid about possible ‘bad things’ TM with pets… And you would be able to get a decent deal on a real house out here too – we had horribly inflated prices through 07; and the correction has been rather painful – especially the further from downtown Portland you get. You might want to check Wilsonville – they’re like a half hour south of Portland, and north of Salem and went through a giant building spree early in the decade; (including lots of decent school districts) so my guess is there’s a lot of reasonable priced availability there.
Somewhere in the Closet of Doom is a picture of me three years old and “riding” one of my babysitter’s Dobermans.
Those big love hounds let me tumble all over them- pull their ears, jump on their backs, and never did a thing to stop me or responded with more than licking.
Ironically they were named Apollo and Thor, but they should’ve been Hugs and Kiss.
too romantic for my own good….
Nope, no more comments here…. Thanks for the snippet though…
And as a kid that had grown up with a few English Setters I can’t understand the prejudice….
Big, lovable, goofy dogs never get a break! I am soon to be hunting for a home to house me and my 8 cats, 6 if I can place two in homes before I go. I am prepared for lots of raised eyebrows and “Uh oh, another crazy cat lady” expressions.
Loved the William & Cerise snippet – THANKS!
As an Oregonian myself, I suspect you are looking for rentals in the wrong areas. Certain places will be huge fans of big dogs, and totally supportive of them (that you have kids with your doberman would negate any hellhound concerns.) Other neighborhoods treat dogs as high-end accessories, and wouldn’t be able to handle a Real Dog.
I am looking at what’s listed
I’ll tell you my favorite people are whack-a-doodle about some dog breeds stories.
I picked up my new rottweiler puppy when she was 8 weeks old. She was a bundle of black and brown puppy fuzz and probably the cutest thing then in existence. We stopped at a store to pick up some supplies on the way home, and I carried her (new puppy, waiting on the vaccines, etc) inside. We met a very nice DOT (dear old thing), who praised my pup and generally loved all over her. Then she asked me, “So what kind of dog is she?”
“A Rottweiler”
And, I kid you not, she backed away like I had pulled a gun. Once she got about 20 feet away, she turned and scurried off at maximum warp. From my terrifying, 8-week old, ball o’ fuzz.
Peoples are crazy.
Rottweilers have been my breed of choice for a long time. My first Rottie was my demo dog when I taught puppy classes and she was a saint with all of the kids and puppies in the class. Later she was a model for my art students. Since I wanted to keep my job as a public school teacher I really couldn’t bring in a nude human model so Samantha gallantly filled in. The two Rotties I have now are total clowns. But if I am walking them or have them out with me in public people act like they are hellhounds looking for a child to snack on. After all of these years I no longer try to reason with people or explain how gentle my girls are. They don’t listen and it’s bad for my blood pressure. Dawn I hope your Rottie brings you as much love and joy as my girls have given me and my family.
Ah, the misunderstood doberman. That poor dog is in the same category as the maligned rotweiler, besmirched boxer and vilified german shepherd. All of them beautiful dogs and yet have a horrible reputation. I grew up with a rotweiler and she was the sweetest thing on earth.
Mind you, if you weren’t pre-approved by her pack, then look out!
Thanks for the fantastic snippet! I’m really looking forward to the day I get my paws on the whole thing.
Last Spring my family acquired a Pitbull/Mastiff mix, and whenever I would tell anyone her breed, they were always like, “Ohhhh Pitbull. You have to be careful of those dogs. They’ll bite you and eat you in your sleep.” And I was always like, “Are you kidding me?” Just the other day I took our Ten month old 83 lbs Pitbull/Mastiff mix to the library (I work there and we sat outside on a bench) and EVERYONE who saw her thought she was adorable, though they noticed her coloring (brindle markings, light in color, rather looks like a tiger) before they asked what kind of dog she is. Lucky for us, we live on a farm and don’t have to worry about rent and such.
LOVED the snippet
Oh, and if you google “Toe eating Dachshund” you’ll find an article about a woman from Illinois whose dog ate her toe while she slept. I’ve never hear of a large dog doing that, have you?
Hmm, I had no idea about the challenges big dog owners have to face in the US. Peculiar. I suppose it all depends on the state, though I wouldn’t have pegged Oregon as that difficult. Well, what do I know, little ole’ Finn me.
I’m a proud owner of a beauceron, and I must admit, sometimes it has me growling (me, not the dog) to have people point and exclaim, call my baby horrible and cross the street just because she’s a bit big and black. People and their prejudices. Oh well, I know I’m biased but still, my sister’s little boston terrier (whom I love to bits) is far more destructive than my sweet-as-pie, well-behaved darling :].
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