I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the Indian Ink family: Fay.

She’s an 18-month-old black and white, Heading Dog Cross from animal rescue in Northland, and she’s only got one eye – please don’t stare. Fay is affectionate, mischievous and—apparently—an escape artist. Within days of moving in she managed to slip out the gate while I was watching dog training videos on YouTube. By the time I looked up my wife was organising a neighbourhood search party and giving me that “You had one job” look she’s perfected over the years. It wasn’t long before Fay was located at the Animal Services detention facility across town where she had spent the afternoon thinking about her choices.

You may recall that our beloved Gracie, who was with us for 15 wonderful years, passed away in January. Fay has enormous paws to fill, but she’s already bringing fresh energy, comic timing, and a waggy sort of encouragement to the house. I have a feeling she’ll make an excellent writing partner—though most of her ideas seem eye patchy at best.

That said, she might already be a lucky charm. We’d been circling endlessly, unable to land on a title for our new play, then—suddenly—it clicked: Balloon Dog.

Sometimes inspiration comes like that, out of nowhere, wagging its tail.