I heard Mr T talking about resolutions and I thought he was referring to the lack of clarity he was getting from his computer screen.  I had no idea he was trying to work on a list of goals for the New Year or, to my horror,  that those resolutions involved ME!!

Now, I am all for setting yourself a healthy “to do” list or some personal goals, but when it comes to involving the family dog….. without consultation  -  then I really have to put my paw down!!

Glancing over Mr T’s shoulder I could clearly see my name on his New Years Resolution list

“Running with Sam”  ………You have to be kidding, I have bad knees!
“Take lunch to work for Sam and I ”……..What is wrong with a café lunch?
“Start a new hobby” ………. Mr T already has a hobby - ME!!
Flopping to the floor, I resigned myself to a life of running the streets, no more cooked lunches and Mr T leaving me behind as he went off to his “new hobby”.

2012 was looking grim.

I was still  wallowing in self pity when my friend Sparky popped his head in to see me.

Sparky always sees the positive side of life, so I told him my woes and then waited for his  pearls of wisdom in his reply.

He said, “Sam, a good friend is one who supports another with their New Year resolutions, and if they fail to achieve them, which is usually by the end of January, a true friend forgets they were ever set in the first place”

Well, that certainly perked me up , because if Sparky is right, like he often is, I will only have to worry about 4 weeks of fitness and lunches at my desk.

High Five Paw to that!

Woof

Nobody has ever explained to me why the day after Christmas-Day is called Boxing Day.  But one thing is for sure, I know it is not for the reason my friend Ace thinks !!

I rang him Christmas Eve to wish him a Merry Christmas and confirm he was coming to visit Boxing Day.  When I think about it, his reply was a little unusual but because Ace had been abandoned at a shelter as a pup, he missed out on learning a lot of things about people, so I put it down to that.

Ace had been lucky to be left at the shelter as the people there were kind to him and he had a warm bed and food.  But even luckier for him, had been that special day just before Christmas 2 years ago.

That was the day that, a young, determined, rough and tumble little boy called Josh, dressed in a Batman suit, came flying up to his cage.

At first, Ace was a bit unsure about the mask and cape that stood before him, but he wagged his tail anyway.   Little did Ace know that costumes and adventure heroes were about to become part of his forever life.

As Josh flicked off his mask and called out to an apprehensive Ace, something magic happened, Ace calls it - love at first sight.  And despite the fact that Josh and his parents had come to the shelter to get a small furry kitten, Ace, the little abandoned puppy, went home with Josh.

Anyway, getting back to Ace and Boxing Day.  I invited him over to my house and he barks  “Great I have been looking for an opportunity to wear Josh’s new training gear”.  I was not sure what he meant by that, but  I told him “ I will give you a ring on Boxing day morning”  and that seemed to get him even more excited!

I did not think anything more about his strange comment until he arrived at my door Boxing Day when it all became……. Perfectly  clear!!

Woof

Woof Woof Woof…… Yelp … I am all of a panic!!

This morning I got a Christmas card from my Irish Setter friend Brylee who lives in Australia, which was lovely, but it gave me massive Claus for panic.   I had forgotten all about sending my Christmas cards and now I had run out of time.  Instantly, I started chasing my tail in distress which had Mr T asking “what’s the matter boy?”

I had been so busy thinking of Christmas dinner, ordering my gifts and choosing bright coloured wrapping paper I had  simply forgotten to post my cards.  My friends will think I have forgotten them too.

I put my paws over my eyes and flopped on to the floor in despair.  I lay there waiting for the Christmas fairy to flutter by and sprinkle her magic dust to solve my dilemma.  But surprisingly, no fairy appeared!   Instead, what did present itself was a dark shadow that hovered over my head looking down on me.

I opened one eye to see Raven the cat, staring at me, shaking his head.  In a very superior manner he questioned “why are you being so dramatic?”

Feeling very undignified I got up off the floor and explained the problem to Raven who sat there licking his paws without a purr of comfort for me.  No Christmas spirit at all, that cat.

When I was done whimpering my woes to him, he slowly turned his head and with the most catty of voices announced, so every one in the office could hear, “ Really Sam, you are such a silly dog,  what do you think the Rachael Hale(R) eCards are for? “

Leaping in the air with joy, I could have kissed that superior cat, but I am sure that would have got me a claw slap.  Instead I let out a big bark   “Brilliant idea Raven”  and raced to my computer to get started sending my eCards.

Guess I had better not forget to send Raven one

Woof

My friend Brighton says “ giving is better than getting”.

So if that’s true, this Christmas I want things I can give.

Hooray, it’s almost Christmas and I can smell the holly in the air.

I am off to my grandmothers for Christmas holidays and I can’t pack fast enough.

We have to travel quite a distance to get there but that doesn’t bother me too much as I can catch a couple of dog winks on the way.

I am allowed to sit in the back seat with my safety belt on or in the trunk behind the grill.   I am happy in either place as long as I can stretch out my legs and move a little bit.  Mr T packs the car very carefully so nothing falls on me if it comes loose, that would hurt and I do not want to spend my hols with my leg in a plaster cast!

Getting ready for my holiday is like a military operation, lots of logistics to consider like, are my tag and chip details up to date if I get lost ? Do I have all the supplies I need? –  water bottle, bowl, collar, leash, doggy do-do bags and some rations for on the way.  My medication has to be packed in an airtight container to keep it safe and dry, along with my vaccination card which shows I am all up to date and fit to travel.
I am in charge of packing my own kit and comfort items like – my favourite blanket with all its familiar smells and a couple of toys (I like to travel light).

I do love the Christmas nibbles and treats the season brings my way, but I do make sure my normal doggy food is packed to take with  me on holiday because even I know that too many treats are not good for me.

Yesterday, I did notice Mr T was browsing the internet for local doggy parks and Vets around where we will be on holiday.  Now, that got me all excited because I am soooooooo looking forward to pawing over a new park and investigating a fresh set of smells.

There is no doubt about it, going on holiday is so much fun, but it also involves a lot of planning for a dog!
Tell you all about it when I get back

WOOF

Christmas Tree Lights - do I need to say more???

Now, I am not trying to shift the blame here, but it was really not my fault.

My friend Brighton was over visiting and it was his idea that we should decorate the Christmas tree, as a surprise for Mr T and the team at the office.  I had a special interest in doing this as I have my own designer range of Christmas ornaments  and we all thought it would be a nice thing to do.


After we had successfully hung the decorations,  Brighton plonked himself in the chair and said he would advise me on how to put the lights on the tree.  Brighton has been very good with advice in the past, but now I reflect on it, that advice was mainly about the best places to bury bones and how to get into the back seat of the car without anyone noticing – handy stuff like that, rather than advice on matters electrical.

Anyway, it may have been the fresh smell of the Christmas tree that clouded my better judgement, but even Raven, who prides himself on being a cat of superior intelligence was purring with excitement at the thought of seeing the pretty Christmas lights.  And it would be fair to say, that all was going well until we switched the lights on and the snowman light at the bottom of the tree exploded with an all mighty BANG.

Raven jumped in shock and with a screeching meow shot up the tree to safety.  Brighton leapt from the chair, catching the light cord around his back leg which pulled from the wall as he proceeded to drag the entire Christmas tree behind him, with Raven clinging on and screaming out in a high pitched meow of horror.   Baubles and Tinsel, Glittery Stars and Satin red bows went everywhere as the Singing Santa, who bounced along the floor, blared out  “ Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

It was ChristMESS  everywhere !!!

Woof

When it comes to sharing Christmas treats, you soon get to discover who your real friends are!!

Yesterday I went to visit Holly, my kitten friend who was adopted by her forever family for Christmas.  She normally comes running to the door to see me, all purrs and play.  But this time, no Holly to greet me??

Minding my doggy manners I waited to be invited inside and was more than delighted to be given a delicious Christmas tree dog biscuit which  tasted  ABSOLUTELY  yummy.  So much so, my good manners flew out the window with the Christmas fairy as I helped myself to a second one!

After licking my lips in anticipation of maybe a third biscuit, I realised that Holly was still no where to be seen , so suspicious of her absence , I started to wonder what could be keeping her from playing with me.  Hmmmmm…..

Well, it did not take me long to find out why!  My small fluffy friend was intensely guarding a set of 25 drawers.  She was a little startled to see me, but she did not move from protecting what I could clearly see seemed to be some sort of  secret treasure.

Curious, I began my detective sniffing only to find myself swooning deliriously from the tantalising smells that oozed from behind the 25 little doors that Holly so preciously guarded.

With a scratch of my paw, I gave one of my demanding woofs and Holly confessed immediately by purring all about her Advent Doors.

Talk about a cat that had licked the cream!!   Behind each of those little doors, Santa Paws had put a treat for Holly to find for every day of December, right up until Christmas day!!!!

Holly was in Christmas purr-adise and she was not engaging in the spirit of Christmas by sharing any of her bounty with me !   What a spoilt puss!

Mr T and I need to talk about opening some drawers!!!

Woof

Yes, it’s that time of year again, and boy do I need yelp this Christmas.  With trying to get all the Christmas orders done for work I have not had time to paws and think about my own Christmas shopping.

In a moment of mad dog syndrome I thought I would just give all my friends a doggy bag stuffed full of bones.  But, given my weakness for the odd nibble at bones I really was not sure that the gift bags would make it to my friends.

Anyway, it was Raven, the clever office cat who said to me.  “ Look online !! “  - Which is a brilliant idea.  But not one I will credit a cat with thinking up.  After all, Raven has the luxury of lounging around the office all day in whatever sunny place he can find so he has nothing else to do but think about bright ideas for Christmas!

The online shop proved to be a wonderful solution, because I could do my shopping from home, the office or even the car.  But best of all, in the fun stuff section I found the December calendar wallpaper and the Christmas printables.  Now, I can organise my busy party and Christmas catch up schedule as well as have something to do while I wait for Mr T to finish his Christmas shopping and parties.

Christmas comes but once a year, but bow wow to having the online shop here !

Woof