McKenna And Spot In The Vaccine Line

TAHOE HERALD 

News Flash

Byline: Glenda Gorman

A reliable witness reports seeing a tall man with a giant Harlequin Great Dane in the vaccination line. This reporter suggests that the overwhelming likelihood is that their identities were local detective Owen McKenna and his 170-pound dog Spot. The witness said that Spot dutifully followed McKenna up to the booth where the shots were being administered. 

After McKenna received his vaccination, apparently Spot showed substantial disappointment at not being allowed to get his own shot. As McKenna pulled Spot away by the collar, Spot kept turning and pulling as if to go back. The witness said that Spot's brow was furrowed. 

Later, the witness allowed that it may not have been the vaccination that seemed enticing to the dog as much as the charming nurse who administered the shot to McKenna and then whispered something in Spot's ear, which made the dog wag with vigor.

Subsequently, another person saw McKenna and Spot over at an ice cream stand, where McKenna bought his dog a vanilla cone, perhaps as a consolation for not being able to spend more time in the vaccination booth. McKenna reportedly held the cone so his dog could lick the ice cream and enjoy it at a leisurely pace. But Spot opened his mouth - described by the onlooker as a yawning chasm reminiscent of the size and pink color of the canyons near Sedona, Arizona - took the entire cone in his mouth, and chomped down on it. McKenna tried to intervene, but Spot would have none of it. He quickly ate the treat, then shook his head as if he had an ice cream headache. 

When this reporter called McKenna and asked if the vaccination hurt, McKenna said he'd hadn't felt a thing and that the cost of his dog's ice cream was many times more painful. 

Great Danes At Book Signings

This weekend, I'm exhibiting at the Candy Dance Festival in Genoa, Nevada's oldest town. Yesterday, people brought four Great Danes. One couple had two, a Brindle and a Fawn. One man had a Black. Another had a Merle. All quite large. All very calm and well-behaved.

Black

Brindle

Fawn

Merle

Of course, the dogs were mobbed by the crowds, getting hugs, pictures, pets. Very fun.

Great Dane Meets Spiderman!

In the foothills near Jackson, CA lives a woman named Marjorie. She's come to some of my talks, and we've struck up an enjoyable correspondence that dates back to when she and her husband acquired their first Great Dane.

The current one is a sweetheart named Daisy.

I've very much enjoyed reports from the front lines as Daisy has grown up. But I never would have guessed this next installment.

I asked Marje if I could share, and she said yes.

Enjoy!

 "On our morning walks we get down to the local street, meet and greet cars, businesses opening up, etc, and on our way home we pass the dumpsters in front of Hospice Thrift Store. This is Daisy's biggest thrill - she looks forward to bringing home a stuffed toy. She sniffs each one (when there are some, not always) then decides which one to take. The other day she chose Spiderman. She put it in her mouth and began walking away, toward home when all of a sudden Spiderman began talking. Daisy jerked sideways, jumping and looking to her rear to see if someone was there, then turned the other direction. It was hard to calm her down. She just knew someone was behind us. Then she dropped the toy and it kept talking. That was when she realized what was happening. After a few moments, she picked him up and proceeded to 'take it home.'

She turned five on July 1st, got her down to a good weight of 153. She brings so much joy and laughter each day."

The One Animal Whose Eyes Can Change Your Brain Chemistry

Yet another study is out showing the remarkable relationship between dogs and people.

This study got fancy. Japanese scientists found out that both dogs and people who gazed into each other's eyes developed elevated levels of a hormone-like chemical called Oxytocin. Sometimes referred to as the "Cuddle Hormone," Oxytocin creates a wide range of positive effects that lead to bonding, attachment, and it plays a significant role between mothers and babies.

The study demonstrates that dogs and humans have a special - maybe even unique - relationship. When we spend time with dogs and stare into their eyes as they stare into ours, good stuff happens to our brains and to dogs' brains as well. 

Here are links to information about the study:
Scientific American
NPR
Today Health
Medical Daily

All pets are valuable. But dogs provide something extra to celebrate. Dogs are good for us, and we are good for them.

Now go give your dog a pet, look into her eyes, and watch how she looks back at you. Aside from dogs and people, no other animals on the planet will ever look at you that way.

Wagmore, A Real Life Ringer For Spot

I was recently chatting up readers when I was exhibiting books at an art & wine festival. Somebody asked about Spot, the 170-pound Harlequin Great Dane in my books. As I began to answer, I noticed a crowd of people across the street. They were all congregating around something I couldn't see. Whatever it was, it had people excited. I heard shouts of, "Oh, my God, look at that dog!"

Some people shifted, and I finally saw what all the fuss was about. A huge Harlequin Great Dane.

So of course, I had to go over and meet Wagmore, a gorgeous two-year-old Dane who, it turns out, just happens to weigh 170 pounds.

Wagmore is a Therapy Dog In Training, and it was easy to see that he would calm and soothe anyone suffering any kind of stress or anxiety. In the course of 30 minutes, I watched as several dozens of people pet him and hugged him, all while he performed his magic of giving everyone loving attention completely free of any hint that he was a substantially bigger carnivore than a mountain lion and he had huge teeth to match. 

The collective blood pressure of the entire crowd dropped in Wagmore's presence. The smallest children ran to him and reached up to pull on his jowls or yank on his tail. The largest men wrapped their arms around him as if they'd known him since he was born instead of having seen him for the first time seconds before. Women leaned on him and didn't want to leave even after they'd had multiple photos taken.

I spoke to Wagmore's owner, who told me that these street events were part of the socialization of a therapy dog. As a result, Wagmore was comfortable in any size crowd for any length of time. Because Wagmore was calm under all circumstances, he brought out the calm in people. 

Getting to meet Wagmore was a gift. If you want to know more, Wagmore has his own Facebooks page here.

A Great Dane...A Great First Memory

As many of you know, my books all have a Great Dane named Spot, who belongs to Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna. I thought I would mention how I know about Great Danes.

My earliest memory is sitting on the floor underneath Thunder, the family Great Dane. I was three years old.

Photo from akc .org

While some people can remember back to when they were two, three ain't bad. Of course, my memory was of a dog. It doesn't demonstrate a particular aptitude in the literary arts. I imagine that the first memories of Hammett and Chandler and John D. MacDonald featured Underwoods and the New York Times Book Review.

But I took that early dog memory, used it in acquiring my first dog as an adult, and I eventually used the breed in my books, to much appreciation from my readers. Can James M. Cain claim as much?

Probably more.

But I still like to think that there is a connection between that first memory and my life as a mystery novelist.

I still recall a sense of comfort and safety that came from having that giant black dog standing over me when I was a toddler. (I realize that recent research shows that memory is a malleable and creative thing, and that there is no such thing as hard facts in memory. Nonetheless, that is my memory.)

Twenty-some years later, my wife and I acquired the first major addition to our family when we purchased a Great Dane puppy, the first of three Great Danes we had over the years. As our first Dane grew she began to demonstrate the same stand-over-you behavior.

Is it protective? Or is it yet another manifestation of how Danes really just want to be as close to you as they can get?

If my wife and I sat on the floor, leaning against the couch to watch TV, our Dane would step over our outstretched legs, blocking our view. (Yes, we had a 13-inch black-and-white TV back then, but when it died, we never replaced it – a great boon to finding time to write.) If we sat cross-legged, facing each other to play Scrabble on the floor, our dog would step over my wife's legs, massive dog chest in front of my wife's face. When my wife coaxed her into moving, often as not she would sit next to one of us and then flop over sideways halfway onto our laps, scattering the Scrabble pieces across the room.

“C'mon, you gotta move,” became a common request. (When a dog weighs 150 pounds, commands are merely requests. You can't pick them up and set them down elsewhere. They have to want to do your bidding.)

Often at book signings, my readers will bring their Great Danes. It has been one of the great surprising joys of this business, something that I never anticipated. And every single Dane that I've met does these same things. If you're sitting, they'll try to stand over your lap. Or they'll lower their head way down so they can rest it on your lap. If you're standing, they lean against your leg with increasing pressure by the minute.

Danes are lovers, and they just want to be in your lap like one of the micro-breeds.

Classic Dane Pic

Here's a link to a fun group of Big Dog pics on Huffington Post. The Dane below is just one of them. As my sister said, "Thanks for my lunch break entertainment! Love the Newfoundland that looks like a brown bear!! And the Dane getting something off the top of the fridge is hysterical, too!! Kinda want one... kinda don't! :)"

Big Dog Pics at Huffington Post

No dog treats are safe from a Great Dane

Size Doesn't Matter

I've written before about how a mountain lion looking at a house cat only sees lunch. But a large dog looking at a tiny dog only sees a pal.

We were in The City a week ago, walking along Post near Union Square, when we saw two puppies playing inside a hair salon.

Chorgi about to leap on a Great Dane's head

Turns out they were both 4 months old. One was a Great Dane, maybe 65 pounds already. The other was a Chorgi, a Chihuahua-Corgi mix, maybe 2 pounds.

The Chorgi was up on a table, and the Dane stuck his head over the table's edge. The Chorgi jumped around on the Dane's head, nipped at the Dane's nose and ears, and acted as if he'd just discovered the best new ride at Disneyland. The Dane endured the assault, wagging the entire time.

It was a classic example of how dogs recognize their brothers, and it was great entertainment to watch.

The Problem With Great Danes At Talks

When I do events, people always ask me if I have a “real” Spot and if so, why don't I bring him to my talks?

I tell them that we've had three Great Danes, but we're currently dogless. My schedule would make life unfair for a Dane. I couldn't bring the dog along, either. One could put a tiny dog into a “Spot Rocks” bag and carry it into the hotel. But not a Great Dane!

“Well, I think you should have 'a Spot' and bring him to your talks,” people say.

It's a fun idea, but the truth is that if I brought a Great Dane to any event I did, no one would pay any attention to me! Everyone would be gaga over the dog, petting and hugging him.

Would my readers prefer to spend time with Spot rather than listen to what I have to say?

Of course!

Which means that any future Spot will stay home for the foreseeable future.

"Was that the microwave beeping? I like my Danishes nice and warm."

Great Danes And Cats

Some companies have Bring-your-daughter-to-work day. Others have Bring-your-dog-to-work policies. I get a version of that, people who bring their dogs to my book events.

One of the most fun parts of my job is when people bring their Great Danes to my signings. (For those of you who don't know, one of the characters in my books is a 170-pound Harlequin Great Dane named Spot.)

I've had people as young as 11 and as old as 70-something show up with their Danes. It's a joy because the dogs are always so fun to meet. The sweet, lean-against-your-leg friendliness of a Dane that's just met you is what immediately wins the affection of everybody, even those who claim to not be dog lovers.

One hot summer day in Sacramento, Jon, an 11-year-old, brought his Dane to one of my signings. The store owner had left on an errand. It was so hot outside that I made an executive decision and let the dog into the air-conditioned bookstore. The dog lay on the floor, soaking up attention from every person.

The tiny store cat walked right over, sprawled on the carpet next to the Dane, whose jaw was stretched out, chin-to-carpet. The cat stretched out his head, and the two animals sniffed each other's noses. Seven pounds of cat nose-to-nose with a 150-pound dog.

When the store owner came back, he was astonished that his cat had come up to lie next to the Dane.

“He always runs and hides from any dog,” he said.

“Not from Great Danes,” I said.

The store owner wondered why.

I explained when a cat sees a Great Dane, they often feel a sense of safety. I told him about our own cat and how he instinctively knew that seeing a terrier was like looking the Grim Reaper in the eye, but a Great Dane created the opposite reaction.

When our Great Dane was snoozing, sprawled out on her side, our cat would climb right up on the dog and lie down on her. Other times, when our dog was curled up in a semi-circle, our cat would step into the center of her curved body and curl up in her embrace.

Great Danes are imposing because of their size. But a cat can sense the personality separate from size. Just maybe, to a cat, a Great Dane's personality and size add up to a safe zone, especially important if a terrier comes into the room.

The Joys Of A Fictional Dog

Spot, as many of you readers know, is a 170-pound Harlequin Great Dane. He's also fictional.

Dog Breed Info

He seems real, as I've learned from the number of emails I get telling me to say hi to Spot and give him a pet.

I based his personality on a combination of the three Great Danes we've owned. Same enthusiasm, same goofiness, same levity – life's a game!

Of course, real Danes have some pretty amazing traits that Spot can only do in our imaginations. What's my favorite? Well, it's hard to beat the way a real Great Dane, when you're sitting in a chair or on the couch, will walk around behind you and drape his giant head down over your shoulder and lay it on your chest, his ear right next to your mouth. When you whisper into the ear of a Dane who's doing this, you can sense the slightest movement in his head as he wags his tail. He won't lift his head up off your chest unless you push him away. He just wants to be as close to you as possible.

Of course, there are some advantages to fictional Danes. They're a bit easier to train. It's less work to pick up after them. And if you have to suddenly leave town, there's no scramble lining up a dog-sitter.

But there's no substitute for the real, living, breathing, wagging thing.

It's That Writer's Fault!

Some time back, one of our local doctors came to a signing and brought her Great Dane. I didn't know she was coming, but she had emailed me in the past about Spot, the dog in my books, and I came to understand that the character of Spot was an influence in her decision to buy a Harlequin Great Dane.

This is something that I've worried about in the past. What if people are influenced by the fictional dog Spot, buy a real dog as a result, and are disappointed? I hope that I make Spot real enough that readers understand that, while Danes are great dogs, they're not perfect.

I went out to the doctor's car to meet the dog. Before I even got close, I could tell two things. One, he was a Harlequin, just like Spot in my books. He had a beautiful smattering of black spots over his white coat. The other thing I could tell from a distance was that he was the happiest and sweetest of dogs. He wagged his tail so hard that his entire body shook.

As I approached the car, his head was out the window, panting, smiling, so excited to meet a stranger.

Photo from GreatDane.ru

“Wow,” I said to the doctor as I rubbed the dog's head. “He is so friendly, so enthusiastic! He must be a perfect joy to have in your home.”

“He's a great joy,” she said. “My husband and I really love him, but I wouldn't say he's perfect.”

“Really,” I said. “Misbehaves now and then like any other dog, does he?”

“Yeah,” she said. And then, with a grin and a twinkling eye, she added, “and when he screws up, my husband says, 'It's that writer's fault!'”