Montgomery P. Schnauzer – Dog Detective
(or Monty, for short)
Monty spent his puppyhood with an old man he knew as ‘Master’. They lived in the suburbs in a little house with a nice little yard. Monty was happy there.
Master was a huge fan of mystery stories. He dressed Monty in a Sherlock Holmes jacket, and at night, would invite Monty up on the chair as he would read aloud from one of his detective books.
Monty thought his life was pretty great. Then one night, his life changed.
An interview with Monty
Monty: Correct. But you can call me Monty.
Monty: Private Eye, of course.
Monty: Most people think it’s Sherlock Holmes. I suppose that’s because of my jacket. But my favorite detective is Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon.
Timothy Forner
Author
Timothy Forner lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and a Miniature Schnauzer who bears a strong resemblance to Montgomery P. Schnauzer. They live in a big city in a neighborhood with a lot of dogs. As a result, he has more than a few canine fans.
He is a long-time supporter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (ASPCA) and other animal charities. He hopes his stories will inspire people to be kinder to animals (as well as each other) and consider adopting a shelter animal instead of purchasing a pet.
An interview with Timothy Forner
Question: Where did you get the inspiration for these children’s books?
Answer: It started with me making up stories about our dog to entertain my wife. He seemed so serious on our walks, sniffing every rock, twig, and leaf. He acted like a detective. I decided a detective dog needed a pretentious detective name, and the first thing that came to mind was Montgomery P. Schnauzer.
It was a couple of years before Monty evolved (in my mind) to a distinct character, and another year before the character of Sarah came along, and finally, I had a story to tell.
Timothy: Monty is a unique fictional character. He was based on our own Miniature Schnauzer, as a starting point. They have similarities, but many differences as well.
For example, Monty loves his Sherlock Holmes jacket. He never wants to take it off. But our dog hates jackets (all dog clothes, really). His reaction to his rain jacket is so severe, we call the jacket the J.O.P.E., which stands for Jacket of Pure Evil.
Timothy: Let’s just say Monty has been around for a least a couple of birthdays. Developing the storyline took longer than expected because I wanted to get it right. And some characters took a while to appear.
Timothy: An Aardvark. Just kidding. I would be a dog. Makes sense, right?
Timothy: I love all animals, but I do have a particular fondness for dogs. I think they have amazing capabilities.
I once had the pleasure to watch a cattle dog work. I was in the company of an old cowboy – very old; the man looked frail. He called for his dog, and his handsome Border Collie ran up to him. The cowboy said, “Bring me my cows.” The dog took off like a rocket. Ten minutes later, the dog came back with 30 odd cows, tightly packed together. The dog led the cattle right into the paddock. All the cowboy had to do was close the gate!
There are also dogs that detect cancer. Dogs work search and rescue. Service dogs help people who are completely blind, navigate city streets, essentially making all the decisions that a human would make.
Question: Will there be more Montgomery P. Schnauzer books for kids?
Timothy: Definitely. I have a whole series planned. I hope for at least four or five more adventures and the final count could be as many as seven or eight books. We shall see where Monty’s curiosity takes us.