Meet our dog Trooper and cat Cooper.  We actually didn't rhyme their names on purpose.  We got Trooper (now 14) from a pound in Shreveport, LA and named in honor of my husband's days at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina in F Company (also called F-Troop.) Cooper (now 8) was named at a no-kill pound in Dayton, OH after a local tire company.  We kept the name since there's a Cooper River in our much loved college town of Charleston, SC.

Trooper welcomes our new puppy Sadie to the family!  While we live in Florida, we found Sadie through a rescue shelter up in Alabama.

Merry Christmas 2007 from the kids and Sadie!

Merry Christmas 2007 from Trooper!  The best present ever :-)

Pals napping!

Who says cats and dogs don't get along?! :-)

Yes, I'm one of those people who likes to dress up the dog!  DH even bought a Coach collar and leash for Sadie for my Valentine's Day gift!  Isn't he the BEST!?!

Sadie masters the puppy paddle!

Me and my puppy!

Trooper and Sadie join in the party!

Suzanne Brockmann

http://www.suzannebrockmann.com/

Did you know that Ed and I adopted a pair of miniature schnauzers because of Lori Foster?   She supports a local shelter, and I was checking it out online, having sent her a book for a fundraiser she was holding.  And I followed a link to a shelter in Massachusetts and we went to "take a look," and three days later we're bringing home two elderly miniature Schnauzers whose owner had died.  They were quite old, and we only had them for one and two years, but this past fall, we got ourselves two Schnauzer pups.  (We loved adopting, but the short lifespan really hurt us.)

Lil' Joe is Dex's teeny little sister.  She came to us blind in one eye, but feisty!  She can take Dex down!  Too bad dogs can't play professional hockey -- she'd rock!  We got both Dex and Lil' Joe just about a year after Sugar died.  (Spice was older -- we only had her a year -- but we made sure it was the best year of her life!)  Adopting elderly dogs can be incredibly rewarding -- we will definitely be doing it again some day -- but right now we're celebrating life with puppies!

C.K. Dexter-Haven.   Named after the Cary Grant character in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, Dex is one of my two Schnauzer puppies.  Several years ago, we adopted Sugar and Spice, two elderly Schnauzers, from a shelter in Marblehead, Massachusetts (thanks to my following a dog-adoption link from fellow author Lori Foster!), and our lives changed in a wonderful way!

Suz Brockmann with Sugar and Spice after a trip to the groomer's.  Adopted from a shelter after their owner died -- they were good dogs -- they were yar.

Lori Foster

http://lorifoster.com/

These are my two Chihuahuas, Brock (smallest) and Tootsie (darkest.)

Brock was a gift from my oldest son after our longtime family dog passed away from old age. Tootsie was a rescue dog, and is still very timid. She sticks close to Brock, and he is super protective of her.

I love both of them and consider them my little fur babies.

Joanne Rock

http://joannerock.com/

Joanne Rock with Duchess, the seven-toed cat.  See how she's showing off her monster feet for the camera?  We live in the country and our garbage cans support a wide variety of wildlife from racoons to skunks and woodchucks.  Our last cat arrived in similar fashion but wandered off again when a neighbor's garbage proved more enticing.  Duchess came to us from a local cat's litter, and her upscale penchant for cat food has kept her with us for years.

Holly Jacobs

http://www.hollyjacobs.com/

"Holly Jacobs, Ethel Merman Fuhrmann and Ella Fitzgerald Fuhrmann.  Ethel was three-ish when we brought her home from the pound.  She'd come from an abusive home.  She's still got a few...well, let's call them quirks!  LOL  Ella's Amish.  We got her at an Amish farm when she was six months old.  Since Ella's come home, Ethel's been a little less neurotic.  They're both great writing buddies!"

Dianna Love

http://www.diannalovesnell.com/

Brandy was a very small Black and Tan Cocker Spaniel marked like a Doberman.  I got Brandy not long after buying my first home in Stone Mountain, GA, then I met Karl in 1983 so Brandy became the center of our family.  One fond memory is how Brandy loved to open the Christmas gifts, but never touched a gift until Christmas morning when Karl would pull hers out and put it in the middle of the room.  Then Brandy would very carefully hold the wrapped box with one paw and pull the ribbons & paper loose with her teeth.  We didn't teach her this so it was a real fun surprise.  Once she did that the first time we let her open all the gifts every year until the room was knee deep in paper (we'd intentionally wrap small items in big boxes).  I took her through leash training so she was a joy to have as a pet and traveling with us.  During the 100+ hour weeks we worked with our crews on projects leading up to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta we kept Brandy with us pretty much all the time since she was getting up in years and had heart issues.  She had a stroke right after Easter in 1996, which was still several months before the July Olympic events and I've always believed God chose that time so that we wouldn't be home much following her death where it was torture not to hear her squeak toys or see her everywhere we turned.  Karl and I were responsible to so many of our employees and contractors we had to keep working those hours, but later realized we were glad not to be home much then.  We really loved Brandy and could never bring ourselves to replace her, which is why we now have a tank full of crazy saltwater fish. 

I painted a portrait of Brandy for Karl's birthday a couple years before Brandy passed away

Brandy loved to sit in the bass boat when Karl cleaned it up after we returned from fishing - Late 80s

Brandy and me at the first house Dianna bought in Stone Mountain, GA - 1979

Cindy Gerard

www.cindygerard.com

Mr. Sly (Short for Sylvester) decided that HE needed to be the centerpiece
on the table at Christmas so he nosed out the snowmen and made himself comfy.  Christmas kitty anyone??

Speaking of Christmas - this is the mantel on the fireplace in my office. Buddy - not to be outdone by Sly - decided to be a part of the decorations, too.  Have to admit - he looks pretty up there :o)

Meet Buddy (yellow) and Sly (black and white)  These two were cats that  wandered onto our property and found their way into the house through our doggie door.  All of a sudden, we were cat owners - or they were people owners.  We love them and as you can see, they love each other.

Little Miss Margaret became a member of our family last summer. Margaret is a Brittany Spaniel and she is the sweetest little pup we have ever owned!  She and I take walks every morning together and she curls up on the loveseat in my office every day while I'm writing.

Stephanie Newton

http://www.stephanienewton.net

Love Inspired Suspense author Stephanie Newton cuddles her toy poodles Honey and Cee Cee.  She was all set to bring home one dog, but fell in love with two and the rest is history.  Stephanie could even teach the Dog Whisperer a thing or two about training pets because her little doggies are a delight to be around.  (Cathy here, writing this from first hand experience with Honey and Cee Cee!)