Chet The Dog

Dottie came to us through suspicious circumstances 12 years ago when we lived in Denver, but with a little detective work and her rabies tag, we traced her to her original family in Kansas. They explained that she had a border collie mother and heeler father and spent the first year of her life running around the 200 acre farm. After describing the circumstances of her departure, they gave us their blessing to keep her. We didn’t change her name, because, after all, it is the nickname for another lost girl from Kansas.

When she was young we competed in Disc Dog competitions using Elvis music as our back drop, but one of us wasn’t very good so we didn’t go far. Now in Utah, she still has an obsession with Frisbees, and, until her hearing started to fade, would perk up to the opening strands of “A Little Less Conversation”.

At 13.5 years old, she doesn’t run for either the doorbell nor the cheese wrapper anymore but will cheerfully interrupt her nap for a game of Chuck-it with Mom or a trip to In N Out with Dad for the dog-friendly Flying Dutchman. She still enjoys short hikes in the local mountains and eagerly anticipates sharing a Slim Jim during rest stops. Her advice to her new friend Chet is that “age is only a number, but nothing higher than two.”

“Harvey and I just finished Spencer Quinn’s latest offering, Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge. Because we are such big fans of Quinn’s Chet and Bernie series we were prepared to like the novel, but started reading somewhat reluctantly, wishing at least one dog was involved. However, we soon discovered despite the lack of canines this book has the engaging characters we’ve come to expect from Quinn, a plot that kept us wanting to know more, and so many clever twists and turns we were completely hooked.

We particularly appreciated the rollicking depiction of Mrs. Loretta Plansky, a widow several years past her college days, but clearly not ready for the “old folks home”. Some nasty crooks trick the doting Grandma into giving them access to all her money, and Mrs. Plansky does not take this insulting crime lying down. She launches a scheme to get her money back and punish the perps (hence the “revenge”). A brilliantly funny journey ensues, and while she may initially appear a clueless oldster, we learn she has some tricks of her own to deploy. Without giving too much away, Mrs. Plansky’s sweet but tough, thoroughly likable, and even gets up to a bit of romance, something you don’t always see with heroines of a certain age.

We thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, and give it a “five dog biscuit” review. Hoping to read more about Loretta and her friends in the future!”

“Thumper came to live with us in the winter of 2017. My niece believed we needed a dog and found this tiny corgi that needed a home; after all, if a corgi was good enough for a Queen, he was good enough for us. Over the next 6 years, Thump would become one of our pack. He’d sit with us, walk with us – until he did his business, that signaled the end of the walk – and herd us to where we should be with a gentle boop of his nose on our ankle. His favorite things to do involve snow in the winter and treats in all other seasons. When my dad passed in late 2021, Thump became the emotional support and therapy pupper he was meant to be. He was never far from my mom’s side, rather her feet. Every sneeze or cough was thoroughly investigated to make sure she was well. At the end of his caretaking day, Thumpers favorite place to be is relaxing on the couch next to me waiting for that last crumb to drop.”