No — not the mean kind that pull your hair and call you names, rather English Bull Terriers, of course!  My family has owned and loved them for the past fifteen years.  Some people refer to them as ‘lovable dogs in clown suits’.  It’s no wonder that bullies spark so many of my children’s story ideas.

Stories for Children Ezine Nov. 2011

My first magazine story, Max and Digby’s Big Day (cover featured at left) was loosely based on my sister’s Miniature Bull Terrier, Elmo.

Here’s Elmo posing for a photo op after winning several agility medals.  He is an excellent agility dog with many titles, but Elmo’s ever the comedian, and sometimes liked to cause mischief in the ring!

And this is Delby, who lived with me for two years in my very first apartment.  He was always up to something!  He’s the inspiration behind my WIP Picture Book manuscript, ‘Tank’s Tinkle Trick.”

Here’s another image that shows the absolutely unique, endearing personality a bully can have.

bully crayon *not my photo* Got this in an email forward and haven’t seen it before. Thought I should share. 🙂 “Please read! If you are an owner of a dog, especially one that is considered a “dangerous-breed”, and small children visit your home, please take this as a warning. Don’t ever leave your dog with the child unattended under any circumstances. Only a little moment was enough for the following to happen. See the photo:”