I’ve been given the following advice so many times.

Don’t kill the dog!

That’s what writers are told over and over. It’s a big literary no-no.

Readers will put up with a lot in the name of jeopardy – cliffhangers, deceit, murders, infidelity. But not a dead dog. Or cat.

Entire films have been based on the outrage felt by a character after a beloved pet’s death. Do you recall Keanu Reeves as John Wick, who goes on the rampage when gangsters kill the puppy given to him by his deceased wife?

I have to close my eyes during these scenes. It’s often foreshadowed action, and I curl up in a blanket like a wimp and shout at the screen. ‘Nooo. Don’t kill the dog.’

As a writer, I’d never kill the dog.

I have three cats, TC – who’s adorable and loves to edit my novels by trampling on the keyboards. Murphy, who throws up on my keyboard once a week. I’m not sure what he’s trying to say. And Batface, who loves me so much he head butts me while I’m working.

Three cats. So little time to work…

And I love all animals. Even Winston, the rat, who used to visit my bird feeder and steal the nuts. I persuaded him to leave with some chilli water on the ground. I know people who’d have persuaded him to leave with other methods.

I write animals into my novels all the time.

Do you remember the feral peril in The Old Girls Network? They were badass cats called Derek and Clive? They were adorable. One of them goes missing for a while – Derek? Or Clive? – but I couldn’t kill him.

Do you remember the horse giving birth scene in The Wicked Lady? The foal had to survive. And the mare.

And remember Alan, Charlie’s beloved Labrador dog, in The Wicked Lady? And his neighbour, Edie, who owns a Samoyed called Bianca? It was love at first sight. Even dogs need a happy ending. Which is more than The Wicked Lady had.

Recently, I’ve created two new dog characters. I’d love to tell you about them.

The first is in my cozy crime series. She’s called Juno, and she’s Archie Darling’s dalmatian. I’ve even written a short story about her. In Death in the Dordogne, out in August, Archie tells how she saved his life. So, in my new cozy crime series, she’s DI Darling’s sidekick. Indispensable and cute.

And I have to tell you about a new book I’ve just finished writing. It won’t be out for a year or so, but it features the wonderful Arthur, a golden Labrador, a heroic dog with the most appalling habits.

Arthur was inspired by the real Arthur, who belongs to a friend called Fi, who is hilarious when she tells stories of the real Arthur’s terrible behaviour.

So Arthur is inspired by – yes, you guessed it – Arthur. But my Arthur is gorgeous and heroic. I can’t wait for you to read about his antics.

And he doesn’t die. Of course he doesn’t.

I’d rather write War Horse than Black Beauty. And that means my animals have to survive. I can’t have the reader suffer the horrors of animal abuse and the protracted misery of their deaths.

So why, as authors, are we contented to kill our characters but not their pets? I mean – read the end of The Three Witches or the beginning or A French Fling for the Golden Gals. My characters don’t have the best endings sometimes.

We’ll write off our heroes and heroines willy nilly, but we won’t touch a soft furry hair of a dog’s head.

I wonder why.

That’s a whole new blog post.

x