Jennifer Roberson & Cassie and Luka

Who is in the photo at right?

My Cardigan Welsh Corgis, Cassie (L) and Luka (R) with me, Jennifer Roberson, at Ventura Beach following a day in the show ring. Cassie is a champion and a mom, while Luka is a young boy just starting his show career.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

It’s a chilly day at the beach and I’m just across the street from the Ventura Fairgrounds letting the dogs just be dogs, wandering along in wet, squishy sand after strutting their stuff in the show ring.

What's brewing?

On the way back from walking the dogs along the beach I’ll grab a hot mocha latte with whipped cream and caramel from a beach vendor!

Any treats for you or the dogs on this occasion?

I will most definitely give each one of them two fingertips full of the whipped cream from off the top of my drink!

How were you and Cassie and Luka united?

Cassie’s mom is a Cardi girl I bred who went to live in Oregon from Arizona. When she had a litter of puppies, her owners gave me pick of the litter—Cassie!

Luka came to me all the way from Russia. I bred his father and sent him to a wonderful home in Finland. Dad went on to make beautiful babies in Europe, and Luka joined me a year ago in Tucson in November 2018, after he and I spent 24 hours at LAX waiting for a new flight after missing our original flight home because of a hold-up in Customs. Luka slept. I didn’t.

How did the dogs get their names? Any aliases?

Cassie’s registered name is Ch. Cheysuli’s Pocket Full of Sunshine. Cheysuli is my kennel name, based on my first fantasy series called Chronicles of the Cheysuli, and Sunshine is the kennel name of her breeders. She’s Pocket Full of Sunshine because she’s bright and shiny all the time. Her nickname is Cassafrass.

Luka’s registered name is Keksband Trade Secret at Cheysuli. Keksband is the kennel name of his breeder, in Moscow, and of course Cheysuli is mine. He’s a Trade Secret because he’s made of 11 secret herbs and spices—wait, that’s KFC. His nickname is Lukachu.

Do your dogs do more to help or hinder your writing?

They help! They are goofy and silly, have a tremendous sense of humor, and they make me smile after writing a demanding scene.

Have any actual dogs ever inspired dogs in your fiction?

Not as yet, but there will be a boy in one of the upcoming Blood & Bone books inspired by a dog I know.

Cat, postman, squirrel...?

They would rather chase lizards. Luka’s best friend is a cat—or, rather, Luka is the cat’s best friend--so he wouldn’t chase felines. Just lick them.

Ball, squeaky-toy, stick...?

My dogs always de-squeak the toys. And Luka has disemboweled four squeaky ducks. Mostly they love to chew on antlers.

Where is your dogs' favorite outdoor destination?

The show ring! Seriously! They love to go bouncing around meeting other Cardigans at ringside, and to say hello to all the humans showing the dogs. It’s always a challenge keeping them all spiffed up when they want to roll around in the grass with their canine buddies right before they go in the ring. It would be like someone dressed up for a job interview who decides to go through a car wash. Without the car.

What is each dog's best quality?

Cassie is absolutely devoted to me. I am her world. It’s pure unconditional love. Luka believes the world is his oyster, and the oyster’s full of fun. He’s irrepressible!

If Cassie and Luka could change one thing about Arizonans, what would it be?

They would want us to have shorter legs so it’s easier to inspect ears and clean faces.

If your dogs could answer only one question in English, what would you ask them?

“If there’s anything I can do to make you even happier, what would it be?”

If Hollywood made a movie about your life in which Cassie and Luka could speak, who should voice them?

Cassie: Meryl Streep. She can affect a wise, been there/done that tone, laced with affection.

Luka: Any young male actor who can speak with a Russian accent, as Luka arrived in the US speaking no English. I had to not only translate dog-speak for him, but Russian dog-speak.

What advice would Cassie and Luka give if asked?

“Feed us. We’re starving. Yes, you fed us an hour ago, but we’re starving anyway. Please rectify that at once or we will be forced to resort to fisticuffs, even though we’re too short to do any damage except maybe to your kneecaps.”

Visit Jennifer Roberson's website.

The Page 69 Test: Life and Limb.

My Book, The Movie: Life and Limb.

--Marshal Zeringue