"Last May while I was surrounded by stacks of bills, my husband burst through the door waving a lottery ticket, [shouting] 'Amy, we have to get this puppy,'" emails Amy MacKinnon, whose first novel, Tethered, will be published in late 2008 by Shaye Areheart. "He was bicycling with our daughter when he came upon a litter of English bulldog pups romping in a neighbor's front yard. There were several catches: I was just laid-off from my job and there were all those bills; I was not a dog person; and the pups cost $2,500."

"But he was so excited and who was I to quash that?" she continues. "Knowing it would never happen, I said, 'If you scratch that ticket and win, we'll get the dog.' He won. I am now a devoted, blissfully absurd mother to the most amazing dog in the world: Babe. Isn't he perfect?"

(PS: If you're wondering where your pet's picture got to, never fear: I've got plenty more dogs and cats—and even a rat—lined up for tomorrow's posts...)