Heavy sigh. In December, I shared some pictures of my beloved pets and asked for the same in return. Before I explain about the sigh, let me say thank you to everyone who sent pictures of their pets. I truly enjoyed them, and two of the sharers have won their choice of one of several books. Yay for Eliza O and Jennifer M.

Now for the cause of the heavy sigh. My heart is broken. We lost our sweet Maisie just over a week ago. My pets are family and I’ve been struggling with grief-induced brain-fog. I thought that reaching out to my readers might lift my spirits.

Maisie was a quirky little one-year-old rescue who joined our family in August 2013—half Yorkie, half Shih Tzu—an obviously on-purpose designer breed I believe is called a Shorkie. I’ve seen only a few dogs that looked like her. She’d been found as a stray with long, matted hair. I often wondered if her original family continued to search for her. They’d failed to register her chip, so there was no way for the rescue group to get her back to them.

At times, I swore she was part cat. She loved to be cuddled, but only on her terms—very catlike. On occasion, she would jump into my lap and give me a certain look that meant she was open to being flipped onto her back and cradled in the crook of my arm. She’d go stiff as a board at first and then relax, staring at me with eyes that saw into my soul. It was our thing; she did not do this with anyone else.

She came with two stuffed toys; they were the only toys she didn’t destroy, and I still have them both all these years later. (The blue one is temporarily missing—she must have hidden it in a place I’ve yet to discover.) Someone had trained her to grab a toy when people came to the door. If she couldn't find one (unlikely given the multitude available), she’d grab anything she could—a stray sock, a deer antler, and one time a leaf. She would proudly present this to the visitor.

Maisie had been battling an autoimmune skin disease called pemphigus foliaceus since March 2021. We had it under control in December before the vet stopped one of her medications due to negative impacts to her blood. Sadly, that caused the disease to flare out of control. She became septic, and the meds weren’t helping. We had to say goodbye on Feb 15.

Since my son moved across the country the next day with his two dogs, it left our little Zeeba with no doggie pack. She has adjusted better than her humans.

Thank you for reading about Maisie. I appreciate your time.

While I'm not ready to move on, I want to give you something for your time. Here you can fill up your kindle with free, wholesome romance and perhaps meet your next favorite author. My Australian novelette, Love at Sea, is part of this varied group. It looks like there’s something for every wholesome romantic taste. Here's a preview—click here to get yours.

I’ve also picked out two books you might like:

Click here for The Summer of Sebastian

Click here for The Ebb—available on Kindle Unlimited or .99 to buy

Until next time. Thank you for reading. Hug a loved one, even if it has fur.

Jeanne Felfe

Author of Bridge To Us, a second chances romance (currently on sale for .99)