A secret about
Grandfather Twilight’s Dog

In my own mind, there was never any question about Grandfather Twilight’s dog. Of course he had one. Of course his dog would look just like mine, who always came with me on long walks in the woods. We walked together for so many years I never felt “complete” if I went for a walk with no dog trotting and sniffing ahead of me.

I knew this dog from the moment she was born. I watched her mother give birth to the whole litter. I even sketched the pile of puppies. They were all wonderful puppies, but this one stood out and we decided to keep her. She was gorgeous and lively. Jerry, my partner, gave her the name “Honey Don’t,” from the Beatles song. We called her Honey, or H.D. for short.

I don’t know why, but for some reason I never did make drawings of Honey, even though to me, she was the most beautiful dog in the world. Maybe that is why. How could I ever do a good enough drawing of her?

But at last when Grandfather Twilight came along, I was able to draw and paint her for the book. By that time, I had been watching H.D. for so many years, she just came out the end of my pencil when I drew.

I’m not saying the dog in the book comes anywhere near the real Honey Don’t in all her splendor. She was part wolf, a fine and sensitive soul. A few short years after I did the book, she came to the end of her life. She was very old. I still miss her. But I am grateful that she can live on in the book, walking out in the woods with Grandfather Twilight.