Five Things I Love about my Dog

The standard advice to new authors is to avoid reading reviews of your books.  But in the early days, I couldn't stop myself.  

It was quite an eye-opener.  Just as an example, here are actual reviews of Girl v. Boy from the 2,000+ on Goodreads.com.   

Five-star: Ahhh this was a really good book!!! I TOTALLY loved it! Great plot line and the whole story was hilarious, interesting, nice romance.

One star: Very predictable and somehow not logical or realistic even.  Honestly this was just painful to get through. The characters were horribly crafted, the plot wandered everywhere, and I just felt confused for the majority of the time. 

Right, so the old expression applies:  One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

The more books I published, the less I checked reviews.  Until Golden Boy.  Because that one's personal.

One review, by someone named "Ale," quite tickled me:    

Made me laugh, cry and even gag at times, but Sandy's journey with Riggs reminded me of my own with the Goldendoodle that owns me.

Ale later revealed herself on Facebook to be Alessandra Olmedo, and today she shares the Top Five things she loves about her handsome standard Goldendoodle, Pedro.  

 

1. I love his smile, Pedro is a happy dog and he is always smiling, even when he’s asleep!

 2. I love how well he knows us (his “daddy,” Glen, and me). He is very sensitive to our tone of voice and demeanor and is quick to offer his comfort by nudging us gently if he feels we’re upset for any reason. He’ll come over and lean on me and “encourage” me to pet him, which is therapeutic and calms me down immediately.

3. I love how he tilts his head in response to certain words and especially any question that starts with “Do you want to…?” It can end with something fun, like “go for a car ride” or not so much, like “go to the vet” but he always tilts his head with curiosity and he looks pretty cute!

4. I love the fact that when we go out for a walk or a hike with him off leash he always makes sure that he doesn’t lose sight of us. I normally walk a few steps behind Glen and Pedro so I can enjoy looking around.  Pedro runs back and forth between the two of us.  While he explores and sniffs the trail, Pedro always stays within visual range of his humans. It gives me a great deal of comfort.

5. I love that Pedro is usually oblivious to squirrels or chipmunks on the trails, or the cats crossing through his backyard. I don’t know if he doesn’t mind them or if he really doesn’t notice them.  It puzzles and amuses me!  

Wow. Do I really have to stop now? … Just one more thing, I love how Pedro’s voice has translated into his very own blog and his Twitter account.  He has so much to say and so many friends around the world!  You can follow Pedro's antics at www.pedrodoodle.ca.  His Twitter handle is @PedroDoodle and his Instagram account is: PedroDoodle1

So in the end, something good came of reading reviews:  I made a new friend.  

Thanks, Alessandra! (And thanks to everyone else who's posted reviews!)