Elle James

My muses are my sweet puppers, Bandit and Charli. If you have pets, you know how much joy and love they give. You also know how much work it takes to care for them.

Mine are Yorkies. Charli is a traditional Yorkie; she’s all silver and tan and a complete diva! Bandit is a parti Yorkie, and he’s brown and white, a complete cuddle bug.

This breed requires regular trips to what I call the poo-parlor for grooming. They come back freshly trimmed and smelling so good.

They like to sit by me while I’m writing. Thankfully, I have a reclining couch that gives all three of us plenty of room. They get me up a lot during the day to let them outside, making sure I don’t sit too long.

Yorkies were bred to chase rodents into small holes. Charli and Bandit have it in their blood. For the first time in my life, a couple of rats decided my backyard was a pretty awesome place. Charli, the smaller of the two Yorkies at a chubby 8 pounds, chased them out of the bushes. Together, she and Bandit (the chubbier pup at 12 pounds) dispatched the rats.

Charli has terrorized possums twice her size and has caught a squirrel and a bunny.

Mighty hunters!