Many people decluttered their homes, read lots of books, and/or adopted pets during the COVID-19 shutdowns that started in 2020. Far fewer did something bigger, such as learning a foreign language or writing a book.
Annette Hostoffer DID write a book.
“Everything was so black and bleak during COVID. Everyone was sad. I decided to do something happy,” she said. “Then I thought of all the kids who were stuck inside during COVID.”
So she wrote a book that she hoped would be educational and entertaining for children, with an eye toward words and illustrations that would appeal to the adults who buy books and read them to kids.
“Pittsburgh Dog & Frog” celebrates her love of Pittsburgh, her Mount Washington neighborhood and the little Yorkshire terrier who gave “14 years of love, loyalty, happiness and peace” to Annette and her husband, David Hostoffer.
The book is dedicated to her husband and their dog named Heins in real life, who died on Dec. 11, 2019 — making the March 2020 shutdown even sadder for the couple.
“I tried to go on walks, but without a dog it wasn’t the same,” Mrs. Hostoffer said.
Heins really did regularly walk and visit all of the places in the book, in which his name is spelled Heinz.
The 43-page book can be read aloud in 20 minutes. There are 22 amazing illustrations by artist Felix Eddy of Endicott, N.Y. Drawn in exquisite detail are the real dog, an imaginary giant yellow frog and many locales and vistas.
The 57-foot-tall yellow frog — reminiscent of the Giant Rubber Duck that floated at the Point in the autumn of 2013 — is magically and dramatically downsized so he can go sightseeing with the dog.
Illustrations include famous landmarks: the three rivers and the Point where the rivers meet, the view from atop Mount Washington, inclines, the weather-predicting Gulf Tower and other buildings of the city skyline.
Also depicted is the sculpture of George Washington and Guyasuta, leader of the Senaca people, located on Grandview Avenue, a stone’s throw away from the Hostoffers’ house. There Heinz spent many hours frolicking in the leafy backyard, which has views of the Ohio River.
The book also shows many bridges, including the gold-painted Three Sisters (Clemente, Warhol and Carson) and the Hot Metal Bridge over the Monongahela River on the South Side.
The dog and the frog decide the amphibian needs a “Pittsburgh name,” so the frog adopts the name “Hot Metal.”
The Yorkshire terrier was acquired by the couple “back when Hines Ward was playing at Heinz Field,” Mrs. Hostoffer said. And of course Heinz ketchup and other condiments are popular in the city, so they gave their dog a Pittsburgh name, but spelled it “Heins” to give him his own identity.
A full-page illustration that features a lady walking four leashed dogs on the Hot Metal Bridge’s pedestrian walkway also shows a truck with a sign that says Uncle Dave’s Pierogies.
That’s a homage to her husband, though Mrs. Hostoffer is quick to note he does not make or sell the stuffed dough beloved by many.
A lesser-known locales illustrated in the book is Grandview Bakery on Shiloh Street.
Heinz tells Hot Metal he went there each year for 14 years for his very own birthday cake. Heinz also explains the Pittsburgh cookie table, which is a tradition at local weddings.
Bakeshop illustrations show details of 20 cookies, including snickerdoodles, pizzelles and pistachio macaroons.
“COVID enabled me to write this book,” Mrs. Hostoffer said. She worked full time from home and worked on her book for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, before and after work. She started in March 2020 and finished that July. The illustrations took four months.
So far she has sold 500 books, “but I’m just getting started, and I’m not even on social media yet.” Books can be bought at Riverstone Books, Penguin Bookshop, Dragonfly Castle Toys, Grandview Bakery, where 150 copies have been sold, and at the Love Pittsburgh shops, which sell the works of local artists. They also can be purchased at the www.pghdog.com website. Contact the author at info@pghdog.com.
Mrs. Hostoffer is available for book readings. One of the venues where she has appeared is Salty Paws Pittsburgh, which sells doggie ice cream and pastries in Lawrenceville.
During COVID-19, Mrs. Hostoffer did a lot of reading, as well as writing. She was happy that she and many others de-cluttered during the pandemic because donated items help nonprofits including Goodwill Industries, where she works as a grants writer.
She’s already considering writing a sequel but hasn’t decided whether the book would feature Heinz, or her new dog, Mr. Blue Sky.
Last September she and her husband adopted a black affenpinscher she says is “our little monkey.” Indeed, the name of the breed means “monkey dog” in German. Sky is now a year old, and Mrs. Hostoffer has a walking companion again.
She graduated from Duquesne University in 1985 and has lived on Mount Washington for 33 years.
“Pittsburgh Dog & Frog” was published last fall by Hot Chocolate Books, a division of Word Association Publishers in Tarentum. It’s $17.95.
Fun fact: A photo of Heins appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 20, 2020, as one of the winning photos submitted by readers for National Love Your Pet Days. He posed atop Mount Washington with his toy rubber ducky, with the giant rubber duck in the background.
Linda Wilson Fuoco: lfuoco@post-gazette.com and at PG Pets on Facebook.
First Published: July 17, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
