I love my dogs.

I really do.

They keep me company while I work.  They are warm and cuddly and sweet and lovable.  They’re always up for an outing if the writing is not going well.

Really, how can you not love these two? (Even though they are blurry because it’s next to impossible to get them both in the same picture :))

But yesterday?

Yes, well, yesterday, I can’t say I was terribly happy with either one of them.

First, on a perfectly lovely morning run, during which I don’t recall losing sight of Scout (although Jemma disappeared for a while to investigate the neighbor’s compost heap), Scout somehow managed to get skunked.

we run here – no cars, so no leashes

Those of you who have dogs know that anything to do with skunks IS NOT FUN!

How could I have not seen it happen?  I was right there!

Nevertheless, skunked she was.  And I didn’t have time to wash her – I had to get my daughter to school!  So I had to gate her in the kitchen, open all the windows, and pray that her extreme odor wouldn’t asphyxiate either dog while I was gone and that I would somehow be able to get the smell out of the house when I returned.

Then came the bathing.

Although she will get in any scummy, algae covered, filth-laden mud puddle, pond or stream as long as it isn’t actually iced over, Scout does NOT like to be bathed!

And when I am alone, with no one to hold on to her, bathing Scout is an Olympic sport, let me tell you!

Afterwards, she sulked.

See?  She wouldn’t even look at me.

Then, while she was still QUITE wet (it’s hard to comprehend how much water that coat holds if you haven’t experienced it firsthand), the guy showed up out of nowhere to service the furnace.

“But you said October 3rd!” I sputtered, when he insisted the dogs be shut up before he got out of the truck.

So I had to shut them in my office… which now smells like wet skunk dog with a trace of lemon dish soap.  Quite the scent.  I think Febreze will be introducing it this fall.

So then, when he finally left, I put them out in hopes of airing out the house…

… and they conveniently found something dead to roll in….

…so we had another round of baths….

…and now my house smells like wet skunk dog mixed with barely concealed dead animal and a trace of lemon dish soap.

Truthfully it’s a miracle I was even able to write this 🙂

I think that calls for Something Chocolate if anything ever did!

Let’s go hog wild!!! (with many thanks to Kathy P. for the photo!! :))

It’s called Candy Shop Truffle! (but it kind of looks like cereal so let’s pretend it’s good for us :))

So, after all that!, we have the August Straight From The Editor.  You will recall that Lisa won the August Pitch Pick with her pitch for The Golden Egg, a PB for ages 5-8.

Here is her pitch:

The golden egg that doesn’t hatch creates quite a stir among the feathered friends on the farm. The Eggsperts are called and the Whisperers weigh in. In the end, Mother Hen must decide whether to follow their advice or listen to her heart.

And here is what Erin had to say:

As always, I find Erin’s comments interesting and enlightening!  Thank you, Erin, and thank you Lisa!

Now, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Kari who says, “I live in upstate NY and resurrected this children’s series I started way back in elementary school.  My stories are based in part on things that happened to me and my friends when we were younger.  Living in a very small town in the middle of nowhere, you had to make your own fun, just like Mekayla and her friends do.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Great UFO Hunt
Age/Genre: Early Reader
The Pitch: Aspiring space explorer Mekayla is convinced she sees a UFO crash land in the woods behind her house.  But despite finding evidence of something from another world, no one but her friends believe her!  With weird things happening in their small, sleepy town, Mekayla and her friends are out to save their town and prove life from outerspace does exist.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?