Jan McCulloch

I thought you might like to know the story behind why I wrote A Little Dog's Prayer.

It was summer 2016 and I was renting a small, remote cottage in the Angus Glens in Scotland. Breathtakingly beautiful scenery, I think, is always inspirational. The wild heather clad hills, the mewling call of the buzzard and the wonderful smells of peat moorland and sheep were a daily delight.

My neighbours were few and far between and since I had only recently moved in I did not know anyone.

One day there was a knock at the door. Upon answering, I was greeted by a stranger who introduced himself as one of my neighbours, calling by to say hello.

I invited him in for coffee and biscuits. We were soon chatting away as if we had known each other forever! We both enjoyed a passion for books and we loved Scotland and dogs and old ruins and castles! We told each other tales from our childhood and compared notes on our favourite books. During our conversation, my neighbour explained that he had bought an old ruined castle on the hill above my cottage, and had made it his lifes work to lovingly restore it. I was invited to visit the castle for tea and a guided tour. Believe me when I tell you I was completely overwhelmed. I had of course seen the castle perched on the hillside, shrouded in mist in the early mornings or basking in the heat of the long summer evenings , and had promised myself a closer look one day, but here I was, being invited to tea and a guided tour! I was thrilled.

The next day, as if in a dream, I wandered through the castle with a heap of my dogs and my neighbour, listening to his account of restoration works so far accomplished and his intention for future improvement. I was overcome by the enormity of this project, and in awe of his hard work and dedication.

Sitting in a cosy room in one of the towers of the castle, below turrets where buzzards perched looking for all the world like stone eagles, we drank tea and handed out biscuits to my dogs, who my neighbour adored. They loved him too, more so when the biscuits appeared! I described how each dog had found his or her way into my life, and went on to complain bitterly of the cruel and heartless manner in which many dogs were reared, in filthy puppy farms. My neighbour listened intently, nodding in agreement. Then he said "You should write a book"

So I did. A Little Dog's Prayer.