A tribute to Elliott-our very special dog

Today is a very sad day for our family because we had to have our beloved, dog, Elliott, put to sleep. He was at least 15-years-old and had been part of our family for 13 and a half years. He was the best ever and we are honored to have rescued him from the pound all of those years ago.
Elliott was something of a fixture at the local pound. He'd been there for six months when we met him. It was a few days after our chocolate lab, Riley, died after being hit by a car. Who would fill the big hole in our hearts? We planned to adopt a yellow lab named Molly, but when our son, Shane, met Molly, he didn't see anything special in her. Besides, people were lined up to adopt her.
Then we met Elliott. He was smiling from ear to ear and so excited to meet us. He jumped in my lap and planted a big, sloppy kiss on my cheek. He even pressed his tongue against my cheek and slid it, just to make sure I was impressed.
Elliott made us smile all the time. He loved to jump on our bed and sleep between us in the morning after he had breakfast. One of his other favorite pass times was to stick that big handsome head of his into the waste baskets and take out tissues. He looked so funny with pieces of tissues dangling from his chin. Sometimes he's carry them to his water bowl and  drop them in. I think Elliott was a decorator at heart because when he'd sneak into the porch, he loved sticking his sizable head into the recycle bin. Then he'd go down the stairs and redistribute all the containers around the yard until he thought it looked just right.

Now he's in doggie Heaven where he can play with lots of other dogs and have fun, the way he couldn't do on Earth anymore.
Elliott, we miss you, but you're unforgettable. You'll always be a star.
Elliott is featured on and in two of my books so I"m sharing his picture with all of you today. Shane had tons of pictures of him on his phone, but it was stolen, so these are the best pictures we can share with you.

copyright: 2017 Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

An interview with Elliott

"Hello everyone, today we have the pleasure of interviewing Elliott, a handsome dog, notorious for his big head. Good morning, Elliott. So nice to have you as my guest today. Elliott, I noticed you're getting a big restless, wiggling and wagging your tail. I bet you want to get on with the interview.
"I am, Deanie. I love interviews. I just like to tell people about my animal friends.
 We'll get right to the questions then.
Please tell us about your book Charlene the Star.
Of course. Charlene comes from a famous racing family. EVERYONE expects she'll become another outstanding racehorse. But from the beginning, Charlene is quite independent. She tells her Mama she'll decide what she wants to do when she gets old enough.  Charlene likes to show her emotions. She has her own type of "tantrum" where she hops up and down stiff-legged. Here was her Mom's reaction the first time she saw it:
"Charlene,Why are you hopping up and down like that? Those little hops are called crow hops."
"I'm having a tantrum," said Charlene. Little people can have them so I thought I could have them since I'm a little horse."
She certainly knows what she wants Elliott.
Well, Charlene was wondering if she could make a living from having tantrums, since she was so talented at it.
Tell us how you met Charlene the Star:
Charlene was feeling nervous and upset once she moved to Jumping for Joy Farms. She refused to eat and was very sad. Charlene's trainer thought it would be helpful to get a special friend for her and I got the job! You might have noticed I"m a pretty calm fellow and my over sized head has room for brains and good thoughts. My job was to help keep Charlene calm and happy. We get along well.
Did Charlene have a long racing career?
No, she didn't. She found out she had other talents. She loved her new career. It's something she's very gifted at.
I think it's important for children to develop their own talents and not be afraid to be different from your friends.
Tell is about the second book you star in,  Charlene the Star and Hattie's Heroes.
Oh, this time my friends Charlene, Hattie the Chicken, and Wooliam the sheep start a new business.
We're looking for something exciting to do in our spare time. We come up with a great idea to help some of our friends. I can' t give away all the secrets, but we become coaches.
Oh, that does sound exciting Elliott! 
Yes, we made a great team and lots of exciting things happened.
What do you specialize in ?
I specialize in building confidence in my animal friends. It's one of my favorite things to do. My friends seem to look at my head and figure I have natural talents for building self esteem.
I agree with that, Elliott. 
How many books are in the Charlene the Star series?
We have 3: Charlene the Star, Charlene the Star and Hattie's Heroes and Charlene the Star and Bentley Bulldog. We share an exciting adventure in each one. But it actually all starts with Charlie the Horse, since he's Charlene's big brother.
Thank you so much for spending time with me today, Elliott. I know your young fans will love hearing more about you and your friends.
You're welcome, we had fun together.
Purchase links:
http://www.amazon.com/Charlene-Hatties-Heroes-Deanie-Humphrys-Dunne/dp/1612860710

http://www.amazon.com/Charlene-Bentley-Bulldog-Deanie-Humphrys-Dunne-ebook/dp/B00S7295MC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450109651&sr=1-1&keywords=charlene+the+star+and+bentley+bulldog

http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Horse-Deanie-Humphrys-Dunne-ebook/dp/B00CEJ2Y4A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450109696&sr=1-1&keywords=charlie+the+Horse

website: www.childrensbookswithlifelessons.com
book trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rba4hkmmTyc&feature=youtu.be

copyright 2015: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne