The Illusion of “Real” Characters

Ruby, a much-loved service dog

Ruby had the most incredible ears I’ve ever seen. They jutted out on each side of her narrow face like airplane wings. They seldom drooped, and they never rose higher. They just hung out there horizontally as though she were about to take flight.

And that’s where Buddy, whose name ultimately becomes Ruby in Little Dog, Lost, began.

The real Ruby was a service dog for my friend Martha. (I’m using past tense, because Ruby died about the time I completed the manuscrip...