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| Wendy Orr with Harry, the day he arrived |
Have you ever been inspired by an animal, or animals in general, in your life or art?
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| Bear, who inspired the first Rainbow Street story |
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| With the lion cub who inspired A Lion Called Kiki |
In fact, nearly all my books have animals in them, whether they're a focus as in Ark in the Park, or a minor part like the light relief of the bouncy border collie Ben in Peeling the Onion.
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| Wendy Orr reading with Frieda |
in Ottawa with my grandparents when we moved to France when I was three. She lived in on my dad's "Frieda's Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather stories" throughout my childhood. In France we had a beautiful big basset hound named James, who died tragically in quarantine when we returned to Canada. Another basset, Jill, arrived when I was seven, and was my constant companion until I left home. I also had a guinea pig named Susie Q, and later, as a student in London, a guinea pig named Henry. My mother fulfilled her lifelong ambition of owning a horse when we moved to Colorado when I was ten; Biddy taught us all to ride, and when we moved to Nova Scotia I also had my own horse, Tala. And of course, BC. Of course my sister and brother also had pets: at one point we had three dogs, three guinea pigs and five horses.
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| Wendy Orr and sister Kathy, with Jill the basset hound |
Do you have an animal companion now? Harry came to us nearly 4 years ago, exactly a month after our 16 1/2 year old border collie Bear died. We hadn't wanted a dog yet, as we were leaving for a 5 week trip to Canada a couple of months later, but Harry had had a rough start to life. He'd been removed from his first home for terrible abuse. His next home had been loving but hadn't worked out because of the owner's illness. We'd met him and when we heard that he'd been returned to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, I was devastated. We drove straight in and got him. We're constantly grateful that we did.
What would your pet tell us about you?
She needs to practise her ball throwing skills, and not spend so much time at the computer.
If you were an animal, what would you be?
I'd love to say an eagle, a dolphin... but probably a bumbling labrador.
Any advice for people wanting a pet?
Remember they're for life. Make sure they suit your lifestyle. But once you work it out, do it, because they will bring you joy, companionship and love. We all need something to love, and someone who needs us.
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| Harry & his friend Pippa, who was adopted the same week |
Favourite animal books?
So many... as a child, a Little Golden Book of Cleo the Basset; The Incredible Journey; The Yearling; My Friend Flicka; The Wild White Stallion; The Black Stallion
Two more recent ones that are stand-outs are Anthony Hill's The Shadow Dog, and Sharon Creech's Love that Dog. Both made me weep.
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