Our Black Lab mix, Milo, has been a part of our family for over five years now. My husband, son, daughter, and I adopted him from a local animal shelter when he was ten weeks old. His mom was a stray, and she had a litter of eight puppies (all male) who needed homes. His cute white markings and sweet disposition immediately captured our hearts. We had to adopt him!

For a long time, we didn’t know what breed Milo was, although he looked a lot like a Black Labrador. We had a DNA test done on him and were surprised by the results. He was part Black Lab, but also part Beagle, Chow Chow, and American Staffordshire Terrier. These test results explained a lot. Milo howls at everything (Beagle), he loves playing Frisbee (Black Lab), he is always on the hunt for chipmunks and moles (Terrier), and he does not get along well with most other dogs and can be wary of strangers (Chow Chow.)

Some of our training with Milo has gone wrong. Milo thinks he gets a treat every time he waits by this cabinet. (He is right.) Milo can be naughty sometimes. On more than one occasion, we have left a fresh loaf of bread or a package of rolls on the counter, only to find the empty wrapper in the middle of the living room floor a few hours later. He can’t resist baked goods! Sometimes, when we leave him alone, he goes through the trash cans and unravels the toilet paper. Some of this behavior results from his severe separation anxiety. He hates to be left alone. He is also terrified of swimming, which was a little disappointing the first time we took him to a beach and he refused to go in!

Milo makes us laugh every day. He regularly steals the best spot on the couch. My husband and I let him sleep on our bed, where he is supposed to stay at the foot of the bed. Sometimes when I get up to go to the bathroom during the night, I return to find Milo laying in my spot with his head on my pillow. He also snores loudly. For some reason, it is cute when Milo snores, but not when my husband does it. Go figure!

Milo is obsessed with Frisbee. He would play Frisbee all day long if he could. We can’t even say the word “frisbee” when Milo is anywhere around, or he goes nuts. He doesn’t understand the concept of later. For example, if we were to say, “Milo, we’ll play Frisbee later,” he would only hear the word “Frisbee” and attempt to break through our glass door. Milo loves taking sunbaths on the patio and stealing logs from our backyard woodpile. One of his favorite places to sleep is in the middle of our stairway. He always sleeps on the fifth step from the bottom. This precarious position looks so uncomfortable to me, but apparently, he loves being in the middle of the action.

We think Milo might be part mountain goat. Whenever we take him to a park, he must jump up on every bench we pass. He loves climbing up rocks, swingsets, and trees.

Like many dogs around the world, Milo has enjoyed the forced togetherness brought about by the quarantine. He takes daily walks with my husband and me, and gets to play in the backyard with the kids. We have a pond in our backyard. Milo loves running around the edge and watching the frogs jump into the water.

Milo keeps us entertained, no matter what the mood or the weather. He is a loyal and trusting friend to every member of our family. He sleeps by my side all day as I write and often inspires to me include canine characters in my novels. I couldn’t imagine a better writing companion. Milo reminds me to live in the moment and to take time to smell the flowers (or the stinky rock.) Despite his quirks, I love Milo just the way he is. He is the perfect dog for our family!

I post frequent photos of writing breaks with Milo on my Instagram account: @lwolfe.writes. Or find me at: www.LauraWolfeBooks.com.

Laura Wolfe writes fast-paced and twisty mystery and suspense novels. Her new and upcoming releases include TWO WIDOWS (Bookouture, August 2020), SHE LIES ALONE (Bookouture, November 2020), and THE CABIN ON CROOKED LAKE (Bookouture, March 2021). Her novel, TOP PRODUCER, received the Gold Medal in the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Indie Book Awards (Urban Fiction Category). The books in Laura’s equestrian-themed YA mystery series have been shortlisted for multiple indie book awards. Laura is a lover of animals and nature. When she is not writing, she can be found hanging out with her highly-energetic kids, growing vegetables in her garden, or spoiling her rescue dog. She enjoys living in Ann Arbor, Michigan.