Shiloh–the inspiration

I wanted to know how you got the idea to wright Shiloh the book.Was It when you were little did something happen to you or a friend? or did you just think about it? what was your inspration to wright it? how did you think of the idea? also I would like to know if you had a dog named Shiloh? I also liked the book a lot when I read it in my class.

I came across a dog like Shiloh in the little community of Shiloh, West Virginia.  That was why I wrote the book.  But I grew up with a dog named Pepper.