Excerpt from Dog Dreamzzz by Susan Waller Miccio

Dog Dreamzzz (2014), the second Abby Swann Mystery, continues the adventures of Abby and her two Tibetan Spaniels, Dawa (“Moon”) and Senge (“Lion”), and introduces Ah Choo, a sassy Siamese. The challenge of writing Dog Dreamzzz was to integrate the human and animal characters in distinct but interwoven plotlines—murder mystery, history mystery and fantasy mystery—and bring the three to a unified and thrilling finale.

The murder mystery gets underway during the aftermath of a hurricane when the Tibbies find the body of the mayor of Murderkill Beach sprawled in the marsh. The history mystery begins when Dawa unearths a cache of letters hidden in the 18^th century museum house where Abby volunteers as an interpreter. In the fantasy mystery, Dawa’s recurring dreams reveal a former life in ancient Tibet.

While stories that “anthropomorphize” animal characters make many writers cringe, I’ve never had qualms about putting thoughts into the minds and words into the mouths of the intelligent, inquisitive and talkative Tibetan Spaniel. As you’ll see in this short excerpt, narrative featuring human characters is in first person, but the animal characters’ story is told in third person.

▫ ▫ ▫

Chapter Fourteen

“Your tongue is sticking out,” Dawa whispered. She was lying on the pillow next to a mound of mussed sun-streaked hair, all that was visible of Mom.

“What?” Senge muttered and, lifting his head, blinked at Dawa. “You woke me up.” Closing his eyes, he plopped his head back onto the yellow and blue quilt and smacked his lips. “Go back to sleep, Sister.”

“Well, your tongue was sticking out, Brother,” Dawa retorted. She flexed her forepaws and stretched languorously.

“Mmmmft,” said the mound.

Senge opened one eye. “You’re gonna wake Mom,” he growled. “Go back to sleep, Sister.”

“I had the dream again,” Dawa murmured.

“Brrrt!” said the cat.

Both Tibbies glared at the interloper perched atop the mahogany chest-over-chest.

“What dream?” asked the cat in a gravelly voice. His tail swished.

“None of your business, cat,” grumbled Senge. “Heh! You can talk!”

“Of course I can talk,” the cat said.

“You’ve been here two weeks without saying a word!” Senge snapped. “And you’d better get down from there. Mom doesn’t like us getting on the wood furniture.”

With his delicate sable paw, the cat reached down, lifted the brass drawer bail and dropped it—CLACK.

“Sh-h-h! You’ll wake her up!” Senge hissed.

“What dream?” the cat repeated and raised the bail again.

“Stop—don’t drop that again!” Dawa growled. “I’ll tell you.”

Ah Choo gently lowered the bail with barely a clink and, lifting the paw, scrutinized his toes. After smoothing his toe-fur with his tongue, he hunkered and then leapt in one smooth, graceful motion, landing on the bed next to Senge with a barely perceptible bump.

Senge snorted and bristled.

The cat dismissively flicked the tip of his tail and stalked to the head of the bed where he sat in front of Dawa.

“Who are you?” asked Dawa.

“They,” the cat said, glancing at the mound on the pillow, “call me Ah Choo, but my real name is Mongkut.”

To Tibbie ears, his voice sounded like a squawk. Dawa watched him lick his paw and rub his cheek with it. He fixed her with a chilly blue stare.

“What dream?” Mongkut aka Ah Choo asked again.

“I dreamt I was a monk.”

“Ahhh,” replied Mongkut with a twitch of his whiskers, “another life.” He settled into sphinx position and curled his tail at his side. “Tell me all.”

“Will you three hush up?” I muttered as I dragged myself upright in the bed and pushed my hair out of my eyes. The cat launched himself from the tall four-poster and disappeared through the door to the hall. The Tibbies scrambled down the bedstairs and pursued him with scritching of nails on the hardwoods. I sighed and squinted at the clock.

“Jeeminny. Six freakin’ A-M on a Sunday morning. Gimme a break.” With that, I fell backward, pulled the quilt over my face and was soon oblivious.

▫ ▫ ▫

Susan Waller Miccio is the internationally recognized author of nonfiction books about Tibetan Spaniels plus the two Abby Swann Mysteries. Her classic, The Tibetan Spaniel—A Gift from the Roof of the World, is still the go-to book for Tibbie owners worldwide. When not working full-time for the State of Delaware, Susan writes and volunteers with Tibetan Spaniel rescue. She is a member of the Tibetan Spaniel Club of America, the Potomac Valley Tibetan Spaniel Club and the Dog Writers Association of America and patron of the Tibetan Spaniel Association of Victoria (Australia). Susan and her “attitude” of Tibbies—Coco, Twyla and Suzy Q—live in rural Delaware where she is plotting her next mystery. Visit Susan on www.susanwallermiccio.com and Facebook.

Five Things You May Not Know about the Enchanting Tibetan Spaniel

by Susan Waller Miccio

We privileged few who live with Tibetan Spaniels become utterly captivated by them. For a writer, passion equates to books. “Tibbies” are featured in all four of mine—from The Tibetan Spaniel – A Gift from the Roof of the World to Dog Dreamzzz, the second Abby Swann Mystery. Here are five facts about the enchanting Tibetan Spaniel. 

The Tibbie is called the Prayer Dog.

Early twentieth-century articles about the Tibetan Spaniel published in England reported that the rare breed spun prayer wheels in the monasteries of its Buddhist homeland. When the mounted cylinders, filled with mantras written on a scroll, are rotated clockwise, Tibetan faithful believe that blessings and well-being are spread to all beings. Thus was born the “Legend of the Prayer Dog.” Dawa (“Moon” in Tibetan), one of two Tibbies featured in the Abby Swann Mysteries, evokes the legend when she sits on her haunches, places her forepaws together pad to pad, and circles them. Called “prayer paws,” some believe this is how Tibbies spun the wheels. Is the legend true? Or, was it a way to promote the breed by exploiting its exotic origin? We may never know, but a charming tradition keeps the legend alive. If a Tibbie person offers to have Tibbies “spin the wheels” for you, he or she isn’t proposing to burn rubber on your tires but expressing compassion in a time of trouble.

Tibbies love to climb.

When her friends are shocked by the leap that her Tibbie Senge (“Lion” in Tibetan) takes off a cliff in Dog Dreamzzz, Abby explains, “Yes, they’re climbers… It’s a breed trait. Tibbies always seek the highest point, and they have absolutely no fear of heights.” Known as the “roof of the world,” Tibet sits on the world’s highest plateau surrounded by the world’s highest mountains. Even the “lowlands” average 15,000 feet, and hundreds of Himalayan peaks on Tibet’s southern border top 23,000 feet. True to his high-altitude origin, the Tibbie, with long-toed paws designed for sure-footedness, is hard-wired to climb. Just as his ancestors watched from the high walls and rooftops of monasteries in ancient Tibet, today’s Tibbie climbs to survey his territory and alert us to trespassers. Tibbie people are never shocked to find their Tibbies atop the furniture. 

A group of Tibbies is an “attitude.”

In Dog Star, the debut Abby Swann Mystery, Abby observes, “Lions live in a pride, whales in a pod, geese in a gaggle, and Tibbies in an attitude.” This new definition of “attitude” appears in my writing because it’s a perfect fit for this breed. Their aloofness to strangers, independence, intelligence, talkativeness and sensitivity blend to form the enigmatic personality—called tibbitude—that is, at once, endearing and exasperating. Not everyone is cut out to live with tibbitude but, if you are, you cannot have only one Tibbie—you must have an attitude.

Tibbies are a very popular breed in some countries.

Although the AKC recognized the Tibetan Spaniel in 1983, registrations in 2013 ranked the breed at 106 out of 180 recognized breeds, a statistic that has changed little over the decades. On seeing a Tibbie, most Americans assume it is a Pekingese, a misconception dramatized in both Abby Swann Mysteries. By contrast, Tibbies are well-known and popular in Scandinavia. In Finland, for example, Tibbies are a common sight, and the breed ranks 13, with over 700 puppies registered in 2013. Of course, the Tibbie’s double coat and “snowshoes” are well-suited to cold winters in northern countries.

The Tibetan Spaniel is the ancestral breed of small Asian breeds.

“Far below, the file of yaks, their backs piled high with bundles, materialized from the shadow of high walls. They plodded along a path worn smooth by centuries of hooves, a path that traveled east to the land of the Han…. A small black head poked from between two white packs atop a yak. She barked…” The custom of sending gifts of Tibbies to China, as depicted in Dog Dreamzzz, is not disputed. However, Asian breed fanciers have long debated whether the Pekingese or the Tibetan Spaniel is older. Although it’s easy to differentiate a modern Peke side by side with a Tibbie, historic Pekes strongly resembled Tibbies. Even today, Pekes can throw Tibbie traits in their offspring. Whether you believe the Peke came from Tibet or the Tibbie from China may depend on which breed you favor. I love both, but my money is on the Tibbie.

Susan Waller Miccio is the internationally recognized author of nonfiction books about Tibetan Spaniels plus the two Abby Swann Mysteries. Her classic, The Tibetan Spaniel—A Gift from the Roof of the World, is still the go-to book for Tibbie owners worldwide. Susan and her “attitude” of Tibbies—Coco, Twyla and Suzy Q—live in rural Delaware where she is plotting her next mystery. Visit Susan on www.susanwallermiccio.com and Facebook.