“I’m flatulent in many languages.”

“When I’m alone, I’m in the company of the most interesting dog I know.”

“My parents placed a high value on reading, starting with the King James Bible, and one whole wall of our living room was filled, floor to ceiling, with books. But I was an outside kid and didn’t have the patience to be a reader. That changed, briefly, when I discovered Tom Sawyer in the fourth grade. That was the one book I truly loved. I read it several times, then read Huckleberry Finn. I was fascinated by the way Twain played with language and used regional dialects. But what amazed me most was that Twain allowed the reader to laugh. Reading didn’t have to be drudgery. Twain didn’t allow it.”

“He had a good heart, he wanted to help with the cattle work, he thought he was Head of Ranch Security, but he wasn’t very smart and never understood why the cowboys were mad at him all the time.” (regarding the original Hank the Cowdog)”

“Hank is a dog, not a human dressed up in a dog suit. Humans share some of his flaws, but I get my ideas from watching dogs.”

“Write about something you know. Try to leave your readers better off than they were before.”

“There’s no better way to mess up a good cowdog than to let him discover that goofing off beats the heck out of hard work.”