Mason here. You know I’m a dog lover, right? You also know Snippy pretty well, having read Perk Noir and appreciate how special the little Snipster is. I’ve had many dogs in my life, some mentioned in the book and others that weren’t. Here’s a rundown of some of the Barnes’ family pooches. After looking over the list, I think I know how I got in the habit of giving funny names to my characters.
Snippy – a smart little Yorkshire terrier, named after well … you know. I don’t feel like writing it down again. Every time I think about it, I get a phantom pain in the crotch. Amber’s way of making sure I’ll never forget her.
Red – my favorite childhood pup, a bloodhound with the disposition of a faerie … and a wicked tracker.
She-Ra – my sister Gillian’s Japanese Chin. Ferocious … not.
Olive – Shelly’s American Eskimo. Okay, technically Olive wasn’t my dog, but she counted as one of my extended pooch family.
Ballpark – a cute little Dachshund. Good with mustard.
Those dogs were mentioned in Perk Noir, but they weren’t the only Barnes’ pooches, not by a long shot. Here are a few others that roamed the back lot in Iowa.
Larry, Darryl and Darryl – our three Cocker Spaniels
Schultz – an old German shepherd, blind and deaf. He saw nothing. He heard nothing. He barely even barked.
Cousin Itt – a Bearded Collie always in need of a trim.
Root Beer – a Newfoundland big as a Shetland pony. They drool a lot, you know. We named him for the foam on his jowls.
Disc – a Whippet great at catching Frisbees
Breakdown – A high-strung poodle. Is that redundant? If you’re a farmer, I advise you to stay away from Poodles. It’s too messy for them.
Nipsy Russell – Uncle George’s Jack Russell terrier. Nipsy liked taking a nip every now and then. Single malt Scotches were his favorite.
Vince – a tough, old bulldog, my first pooch. I named him after Lombardi. I idolized the Packers as a kid. Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer, a Packers guard during the championship years, was my favorite book outside of anything Ian Fleming ever wrote.
