Barking at Eden's Door

welcome

Woof! My name is Shy. Inspired by author, Beth Ciotta's real-life dog, Cheyenne, I'm the fictional dog featured in the novel OUT OF EDEN (coming April 2010 from HQN Books). This blog chronicles my adventures before the novel begins and then throughout. Abandoned and scared, could Eden (Paradise in the Heartland) be my new home? If so, who would make my best human companion?

Woof Report #1 -- Meet Max Grogan



I think I mentioned before that someone dumped me in the woods. I guess they didn't want me anymore. I guess I was too much trouble. All I know is that I'm alone and scared. Mostly I've been hiding out in the woods near the lake. It's kind of scary here, especially at night, but at least there's water and when I dig around I find grubs and berries to eat.

Every now and then I sneak into a nearby town. I've heard people call it Eden. I've also heard it called Paradise and one lady called it Purgatory. Weird that a place should have so many names. Then again, I've had a lot of names too. Dog, Fido, Dumbshit, Molly, Pain-in-the-Ass. Some day I'll have one name, a name that will last forever. I'm thinking that means I need to find one person, one caretaker who'll keep me forever. Seeing my previous caretakers weren't the nicest, most reliable of persons... I'm going to be very picky.

So, like I said, I've been sneaking into Eden every now and then. I've been watching and listening and looking for the perfect person. Seems everywhere I turn I run into an old man called Max Grogan. Max used to be a fire chief. Now he's retired. I don't think he likes being retired, whatever that means. He's always sticking his nose into everyone's business, he's always ordering people around. I guess he's not horribly awful though because everyone always hollers "Howdy, Max!" and he meets up a lot with three other wrinkled men. His 'pack', I guess. They play games and drink and eat together. They talk about other people and stuff. Mostly, they talk about the Apple Festival. They say it's coming soon. Max keeps talking about 'Big Red'. How he has to get 'him' all gussied up so he can show him off at the Apple Festival. I thought maybe Big Red was a dog. I thought maybe Big Red could be my friend. Max seems to love Big Red a lot. Maybe he could love me.

Yesterday I wandered over to Max's house. Guess what? Big Red isn't a dog. It's a big truck. A fire truck and it's really old like Max. Maybe Max is grouchy because he's lonely. Maybe he could use a friend like. It would be fun to ride around on Big Red. Except I saw a bird poop on Big Red and Max hollered really loud and shook his fist. Sometimes when I get scared I pee. What if I got scared and peed in Big Red? What if Max hollered really loud and shook his fist at me?
Maybe I should keep looking. Woof!

Coming January....



Have you ever wondered what goes through a dog's mind? Well, I can tell you. I'm a dog. A dog with no home and no name. Though that's going to change. Soon!

Starting January, I'll share my quest to find a new home. I have my eye on Eden. They call it Paradise in the Heartland. Paradise sounds good to me. Now I just have to find the right human companion. Someone who will love me, unlike the human who dumped me in the woods. Some people are beasts. I'm only a few months old. I'm scared and lonely and sick of scrounging for berries and grubs. I will find a nice human. The perfect human
for me. I'm on a mission!
Stay tuned for my adventures....
Woof!