A Dog’s View

Hi all,

One day The Lady came out of the garage in a hurry (as usual) muttering something about so much to do. And then She tells me, maybe I should write the Christmas letter this year. She hops in the pickup and spins off. So I decided to give it a whirl.

It’s been kinda a lonely year for me actually. Right away last January, The Man and The Lady started hauling around something wrapped up in a blanket. It must be another one of those Miniature People, I thought to myself. Course The Lady basically never comes outside when there’s a new one of them.. and The Man gets pretty preoccupied too. So I did a lot of barking and running around by myself. And anytime They left a bag of trash out on the back porch, I’d make sure to sort through it for Them. I always spread it over a big area of lawn so I don’t miss anything.

A gal came and lived with them for a few weeks. She was pretty nice too and liked to run down the driveway pushing the Miniature Ladies on a thing with wheels. They all screeched and I got to run along.

By time it was March, life got more fun. The Man started driving that white thing with 4 wheels that They let me ride on. The Man and I would go out for hours to the hay field or the canal or to a neighbor’s place.

Toward the end of April the 2 Miniature People who look like the Lady started coming out of the house a lot. They think it’s fun to pretend I am a horse and They sit on my back. I let Them occasionally. They run for hours on the grass, making lots of noise and doing funny things like falling down and laughing. They like to ride a red thing with 3 wheels and push yellow  things with 4 wheels back and forth on the cement.

The rest of the summer was really great. I got to go swimming in the canal a-lot. The Lady and Her blanket bundle would come out and take walks with me to the pond, mow the lawn and even occasionally drive the white thing with 4 wheels that I get to ride on.

Then one day this little Miniature Man crawls out of the house all by himself. He looks like The Man, only way smaller. He likes to sit by me and I like to lick Him. But for some reason whenever I lick His face, The Lady comes flying out of the house and hollers at me.

I keep pretty busy with my work all year, keeping the foxes and rabbits and turkeys and deer out of the yard, barking at everything that looks like maybe it needs barked at, warning the People when someone drives up the lane. And eating a lot of dog treats from the Man who drives a brown box. It’s also my job to go around the house and try all the doors, making sure they are latched. If one is not, I push it open with my nose and make sure lots of cold air rushes in till The Lady comes over and shuts it again. I also try to keep the gophers at bay in the yard. But I don’t understand why The Lady hollers at me when I dig after the gophers in the lawn. How else am I supposed to catch them?

I make sure to look very forlorn whenever the People climb in their pickup and rush off, leaving me home once again by myself.

Now it’s frosty and cold. The People are holing up inside Their house again. I make sure to lay on the elevated wall in the back yard so I can see in the kitchen window. I usually do that while They are eating a meal and then sometimes I get scraps of chicken or steak bones afterward.

The Lady and The two Miniature Ladies come out every day and walk down to the mailbox with me. I practice my leaping as soon as They come out the door. Then the oldest Miniature calls me a hyper diaper. And the smaller Miniature runs to The Lady and hides in her skirt so I don’t knock her over.

It’s a pretty good life overall, but I sure am ready for next spring!

Take care,

Buster