The Conundrum of Collies (Love & Pets #6) - A.G. Henley Page 0,58

of border collies as the breed to write about, was inspired by a dog that hasn’t been alive for over fourteen years.

Katy was my husband’s and my first fur baby, a four-year-old border collie and Australian shepherd mix that we adopted from the no-kill shelter in Boulder, Colorado.

We could tell right away that she was intelligent but wary. We were told she was friendly but didn’t like other dogs. We were twenty-two and inexperienced as pet owners, but we just knew she was perfect.

The first night we took Katy home, she bit my face. Just a warning nip. Uh oh. Within the first year, she bit my lip, causing me to bleed and leaving a little scar, snapped at the heel of a man walking by (luckily he wore thick cowboy boots), and bit the leg of a boy who unintentionally roller skated into her while playing roller hockey on our street. It wasn’t a serious injury, but we felt terrible.

Houston, we had a problem. Other dogs, Katy loved. She didn’t trust humans.

We did the best we could as young dog owners. We took her to dog training, which helped her behavior a lot, we kept her on a short leash and away from strangers, ran with her to burn energy, and tried to teach her to catch a frisbee. (She had zero interest—she gave the most withering looks when she felt something was beneath her). We rescued Zippy, a dachshund-terrier mix and our second fur baby, to keep her company. Katy adored Zippy. Zippy loved humans and ignored Katy.

Katy remained wary of people. One night we invited one of my husband’s coworkers over for dinner. She sat right by his side all night. He thought she liked him, but we knew better. She was keeping a very close eye on him—just in case. A year or two later, she tore up a square foot of wood flooring when she thought she heard something in the vent below (and maybe she did). Katy and Zippy loved escaping from our yard. One time, like Bean, they ended up in someone’s fenced backyard. Luckily, they had their collars and identification tags on and we got a call to pick them up. We kept working with them.

Katy lived to be fifteen. In the last five years, she developed epilepsy, bad hips and knees, and hearing loss. The hearing loss turned out to be a blessing. Once she was deaf, she let down her guard a bit. She slept longer and more soundly. She didn’t worry about who might be at the front door or walking by on the other side of the street (or several streets over, for that matter). Things skittering in the vents? Who cares?

When Katy was fourteen, I found her splayed out on her back, snoozing. Normally, when she sensed someone come into the room, she’d jump up, ready to investigate the source of trouble. This time, she popped an eye open, saw it was me, and went back to sleep. It had only taken ten years, but Katy had relaxed.

The last few years, she lived her best life. She smiled a lot (you know dogs can smile, right?), dug in the trash with joyful abandon, and she loved visits from friends and family—canines and humans alike.

When her bad hips and knees finally gave out, no longer holding her weight, she passed away in our living room with Zippy curled up nearby and my husband and me by her side, petting her until her eyes closed for the last time. She was at peace.

Okay, there was that time at age thirteen when she chewed up and swallowed part of a rib bone and had to have several inches of her pierced intestines removed in emergency surgery, only by then we’d learned.

No dog is perfect.

But Katy was ours. And we loved her.

A.G. Henley, September 2020

Acknowledgments

I can’t believe the Love & Pets series has grown to six books! Each one has been so much fun to write. I love to hear from readers about which is their favorite, and which breed they think I should write about next. You, dear readers, make the long hours at my desk worth it. Thank you for buying, reading, reviewing, and telling others about my books.

Speaking of reviews, special thanks to the Henley Huddle, my review team. I appreciate each and every one of you. The Love & Pets Facebook group has also been very helpful when I get stuck thinking of book titles, or when I need to find out if most people would know what a disc dog club is.

Many thanks to Lorie Humpherys for her proofreading prowess. If someone can read a book as quickly and carefully as she, I’ve yet to meet them. I’m also grateful to Najla Qamber and her team at Najla Qamber Designs for their eye catching, colorful covers. Super readers and book-loving friends Kathy Azzolina and Terri White keep me laughing with their memes and messages.

Finally, love and thanks to all of my family and friends. Your support means everything.

Also by A. G. Henley

The Love & Pets Series (Sweet Romantic Comedy)

Love, Pugs, and Other Problems: A Love & Pets Prequel Story

The Problem with Pugs

The Trouble with Tabbies

The Downside of Dachshunds

The Lessons of Labradors

The Predicament of Persians

The Conundrum of Collies

The Pandemonium of Pets: A Love & Pets Christmas (coming December 2020)

The Love & Pets Series Box Set: Books 1 - 3

The Brilliant Darkness Series (Young Adult Fantasy)

The Scourge

The Keeper: A Brilliant Darkness Story

The Defiance

The Gatherer: A Brilliant Darkness Story

The Fire Sisters

The Brilliant Darkness Boxed Set

Novellas (Young Adult Fantasy)

Untimely

Featured in Tick Tock: Seven Tales of Time

Basil and Jade

Featured in Off Beat: Nine Spins on Song

The Escape Room

Featured in Dead Night: Four Fits of Fear

About the Author

A.G. Henley is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and fantasy books and stories, including the Love & Pets sweet romantic comedy series. The first book in her young adult Brilliant Darkness series, The Scourge, was a Library Journal Self-e Selection and a Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist. She’s also a clinical psychologist, but she promises not to analyze you . . . much.

Find her at:

aghenley.com

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