I'm Scott Pratt, writer of legal thriller/mysteries. The other human in the photo is my wife, Kristy. The German shepherd to my right is Rio, 6 years old, the teacup poodle to my left is Chico, one year old, the Bichon frisé next to him is Nacho, three years old, and the Yorkie on the stool is Pedro, five years old.What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?
We do this every day, just sit down an have a conversation about how everybody's doing, listen to complaints about pecking order, that kind of thing.
What's brewing?
I'm an old school Folger's guy, so is Rio. Kristy likes green tea and the small dogs stick to milk.
Any goodies to go with the coffee?
Danish for me and Kristy, biscuits for the dogs.
How did you and your dogs come together?
I "rescued" Rio from a bad situation when he was four months old. He and I have been tight ever since. Pedro came along a year later as a Mother's Day gift from my kids to Kristy. Two years after that, Nacho was an impulse buy by my mother-in-law. She got him home and discovered her standard poodles didn't like him. So she asked if we'd take him. We did. Chico, the teacup, appeared last year after my mother visited from Michigan. She had a teacup, and Kristy fell in love. Next thing I knew, we had one, too.
Do your dogs have any influence on your writing?
Rio is a featured character in all four of my Joe Dillard novels. (The fourth one is finished but not yet published.) The other three are extremely jealous about that and voice their opinions on a regular basis.
I walk with all of them for about an hour each morning and listen to their suggestions on plot and characters.
How did your dogs get their names?
I met a blue healer several years ago named Rio and just liked the name. When Pedro came along, Napoleon Dynamite had just been released and we loved the Pedro character in the movie. It seemed to fit with Rio. Then when we got Nacho, Kristy wanted to keep the Mexican theme going. Same with Chico.
Tennis ball, stick, squeaky-toy...?
All of the dogs have toys, and they're quite territorial about them. Rio is partial to rubber baseballs and tennis balls. He loves to chase them, and he loves to chew on them until they're dead. Pedro loves sticks, small sticks. Nacho loves chew bones and Chico loves anything he can get his undersized mouth around.
What is each dog's most endearing quality?
Rio's most endearing quality is his loyalty. Pedro's is his grumpiness. Nacho's is his gentleness, and Chico's is his independence.
What’s the most amusing thing your dogs do? The most frustrating?The most frustrating thing about them is that they bark like mad dogs every time we get out of the car at the park. We've done it every day for four years now, and each day, it's the same. They bark like crazy, chase each other around, and make a general nuisance of themselves. And Rio sheds enough each year to stuff a mattress.
Scott Pratt is the author of An Innocent Client, In Good Faith, and the newly released Injustice for All.
The Page 69 Test: An Innocent Client.
The Page 69 Test: Injustice For All.
Learn more about the books and author at Scott Pratt's website.
--Marshal Zeringue
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