#3 - Christmas Memories - The Twelve Photos of Christmas Past

Christmas with Dogs

Josh (Smudge), Leanne (Marble), and Kathryn (Keisha)

What Christmas would be complete without family?  And what family would be complete without their pets?  For us, those pets are dogs.  And more specifically, weiner dogs.  

Our dogs have always added a fun dimension to Christmas.  First of all, they get excited.  All those presents!  And some of them smell so good.  And then, there are their particular behaviours.  Keisha (on the left) always stood guard over the tree when there were wrapped gifts underneath.  You couldn't approach without a few teeth being bared and a few hairs sticking up on the back of her neck.  Of course, if you came bearing another gift for the offering, you were welcomed with a wagging tail.

And then there was the opening of said gifts.  There were several unwritten rules dogs had to follow.  The first, sniff at everything vigorously.  The second was to always help your master open his or her gift.  In the Marvel movies, all you had to say was, "Hulk, smash!"  In the same vein, the command, "Dog, rip!" led to a similar frenzy.  Paper, cardboard, possibly the odd finger, it all was up for grabs (literally).

Interest was soon lost if the wrapped item didn't contain something that squeaked or smelt delicious.  However, if either of those conditions were true, the true, savage nature of the beast came out.  No squeaker ever survived the first 24 hours, and every morsel was demolished with great aplomb.  And yet we always enjoyed their antics as they tore through their gift.

All of the dogs we had are gone, and now we are left with only Murphy.  It is not quite the same without the children present.  However, we now have our grandchildren, and are looking forward to what the future will bring, dogs included.

Kathryn, Murphy, and Nora.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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