Welcome to the Rat Dog Pack!  Let me start by introducing you to the pack.

My first rat terrier was Hilbert.  It’s his picture on the cover of How (Not) to Kiss your Dog.  He was a purebred, “Teddy Roosevelt” from a farm near Decatur, Illinois.  Hilbert was the inspiration for many of the more disgusting stories in the book.   

The name Hilbert was very fitting for him because there was a mathematician named David Hilbert who was known for (among other things) posing very difficult problems.  That was my Hilbert, too.

Hilbert died from liver failure at age 13 on March 13, 2012.  He was a very good friend and I will never forget him – especially when I look at the table leg he chewed up as a puppy!