My German Shepherds, Fritz and Mina, love the vacations. While they’re very intuitive and delicate, absorbing and reflecting the additional gaiety and pleasure of the season, additionally they have been recognized to land on Santa’s “naughty listing.” Here are a few of my canine’ Christmas capers — and a few shared by associates, neighbors and household — that may sound all too acquainted.
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Countdown to a vet go to
When my first German Shepherd, Greta, was an 18-month-old monster — er, I imply pet — she found and ate 23 days’ value of introduction chocolate from two introduction calendars. No dashing by way of the snow on a sleigh for her that evening however fairly a fast sprint to the vet within the pouring rain.
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Holiday apparel elective
My childhood canine, Smokie and Laddie, had been a canine Abbott and Costello duo. The first yr my household purchased matching vacation sweaters sporting a really cute snowman was additionally the final. The morning after their first put on we found the final tear. Laddie had pulled Smokie’s sweater off of him and ripped it to shreds earlier than doing the identical to his personal — the proof of the responsible occasion was within the poop.
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Tree ornaments = treats
There’s a three-panel meme acquainted to Shepherd homeowners: Panel one exhibits an lovely pet, panel two exhibits a scary velociraptor and panel three exhibits a peaceful, grownup canine. My lady Mina was the embodiment of this when she was a horrible teenager. During her first Christmas with us, she ate all the material ornaments off the underside third of the Christmas tree.
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Rainbow Hanukkah
During their first Hanukkah in our neighborhood, Emily and Joshua’s bouncing child Boxer named Chad, who’s now a subdued mature grownup, ate six of 9 menorah candles that every one occurred to be completely different colours. It all got here out OK in the long run, although.
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Snowman’s gotta go
Girlfriend Mary’s Doberman Pinscher hated the blowup snowman in her entrance yard. Haaated it. Barked and growled at it continually. After one fateful journey to the grocery retailer when she was unloading baggage from her automobile and thru the entrance door, Charger blasted previous her, tackled the snowman and flat-out killed that sucker. Salvage was not an choice.
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Roast beast binge
Teddy, owned by my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, was a giant, candy pushover with a ardour for grand theft meals. One Christmas Eve, whereas visitors had been chatting within the eating room, she stealthily stole a complete large roast beef from a serving platter within the kitchen, cuddled as much as it beneath the espresso desk and proceeded to eat all of it.
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Stealing Santa’s cookies
My Aunt Marlene’s terrier, Sam, was grumpy. He simply was. Even after consuming a complete plate of vacation cookies meant for Santa. But this furry grinch’s plan to foil Christmas failed … it nonetheless got here, in fact.
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Potty occasion foul
My pal Melissa loves to inform the story about how her pup Tampa Bay pooped on her mom’s white carpet in entrance of the hors d’ oeuvres. Grandma wasn’t run over by a reindeer, however she positive was greatly surprised by this occasion foul.
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All items had been for me!
You knew this one was coming. How many canine have completed this?! We all know one. My brother’s canine, Ted the Bernese Mountain Dog, simply couldn’t look ahead to Christmas morning the yr he got here to stay with my older sibling. Ted promptly ripped to shreds each scrap of wrapping paper adorning not less than a dozen packages that had simply been positioned beneath the Christmas tree at roughly 10 p.m.
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But I needed to shepherd the sheep
Finn, one other pal’s Australian Shepherd, needed to rise up shut and private to the forged of characters, human and animal, in his household’s nativity scene, and herd all of them — proper off the lounge shelf and straight into his mouth. Sadly, not one survived, as every bit was rigorously chewed past recognition.
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Lights seemed like sweet
I can perceive a canine’s attraction to illuminated Christmas or Hanukkah lights. They’re vibrant, sparkly and mesmerizing. So enticing, actually, that they should be scrumptious. Enter Hank, my cousin’s Irish Setter, who was not recognized for his smarts. My cousin takes her candy time adorning two bushes in her home, and generally stuff that hasn’t discovered its place on the bushes is unnoticed for the subsequent day. One Christmas, Hank will need to have been feeling bored and hungry, as a result of he ate or destroyed most of a roll of unplugged white lights.
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No-elf zone
I’m no fan of the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon, and neither is Jasper, a pal’s Great Dane. To Jasper, this elf is nothing greater than a creepy interloper who has no place in his mother’s residence. Sometime after my pal rigorously strategized and organized the elf for the primary time for her children to find the subsequent morning and went to mattress, Jasper gingerly took the offending elf from an intricate show and beheaded him. He didn’t eat any a part of it … simply separated the elf’s head from its physique and left each items exterior my pal’s bed room door to let her know in no unsure phrases what he considered this “factor.”
Do you could have a vacation fail story about your canine? Please tell us at dogstermag@belvoir.com.
