A Doggone Good Christmas

The top story on the news yesterday? Not Trump, not the terrible bomb blast in Nashville, not the covid numbers. No – it was dog smuggling!

During this long, lonely pandemic, people are reaching out for something to cuddle, to talk to, and to force them into exercising. Dogs are the perfect answer. If you can find one. Several friends and relatives have their names on very long lists and their chequebooks ready in case they are lucky enough to find a dog that is the right breed for them. For some people, Any breed is the right breed.

Between us, my husband Peter and I have 4 grand children and now, with the pandemic, we have 4 grand dogs too! This number recently increased from 2, and both of our new grand-puppies joined us for Christmas – in the garage.

Once again we moved our cars out, and hung up the white plastic table cloths to hide all the junk. And this time we added festive red bows. The kids wanted us to set up a tree too, but their visits were going to be very short, not worth the effort of a decorated tree. Instead, we set out their gifts on tables and invited everybody to drop by to pick up the gifts along with Christmas-Dinner-To-Go. Visits at a distance – with no hugs, but at least we saw their faces!

And their new dogs. First came Finnegan, an adorable beige Huskie-Akita mix, with a cute curly tail and perky ears. He accompanied us to the park where the kids let off steam having a snowball fight. Finn was in heaven – balls to chase! He seemed shocked that they disintegrated in his mouth when he tried to chew them. Soon he and his family felt it was time to go home and get a real ball.

After Finn left, Teidi arrived with his family. Teidi (Irish for Teddy Bear), is a furry black and white Newfie. Right now he is a manageable size and loves cuddling. I wanted to hold him on my lap but he hasn’t yet figured out that I am his Nana and he has a duty to get up there. But he did snuggle up to my legs and kept them warm.

We have to admit that the garage is not a great party facility. The heating is negligible and the plastic table cloths hiding the junk are not exactly elegant, even with the red bows. But it is a great venue for dogs that aren’t yet housebroken. The concrete floor is very forgiving. Knocked-over drinks, muddy paw prints, and accidental pees are all easily washed away with the hose.

Now that the grandchildren are past the toddler stage, we have gotten used to good behaviour. They don’t even climb on the furniture any more! And, before the pandemic, they would go into our guest bedroom and play quietly together. Dare I saw that it was boring? So we are glad to welcome 2 new puppies to entertain us. Despite the fact that they are both going to be very Large, we have our hopes pinned on puppy training classes.

What I do know is that last Friday a warm hug, albeit a doggie one, was the perfect way to celebrate a pandemic Christmas.

Sue