HAPPY DOXIE 2014!

CHRISTMAS EVE: ALL SET FOR TOMORROW!

"All dressed up and ready for some treats!"

Merry Christmas, doxie lovers!  I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful, blessed, and joyful Christmas and a very happy New Year!  All our children and grandchildren will be with us under our roof, and for that, we are so thankful:

 

 

NAUGHTY!

CHRISTMAS, ACCORDING TO A DOXIE

"Hi there.  From my vantage point on the couch, I see my humans scurrying around with boxes and paper--they take the paper and wrap it around those boxes, then put them under a tree that has lights on it.  Curious behavior, if you ask me.

 

"Then, the big humans tell the little humans not to touch those wrapped boxes yet, and even glare at me if I so much as try to smell them myself--why, I've gotten scolded for merely walking past those boxes on my way to someplace else in the house!  Geez.

"Back to that tree with lights on it:  the female human enlisted the help of the small humans in putting all sorts of objects on the tree last week.  Ranging from snowflakes to a fat man in a red suit, they
were varied and interesting.  Some, I couldn't quite make out, but others were easily recognizable to me:  candy canes (although they never let me eat those), angels (I've seen those on TV), various shiny balls in different colors (but I'm warned to never touch any of them).  What is the fun in that, I ask?  I mean, just staring at a decorated tree with wrapped boxes under it sounds kinda dumb to me--but then, my humans do lots of things that I just do not understand!  And they say dogs are dumb.  HAH!

"Well, this Christmas thing is a really big deal, I'm finding out.  My humans constantly play what they call Christmas music, which features such words as reindeer, sleighs, Santa Claws (sounds like a weird creature), snow, ringing bells (ouch, my sensitive ears), and this Santa Claws creature coming down the chimney.  In our house, they have the chimney closed off, so this creature must have some sort of magic properties to get inside THIS house THAT way! 

"But perhaps the strangest point of it all is the fact that they also talk about it being somebody's birthday.  All this for a person I've never seen, met, or much less heard about??  Everything I've watched on TV about Christmas has Santa Claws, elves, snow, holly and greenery--and that's it.  But my humans seem to think it's about a big birthday party for a man who died many, many years ago.  What gives with that?

"The other night my pack leader read to the rest of the human family from a book they call the Bible.  It did shed some light on the idea, and as I twisted my head in contemplation, my pack leader said to
the rest of them:  'Hey, look at the dawg twisting his head about the Christmas story!'  He looked over at me and said, 'That's okay, buddy.  Dogs just cannot understand spiritual concepts, but we're glad you want to listen to the Christmas story, which took place in Bethlehem.  We just wish more humans would pay attention to it, too!  Good dog.'

"And with that, he got up and gave me a treat for doing absolutely nothing but lie there, trying to make sense of it all.  I'll never understand humans, but I do try.  I really do."

BIRTHDAYS, BALLOONS, JOY, AND TEARS

In a departure from my normal doxie posts, I'd like to share something rather personal today: 

Yesterday was our youngest daughter's 31st birthday, but it was also my mother's, who passed away January 8.  Therefore, it was Bethany's first birthday without Grandma here to celebrate with.  Needless to say, it was a bit difficult for all of us.

However, we are also Christians, and we are so thankful my mom celebrated her birthday in heaven!  She always loved purple irises (and flowers of all kinds), so Bethany did something so sweet in tribute to her grandma:  she released some balloons in memory of her grandmother, and as they floated up through the clouds, it was her way of sending love to someone she misses so much.

Here's a link to the video she posted on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT87GQLebfo&feature=share

Here are some pics:

 

 

And, since Mom also loved yellow roses, we sent an arrangement of purple irises and yellow roses to Bethany, who lives in Arizona, while the rest of us (her sister and family, and my husband and I) live in Georgia:

 



It is always difficult to lose a loved one, but we tend to believe that Mom knew all about the balloons and nodded in approval.  :)

Thank you, our dear Bethany, for thinking of your grandmother is such a caring way on your birthday!

SATURDAY MORNING SENTIMENTS!

BARK SOFTLY?? BAH HA HA HA HA!

"Bark softly and carry a big stick!"



The caption with this doxie picture is a parody of Teddy Roosevelt's "Speak softly and carry a big stick" statement. 

What's wrong with this picture?  Well, have you EVER heard a dachshund bark softly??  Neither have I!  They just have so many things to "comment" on, don't they?  Duke and Shadow, the two fur children in our family, do bark often--simply because they think they have good reason for doing so. 

Duke sounds like ten dogs if perchance someone rings the doorbell or knocks on the door.  When  Clark, to tease Duke, knocks on the wall RIGHT IN FRONT OF DUKE, that dawg has to go into a frenzy of barking!  He also barks if a molecule of dust floats by in front of his nose, too.  Therefore, anything in between a doorbell or a dust molecule would be fair game to be barked at, in Duke's estimation.

Shadow, on the other hand, also barks at lots of invisible/noiseless things, but goes absolutely nuts when Holly runs the vacuum cleaner.  Oh, how he hates that thing, and I saw something recently that fits him to a "T" in regard to his feelings about it:

Dachshunds--ya gotta love 'em!

THE TRUE MESSAGE

No matter what kind of day you've had, coming home to that wagging tail can make all the difference.  Dogs don't care what we're wearing, what we look like, how much money we have, or what kind of job we have or car we drive.

All they care about is how they love us!  (And a treat now and then, of course).  I will repeat here what one of my characters, Papa Duke, said in I AM SARGE:

"A dawg loves you no matter what. You can be ugly, old, even dumb--but a dawg don't care. All he wants is your love and some food now and then. I think dawgs represent the unconditional love God has for us--maybe that's why He created them, to show that to us."

And that, folks, is the true message of Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A MERRY DACHSHUND CHRISTMAS!

Picture definition of "dog tired"

 

 

Christmas is a birthday!

 

 

The doxies in our family LOVE to "help"
open presents--what about yours?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

GRANDCHILDREN, GRANDDAWG, GRANDKITTY, and CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Granddawg Shadow keeping watch
over sleeping grandson

Grandkitty Winston asking, "You
mean all this is for MEEEE??"

 

Son-in-law Philip & daughter Holly
at Christmas parade

 

 

Grandchildren at Christmas parade

 

 

Our dining room all ready for Christmas!

 

 

"Stockings hung by the fireplace with care . . ."

 

 

Our first Christmas tree in our GA home

How we celebrate in our home

HAPPY FRIDAY, DOXIE LOVERS!

GRANDDAWG SHADOW: CHRISTMAS DAWG AND CHAMELEON!

Yes, Shadow has posed for his Santa Claws outfit often now.  He is twelve years old, you know. 

Over the years, he has really been longsuffering as the family have dressed him up for various occasions.  Here's a sampling:

"Ahoy, mate!"  (Actually I put the hat on him)

 

Bat impression (he was comfy under his blanket)
 

"Here comes the bride!" (Granddaughters did this one,
although he doesn't look overly thrilled to be a bride!)

"Get a long little doggie" -- and they did!

 

Here's undeniable proof of those booties mentioned in I AM SARGE,
 Book 1 of THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES!

 

 

Shadow is doing his impression
of relaxing to the max!

And last, but not least, Shadow the UNC dawg!

SARGE SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS

Since Christmas plays such a big part in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series of books, below are Sarge the dachshund's thoughts on Christmas from I AM SARGE, Book 1:

By now, there were happy voices all talking at once as they moved into the living room beside the twinkling Christmas tree.

I barked to go outside, so Kurt opened the door for me. I carefully made my way down the snow-covered steps and leaped through the powdery snow, enjoying its pristine whiteness. Since it was so cold and windy, I soon worked my way back up the slippery steps onto the front porch, where I saw Grandma’s rocking chair slowly rocking in the wind. Believe I’ll sit in her chair for a minute or two because it is so pretty out here.

Jumping into her chair, which was in front of the picture window, I could see into the living room through the ice-frosted glass, making everything inside look warm and inviting. I drank in the sight of my wonderful family and loved ones. Since I couldn’t hear anything from inside, it was like a Christmas calendar painting—a slice of life.

There was Papa beside the beautiful Christmas tree, wearing his Santa hat once again. He was laughing at Sellars, who was pretending to cast out a fishing line; Renata and Grandma were shaking their heads and laughing, too.

Zoe and Charlie were each lounging on Steve and Dorothy’s laps, content and relaxed. Mama and Daddy were sitting side by side on the couch, holding Annika between them. She was looking around at all the colorful Christmas lights, her eyes following each movement. Kurt and Bethany, sitting in front of the crackling fire, had just turned around to look out the window. Surprised at seeing me in Grandma’s rocker, Bethany threw a kiss and beckoned me to come back inside. I can hardly wait to get back in there to join all of you. I am a lucky dog to have so many to love me.

I jumped down, barked, and scratched at the door. Bethany let me in, and I made a beeline straight to my beloved Papa. I jumped up on his lap and gave him a doggie kiss. “Whoa, granddawg! We’re gettin’ ready to open presents, and there might even be one with your name on it.” Oh boy, Papa! I know it will be something to eat, right? Hope it’s one of those rawhide chews or some doggie bacon treats. You know what I like almost better than I do.

Inside that home was all the warmth, fun, laughter—and yes, good food—that I could ever want or need. But most of all, inside that home was love and caring. So much had happened since Mama and Daddy brought me home in a box. I was one scared little puppy then, but a big granddawg now.

To me, being a granddawg is an honor I take very seriously. I look forward to many more exciting times with my family—going fishing again, protecting Papa from fences, maybe going to visit Sellars and Renata in Georgia, chasing away that annoying cat next door, giving Annika doggie kisses, playing with my “cousins” Zoe and Charlie, helping Mama and Daddy raise my “sister”—

But most of all, I especially look forward to sitting under Papa’s chair at mealtimes!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

If you are interested in more information about this book as well as Book 2, I AM DACHSHUND, click on the link below:

 



http://www.amazon.com/Sarge-The-Dachshund-Escapades-ebook/dp/B007IPPDI4/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

CRUMBS, ANYONE?

 

 

 



 

WAITING FOR SANTA? BAH HA HA!

"We might be wearing these 'Waiting for Santa' outfits, but being the intelligent doxies that we are, that is baloney--we're waiting for treats!"

The way to a doxie's heart is definitely through his stomach . . . er, nose. 

Merry Christmas, doxie lovers!

Duke "loving" his Christmas teddy bear!

SAFETY ALERT: CHRISTMAS GOODIES AND DOXIES

This picture is cute, funny, and so typically doxie!  However, it serves as an important reminder to keep our human treats out of reach from our short-legged fur children.  As we all know, their noses have minds of their own when it comes to food, and doxies don't always make healthy digestive decisions (nor do I, for that matter).

And don't be fooled by those short legs--Duke once grabbed a piece of toast off my breakfast plate--and it was on the kitchen counter!  I had set it too close to the edge, never thinking he could actually reach that plate; he could see it, so the rest is history!  It amazed us that he could jump that high.  Food is the great motivator, apparently.

With all the cooking and baking over the holidays, those sweets are bad for our doxies, especially chocolate, and even artificial sweeteners.  I won't include the long list of foods they shouldn't have, but some are life-threatening to dogs, so it's a great idea to keep those cookies, doughnuts, candies, etc. in airtight containers, even on a dining table. 

Duke has also been known to jump into a chair that someone left out when leaving the table, so all he had to do was jump a little farther to get onto that table.  I saw him from the kitchen and immediately got him down, thankfully.  Not only would he have eaten something that might have been bad for him, but he might have jumped off the table directly to the floor and hurt his back.

Merry Christmas, doxie lovers--and let's keep our doxies safe.