“If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.” Roger Caras
In each of my novels and in several short stories one of the principal characters owns or relates to a dog. This is partly because I love dogs, but also because I find that dogs can help to illuminate the personality and values of a character and partly because I believe that each dog has an individual personality (or canine-ality) and character as well.
When I feature a dog in my fiction, I don't just write about a generic dog but a specific dog. I often base the dog's looks, attributes, likes and dislikes on dogs I have known (names changed to protect their privacy) but the dog is also a part of the action, perhaps not a protagonist but at least a minor character who contributes to the plot.
This is true for any other animal as well, even if they never figure large in the story--it is important to individualize and make specific any horse, cat, mouse, pig, or animal who makes an appearance. I just happen to prefer dogs.
That's true. I think that someone's character can be described by their pet look. It is because the owner cares for his or her pet and of course, people want to have a pet that is close to them somehow...
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