Lori Ries

Young readers know I have a puppy. Her name is Nikita, and Nikita is a beautiful Siberian Husky. We're looking at the idea of a second husky, and while I now have huskies on the brain, I thought I'd answer the questions I get from kids about Nikita.

One of the questions I'm asked is, "Is Nikita Aggie?"
Aggie actually started out as a real dog named Aggie. the real Aggie is a Golden Lab. A few years ago we visited a friend's beach house. My daughter was just four then. She was given bread to feed the ducks as the house backed on to a lake. Aggie lazed, lounging in the sun on the warm deck.

The moment this four year old child began tossing bread into the water, two floppy ears perked up, and before we knew it, Aggie rushed passed us and belly flopped into the lake! The bread drowned, ducks squawked in flight, and we were soaked. Aggie dog paddled back with the smirkiest doggy grin, and shook herself off. (guess she didn't think we were wet enough) I knew she was a character. I started spending more time with the McCaslines, so in love with this energetic pup.

Then, for fun one day I took my girls to the pet store, and there we saw a darling black and white masked husky with azure blue eyes. We took her out and fell in love, and went home to drag Dad in to see this little girl pup. We took her out to play with her again, and she never went back.

Puppy play with Nikita has brought on story after story, not that that was the plan, but when you have a husky, you have adventure after adventure, delicious fun loving experiences filled with life. It's pretty fun that all my writers friends also have a dog, and it's interesting to see what a dog does for a writer. Nikita is part of our pack, and has also become my partner in storytelling joys. You just might see us out, walking, talking, and playing with more Aggieriffic fun, or just enjoying the day. That's husky heaven.