Hello, !

Thank you for claiming your review copy of The White Deer of Kildare and joining my email list! You might be wondering what is this list about, anyways, and why it's called The Sheltie Gazette?

Warning...I don't think I'm supposed to send this email. I'm supposed to tell you about my books, and I do have an email that does that. But it seems to me that first of all, you possibly haven't even read The White Deer yet and aren't interested in other books. Secondly, I have faith that you are intelligent and resourceful, and therefore capable of looking up my name on Amazon or Kobo or whatever. That technique has an extraordinarily high success rate, so I think you're good.

So. Let's talk about dogs.

Why dogs? You may not be a dog person, and that's fine.

I talk about dogs because my dogs are fluffy and joyful and make me smile every day, and I want to share that joy with you. That is also my goal as a writer; to give you a smile and touch your heart. Just a small escape so you can go back to your ordinary life a little stronger and happier.

Besides, my dogs have no cyber-privacy concerns and don't mind if I share their photos all over the internet.

Introducing...

Over the last 18 years, I have had seven Shetland Sheepdogs, aka Shelties. I currently have three Shelties and a five-acre property; the two items are directly related, as Shelties are very busy dogs.

All three happen to be born within seven months of each other, and the oldest just turned a year old. That's a lot of puppy! It takes that many to wear each other out, but then they get excited and play more, and it's an endless loop — but a very happy loop.

Adare

You would be forgiven for thinking this is a bi-black Sheltie, but actually he is a bouncy ball covered with fluff. One of those Ultra High Spring Special Edition bouncy balls.

Adare is the oldest of my current batch, with his birthday in February. He is enthusiastic and silly, but once he learns something he is absolutely dependable.

The dogs sleep downstairs in their boxes, and every morning when someone lets them out, first Adare goes outside, and then he comes to find me. I am frequently in my bed, located in my bedroom (shockingly enough). Adare is always delighted to find me there! It's amazing! He found me! We are reunited again! After very, very joyfully licking my ear (and any other bits of me sticking out of the covers), he curls up by my feet and dozes until I'm ready to start the day.

Malin

Like my first four dogs, Malin is the beautiful golden brown that we call "sable," which makes people think of Lassie, and then they think it would be a really funny joke that I have *never heard before* to tell me that my dog is a mini-Lassie or "Tommy fell down the well! Haha! Ha!"

(Spoiler: I've heard it before.)

Shelties are not miniature collies, by the way. They were bred to be small so they could better deal with the harsh conditions of the Shetland Islands. Most people no longer use Shelties with sheep, so sometimes the herding instincts are barely present in the modern breed.

Not for Malin! He has the sort of indefatigable drive that would be useful if you needed a dog on guard 29 hours a day to keep the sheep in the meadow and out of your garden. Unfortunately, we do not have enough sheep for Malin.

He is currently industriously assigning himself jobs, most of which are not actually necessary in modern life. For instance, he is excellent at informing us whenever any water is running anywhere in the house, then telling it where to go. As of this writing, his diligent work has resulted in a 100% success rate: no water jugs have ever killed any member of his family.

You never know what could happen tomorrow — but have no fear; Malin will not relax his vigil.

Inish

Inish is what we call a tri-color, which is basically like a Bernese Mountain Dog shrunk in the dryer. He is the baby of the group.

In most ways, Inish is the easy-going child. He likes to play with the dogs; he likes people; he's fine with car rides; he's confident but not sassy.

What does he not like? Being cold. Or wet. Or rain in his ear. Or cold on his paws. When it's chilly out I have to put him on the leash before I go to the door, because he'll hide if he thinks I'm going to torture him with a walk. The absurd things these humans think of — walking in the winter! Who could imagine!

Yes, there's a dog in there. No, he's not coming out.

So, that's a round-up of everyone!

Oh — you might be wondering about their names. All of our Shelties are named after places in Ireland. The first four were Teelin, Donegal, Monaghan, and Killala.

What makes you joyful? Do you have pets, or children, or instruments?

I look forward to getting to know you better! One of these days, we might even talk about books. I hope you're reading something that makes you happy today.

Best wishes,

Christy & the Shelties