Merry Christmas!!!

 

Santa came last night!  I was so relieved this morning when we got up and found this under the tree!  No, not all of the gifts were for us.  There were some presents for Daddy and Aunt Pat beneath the tree, too.

We got lots of toys!  Freddy was able to get the squeakers out of a couple of them not too long after we opened them.  He was just so enthusiastic and grateful for the gifts.   I know they were both a little sad today, since this is the first Christmas without Heidi.  But, they're very thankful that Freddy came to live with us.  I am too.  It's so nice to have another dog to play with.  I may get a little jealous at times if he gets more attention from the neighbors or from my friend Lucy, but I really like him.  I told Freddy that today we should be on our best behavior, and look extra cute and be extra cuddly to make the humans feel better.  I think it helped.  I didn't chew up anything while Daddy and Aunt Pat were at church, and I didn't get into anything either.  Also, when we wished Lucy and her daddy a Merry Christmas, I didn't jump or whine when she sniffed  Freddy.  She had such a nice haircut.   

 We played around so much, we pooped out this evening.  Although we usually conk out on the sofa after the humans have dinner and watch the news.  We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas with their families.

Getting Ready For Santa

 We hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas Eve.  Freddy and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.  I told Freddy we didn't have to be that obvious about it.  I told him that we still had to be good and later tonight we'll have to be all snug in our beds, or Santa won't come!  I hope Aunt Pat can lure him upstairs with a Charlee Bear.  I know Freddy apologized to Santa for growling at him, but I just hope in his enthusiasm to make nice with the jolly old elf, that he doesn't scare the man off.  I'd hate to hear Rudolph's hooves on the roof just to have him take off again. 

We all know Christmas Eve is a time of family gatherings.  Ours is no exception.  This morning, Daddy and Aunt Pat took us over to see Freddy's breeder.  They're so nice.  Even though I'm not a blood relative like Freddy, they really want me to feel like one of the family.  They  made us Christmas ornaments for our tree, and they put me in the photo of Freddy and his mom, Gracie.  I didn't know what to do, I was so overwhelmed by their kindness.  

 

They also made Freddy a cute bone ornament that they put his name on.  And, they gave us some new toys to play with.

Daddy and Aunt Pat gave Stanley and Jade new toys, and they had the same artist that did the picture of us that Daddy gave Aunt Pat after Heidi died, and for last year at Christmas, do one of Gracie.  It came out very nice.  We all hope they like it.  they put it next to Gracie's ashes.  Stanley almost had the squeaker out of his toy before we left.

 When we got home, I thought Freddy would continue to be really good.  I had him on the sofa with me, and we napped after we got home from our afternoon walkies.  Daddy said he wasn't feeling too well-scratchy throat and some muscle aches, so I went upstairs to snuggle with him to make him feel better.

 

Wouldn't you know it, Freddy got bored and started to play with our presents!  Now, I know technically, since they were given to us today, that it's okay to play with them.  But Freddy may be on thin ice with Santa, and one screw up could make this a not so Merry Christmas.  Aunt Pat wasn't bothered by it, but some times I think she's fooled by his cute looks and how Freddy turns on the charm when he lays on his back to ask for a tummy rub.  He's such a schmoozer. 

  Freddy didn't know what toy to play with first, so he took both of them!

I wasn't amused when I heard about it.  I'm going to stay on the sofa for a while and make sure he stays out of trouble until it's time to go to sleep.  

Rest In Peace, Gracie

 

It is with great sadness that I have to report the passing of Freddy's mother, Gracie. We hadn't known her for very long, but it was obvious from the moment we met her that she was special.  She was very calm, gentle, and very sweet.  She seemed to remember Freddy right away when they sniffed each other, and ended up licking each others muzzles.  She remained very calm when Chloe aka Miss Hyperpants sniffed her and wanted to play.  Gracie groomed both Freddy and Chloe during our visits. 

     

She will be missed by those who knew and loved her

 Gracie had three litters of puppies.  Several of her offspring became guide dogs, improving the lives of blind people throughout the region.  Gracie had more of an impact in her twelve years than some people do in an entire lifetime.  We are very grateful to our Groomer, D, who recognized  Freddy as one of Gracie's puppies and enabled us to meet with her owners. 

                                                         

Happy Thanksgiving!

 
I know, it's a little, well, a lot late.  We hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Aunt Pat's hard drive crashed-funny, I didn't hear anything. But, Aunt Pat said that it's not the same thing as a car crash or something crashing to the floor when Freddy's tail gets wagging too hard. I don't know about that, I heard some choice language coming from Aunt Pat that isn't repeatable.  Anyway, We haven't been able to post until Aunt Pat was able to get the photos on her laptop and learn how to edit them with the software installed on it. 

 Anyway, Freddy and I helped Aunt Pat make dinner.  She put a little too much water in the roasting pan with the turkey, and some of it spilled over.  We made sure there weren't any drips on the oven door or onto the floor when she'd open the door to check on things.  Since this is Freddy's first Thanksgiving with us, I showed him the ropes, so to speak, so he'd know what to look for while cleaning.

 We also stood by while Daddy and Aunt Pat were having dinner.  We really were just waiting to see if they dropped anything, not looking for a handout.  Daddy and Aunt Pat usually share some crackers or their salad parts with us, so we weren't begging.  Especially when Daddy went for seconds.  Daddy and Aunt Pat were very neat.  They didn't drop anything. But, Daddy shared a little piece of turkey with each of us.  It was delicious!

 After dinner, we went into the living room to see the Christmas decorations Daddy had spent the morning putting up in the front yard.  We got a closer look when we went for our walkies.  Poor Fred.  I don't think he'd ever seen yard decorations before.  He barked and growled when we got out of the garage.  I barked, err, told Freddy that Rudolph was just a decoration, but he didn't listen to me.  Typical male.  Aunt Pat had to take him over where he sniffed Rudolph to make sure he was okay.  I think Fred was a little put out that Rudolph didn't sniff him back, but he finally got the hint that it wasn't real.  We had a good nap the rest of the afternoon while the humans watched football.

Friday, we went out to Lollypop Farm and had our annual Christmas picture taken.  It came out so nice, they even put one of the outtakes on their Facebook page.  It was a nice car ride on a lovely day.  Santa even remembered me from last year and thanked us for coming back!  I hope that means he'll put something really nice under the tree for me this year.  I'm a little worried about Freddy, though.  He growled at Santa when he extended his hand for Freddy to sniff.  But, once Aunt Pat stood by Santa and called for Freddy to come over, he was okay.  I should have looked after him a little more, but I really wanted to have a good sniff around the room.  I'm not being nosy, like Daddy and Aunt Pat say.  As your faithful reporter, I have to sniff out every detail.