The Real Spot and Smudge

There’s just something about a pair of mutts.

I’ve known some great purebred dogs, but give me a labradoberidgebackshepherdcolliepitboxer any day. If there’s two from the same litter you’ve really got my attention. If they’re both black you might as well put them in a box because I’m taking them home.

The Spot and Smudge series was inspired by just such a pair of rescued littermates. I really did name them Spot and Smudge, and they did indeed run together through the thick woods of the South Shore of Massachusetts, not unlike the trails of Pembury in my books.

Like the Spot and Smudge in the stories these two were a mix, mostly Lab but with more than a dash of (pic your breed) tossed in. Both pups were all black from head to toe and had silky thick coats often used as feet warmers during our chilly New England winters.

Although the real Spot and Smudge had normal paws and below-average intelligence at times, they left wonderful imprints (and more than a few stains) on our lives from the first day their sturdy puppy legs carried them into my lap. They were never more than a few steps apart until Smudge, the lovable daft brute, died of cancer at age five. His bright and infectiously affable brother Spot carried on well into his teens. His many years were filled with two and four legged friends who made sure he was never alone.

Tales of their many antics still get shared at our holidays, and more than a few of them have made it into these books.

I have added some pics of my faithful wee knotheads below. I hope you enjoy them, and the stories they've inspired.

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And then there's Ty and Z

After Spot and Smudge took that last car ride to the proverbial dog farm up north I eventually rescued another pair of little black littermate mutts; Ty and Z.

You may wonder how we went from the (arguably) quirky and creative names Spot and Smudge to the more pedestrian (boring) names Ty and Z? Well, let’s just say a pair of very sweet (stubborn) young girls had been added to the mix.

Ty and Z took over terrorizing the woods of the South Shore, and more than a few of the anecdotes in the books have come from their crazy lives. They enjoyed having a good howl with the local coyotes, and they loved cruising the trails with their huge shepherd pal Maximus from up the street. Our precious girl Z really did successfully battle puppyhood parvo as her faithful brother waited patiently in exile for her to fight back from death’s doorstep.

Where Spot and Smudge had been regal-looking even as young puppies, Ty and Z were just plain scrappy. Truth be told, I almost walked away from them when Z happily picked up another dog’s poo and started munching on it unapologetically right in front of me. At least I assume it was another dog’s. Not sure if that makes it better or worse. They were both bug-eyed, and scrawny, and didn't appear to be overly bright (of course any experienced dog person such as myself can gauge a puppy’s intelligence just by watching how they eat poo).

But they were damn adorable, and what else is required to immediately fall in love with a puppy?

Seemingly overnight the two scrappy black pups grew into strapping, handsome mutts who earned squeals of delight from kids and ‘oh just look at you two’ cuteness approval from strangers who had to stop and give them a pat.

On the smart-funny-friendly-loyal-obedient scale they ended up scoring pretty highly. They also scored off the charts on the annoying-insane-pesky-infuriating-messy scale, but as all dog owners know the first scale is the only one that counts towards their final grade.