Jo doesn't like to talk about herself much, so I'll just tell you a bit about her. When she was a little girl, a voice in her head told her that she had to like dogs. That was when she was about five years old and didn't know any dogs. Then a family moved in next door with a little heeler-cross called Trixie. Remembering the voice in her head, Jo tried to like Trixie, but it wasn't easy. Trixie would run up to her wagging her tail, she'd roll on to her back, still wagging her tail, asking for her tummy to be tickled, Jo would oblige, and then Trixie would try and bite her. Not the best start.
But Jo didn't forget about the voice and, when she was 8 years old, she went down to the local kennels, where she met Jim, who was very kind with her and they became friends. Jo's love of dogs began to grow. She went to the kennels whenever she had any spare time and decided she would like to own her own kennels one day.
Jo's first dog was called Lassie - that's her in the picture. At the age of about ten, she went to a garden fete with her best friend and brought Lassie home with her. Her mum and dad weren't too chuffed, but they soon fell in love with Lassie.
Life took over and, instead of following a career with dogs, Jo went to university to study languages and then moved abroad for a few years. But she missed England and eventually came back home. She started going back to the kennels again. Of course, she was older and Jim was older, but the friendship was still strong. And then Kat was born and Jo decided to write about her. So there you have it. I'm Kat's great grandson and Peggy, who lives with us, is her great granddaughter, but I'm the one most like Kat. I'm feisty and sometimes even growl at Mum. But she knows I don't mean it. I would never bite her, and so I bite Peggy instead.