Nynaeve: An Introduction

Sometimes I have to wonder about my dog.

Since I haven’t referred to her by name before now, let me give you a bit of a background.  Nynaeve is the most co-dependent animal that I have ever had the fortune/misfortune to know in my life.  The same goes for my wife.  It provides hours of amusement and frustration for Kristen and me.  There’s a reason I referred to her as “Writing Partner Number 1” for months.  I mean—

Well, let me put it this way.  She’s so clingy that if you’re allergic to dogs, you’re already breaking out in hives.

But she’s part of the family and we love her.  Nynaeve—named after Nynaeve al’Meara from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time—is roughly 65 or so pounds of pure pitbull.  95% of that is made from pure muscle and love, the rest is just the desire for more love.  But she isn’t the smartest of dogs.

Actually, that isn’t being fair to her.  She’s quite aware of what’s going on around her and quite protective of K and I.  There’s even this thing that she does with her front two paws that is strikingly similar to what humans do with their hands.  There are times when I feel more able to free my hands from handcuffs than from my dog’s paws.  No joke.  Other than that, she’s like a toddler with the ability to run faster than me with the same innate curiosity.  Sticks her nose anywhere and everywhere.

So why am I telling you this?  Because, like any halfway competent writer, I’m setting the stage.  Getting you familiar with the characters.  Cause Nynaeve, she’s going to be around for a while.  And as I start sharing stories of life and the odd twists of my mind, I’m sure that she’ll be appearing more than once.  There’s stories about stories of her already.  And she’s not even 2 years old yet.

What pets does everyone else have?  Any fun stories?