There once was a dog …

A little over two years ago, my family was put in a tailspin by the untimely passing of an extremely important member. Princess Zeta Moon del Mundo (or Zeta for short) may have technically been Curt and Cheryl's dog, but over the years she was unofficially adopted by each and every one of us. She was ornery, funny, loving and downright beautiful … the kind of beauty that extended all of the way down to her soul.

Before meeting "Z", Carrie was a self-proclaimed "small dog person" but that all changed when early one morning Zeta hopped up on the bed where Carrie was sleeping and promptly sat down on her as if she was simply imposing her will on Carrie. Because of that moment—and many more to come—I have Zeta to thank for bringing Zoe and Luka into our lives.

When we lost her (and I truly mean "we") everyone was devestated, but none more than Curt and Cheryl. Zeta was such a huge part of their lives that her passing left a void that will never be replaced. Added to those emotions was the fact that they were preparing to start a family and now were faced with the reality that their children would never get to know Z.

And the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me too.

While I knew I could never bring her back from them, I came up with something I could do to keep a piece of her alive for future generations. So, without any previous experience, I set out to create a children's book in Z's memory.

From the very start, I knew I wanted the book to revolve around the period of time Curt, Cheryl and Zeta spent living and playing on their sailboat the Oread, traveling from Galveston Bay to Key West. I had heard them describe those months on the boat together as some of the best times they'd had in their lives and I spent the better part of a year trying to craft something I hoped was worthy of the experience. To help, I enlisted Johanna "Joey" Shoop one of the designers I work with here at WSU and someone who just happens to be an extremely talented fine artist and illustrator.

After a couple of months, I was ready to present a first draft to Curt, Cheryl (and now their daughter Hagen) for Christmas.

Fast forward several more months and the book is now a finished product … well, almost. While I have printed a few hardback versions, the book, titled "The Big Black Dog and the Big Blue Sea" is now in production and set to be published in late June/early July. It will be available through all major bookstores—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.—as well as through its very own Web site that's currently being developed (the best way to get a copy … if you'd like to get one).

Here's what it looks like.



Here's an inside spread.



And here's the inspiration.


We miss you Zeta.