Pet Talk

by Heather Miller
www.houltonanimalshelter.com
    Well, I got through the Thanksgiving Holiday, a few pounds heavier and a little more tired, but we all know that comes with the occasion. Now I know what comes next and I must say, I’m not sure I’m ready yet. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas. Maybe it’s the lack of the dreaded “S” word… snow, or maybe it’s just that this year has flown by so fast. Whatever it is, whether I like it or not, the year is almost over and Christmas is less than one month away. So, after my big Thanksgiving meal on Thursday night, I decided to do what every woman tries not to think about; the dragging out of the Christmas decorations.
    Now, I have an older house, so I am not blessed, as you might say, with regular stairs going up to my attic. I have the old fashioned pull-down stairs in the ceiling, which I honestly think now that it’s me trying to pull them down (because I never can get them down without calling for my husband’s backup) it is so much more work on these stairs. I think they were built to be used so, after I make 15 trips up and down, I put it all in the living room and say the same thing I say every year at this time, “I have so much stuff.”
    How I accumulate so much Christmas stuff is beyond me. I think a little elf goes up to my attic through out the year and puts things in my totes, because sometimes I don’t know where some of the stuff comes from. But it’s there and every year I put it out and love it all after it’s up.
    So, with all of it on the floor, I decide to dive in. Then I realize something. Certain four-legged creatures have already dove in. All of the dogs are being so nosy and looking for whatever it is dogs look for, probably a bone. I don’t have the heart to tell them there is nothing in there they want, so I just watch. They are so happy. They are so excited to see these boxes. Their tails are going so fast, I think they might fly away. I watch them intently, because I really think I can see them smiling. They go from box to box, sniffers going full speed. They find the tinsel, wearing it on their wet noses. They also find the Christmas balls, licking them all, being so careful not to miss one. Then they find that certain box, the one we all have. The one with the noise making ornaments. And, like years past, they find a way to turn them on. And as the noises get louder, so does their barking at them. It is so funny to watch them with these certain ornaments. They are having a ball.
    Everything I take out requires a nose smelling and a tongue licking. And they always look at me after their inspection as if to say, “That one’s good, what’s next?” This goes on for hours and it amazes me how much fun I have doing this with them. I do it every year and yet I still look forward to it. I show them each decoration like the honestly know what it is. It’s become a tradition in my home every Christmas that seems to get better and better as time goes by.
    After all of it is put out where it should go, I look around at the decorations and see my pets in everyone of them. It takes something so small to make me so happy at Christmas. Seeing the dogs act so excited about boxes of things they don’t understand makes me appreciate Christmas and all it has to offer. It is the small things we should focus on this holiday season. The smells, the songs and the smiles. All of this is Christmas.
    So, when you are ready to take that dreaded trip to the attic and go through all of the decorations you forgot you had, try looking at them the way a dog would; with a smile on your face and your tail just a wagging.