Santa Lucia - EXPLAINED!

Santa Lucia

St. Lucy's Feast Day also known as the Festival of Lights

St. Lucia is the patron saint of the city of Syracuse (Sicily), where she was born.

On December 13th we honor this saint with celebrations in Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Finland, Malta, Italy, Bosnia, Iceland, Bavaria, Croatia and some parts of the United States. Each country celebrates this day in different ways. Additionally, each individual household may celebrate by honoring varied traditions within their own family. Because there are so many different ways to celebrate this day, I will simply talk about how we (an Italian household) celebrate Santa Lucia.

Tradition dictates that Santa Lucia brings gifts to good children and coal to bad ones which is not unlike the celebration of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus). Children are asked to leave food for Lucia and for the flying donkey that helps her carry gifts. In return, Santa Lucia will leave candy canes for the children if they are good and nothing for those that were bad.

Santa Lucia is popular with the children in this household because she brings them candy! I might also add that she is popular with me as well because I have been able to... ummm, wellllllll let's just say I am quick on my feet when it comes to stealing food and leave it at that!

On the night of December 12th the children leave their shoes at the front door and when Santa Lucia and her donkey visit, she leaves delicious candy canes behind. (cue the Labradoodle - hee hee!)

Then, on the morning of December 13th, when the children awaken, they will find candy canes in their shoes (if I haven't gotten to them first, that is!). The day is also celebrated with a traditional meal including cuccia (or cooked wheat) that is specially prepared and served at dinner time. The tradition of serving wheat on St. Lucy's Day is to recognize her miraculous efforts of averting famine.

All this talk about food is making me hungry. I wonder what has been left on the counter for me to investigate . . .

Looking for gifts for St. Lucy's Day (Santa Lucia)? Check out THESE fine designers!

Celebrating America!

Celebrating Independence Day

Better known as: The noisy day that scares us furry types

July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. Traditionally, this very "American" holiday will be celebrated with parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the United States.

It will be a fun-filled day with lots of food and friends and fun - even for us furry types. We enjoy the day but once the evening begins we tend to hide under the bed. All that noise and flashes of light can certainly set one's heart a-flutter!

While we celebrate our independence this July 4th let us not forget those furry types who are tucked away with their little paws over their ears just waiting for all the noise to end.

Celebrate responsibly at the grill


Use fireworks with caution


But most of all, let us remember those who fight for our freedom because freedom isn't FREE

And yet another winter!

December 2008

Another year gone by. We have had LOTS of snow this winter season and I have had a GREAT time romping about and getting all messy. It's really fun until it's time to get groomed - then. . . NOT SO FUN!

Because I have long hair it gets knotted quickly - especially in the snow. What a mess this made of me this winter. At one point - ummmmm . . . dare I tell you . . . the Mom nearly shaved me down! It was pretty embarrassing to have such short hair! My whole belly and chest were NAKED. They shaved my feet (they call it "poodle feet") and left some of the hair on my body but it was quite short.
I did not like the way it looked and neither did my humans. I did not want my picture taken so I turned away from the camera!

Summertime again!

Another Summer is upon us!

June 2008

My humans are SOOOO good to me! Guess what they do every summer? They plant all these vegetables outside and they water them and take care of them just for me!!

The funny thing about this - when they saw me eating from the doggie buffet that they planted for me they seemed to be a little upset. Actually, the Mom laughed but I get the impression the Dad didn't find it quite so funny because shortly after they saw me eating my vegetables the Dad put this little fence around them so I couldn't get to them. So, what would be the purpose of going through the trouble of creating this beautiful buffet for me and then not letting me self-feed? I guess I'll resort to eating the flowers instead! Sometimes I don't understand the humans. . .

Happy "Birthday" To Me!

My One Year Anniversary!

March 28, 2007

I have been enjoying my time with my new family so much that I can't believe a year has gone by! We celebrated in style and since no one knows my actual birth DATE, we are celebrating my anniversary with my new family as my birthday!
Check me out:

The Rainbow Bridge

A poem for animal lovers

I get it now. I understand all of the sadness that has recently clouded my otherwise very happy family. Here is the poem that helped me to understand what has happened:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....



Rest in peace, my little friend.

Dino Returns Home!

But I'm still confused

About a week ago I wrote about all the confusion with Dino being taken away.

Well, today the Dad came home from work and said (in a sad voice) "Your little boy has come home again, Mom". With that, he gave the Mom this little velvet drawstring bag. Inside of it was a white box. What does THAT mean?!? What did they do to little Dino?!? I know they loved him, the Mom said it many times. In fact, she used to tell the children that she helped "Toast" give birth to Dino.

This is what was written on the outside of the little velvet bag:

"Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge"

My One Year Anniversary!

March 28, 2007

I have been enjoying my time with my new family so much that I can't believe a year has gone by! We celebrated in style and since no one knows my actual birth DATE, we are celebrating my anniversary with my new family as my birthday!

Check me out:

Christmas and a New Year!

To start things off on a sad note, this was the family's first Christmas without Dino and it was difficult for them. To cheer them up I acted like a big goof on Christmas morning - especially when they gave me a gift to unwrap!

I had a wonderful time with my new family. I am so glad they adopted me!

The Rainbow Bridge

A poem for animal lovers

I get it now. I understand all of the sadness that has recently clouded my otherwise very happy family. Here is the poem that helped me to understand what has happened:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....



Rest in peace, my little friend.

Dino Comes Back Home!

But I'm still confused

About a week ago I wrote about all the confusion with Dino being taken away.

Well, today the Dad came home from work and said (in a sad voice) "Your little boy has come home again, Mom". With that, he gave the Mom this little velvet drawstring bag. Inside of it was a white box. What does THAT mean?!? What did they do to little Dino?!? I know they loved him, the Mom said it many times. In fact, she used to tell the children that she helped "Toast" give birth to Dino.

This is what was written on the outside of the little velvet bag:

"Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge"

Rest In Peace Dino

The humans were gone for quite awhile. When they returned without Dino they were obviously upset. The Mom cleaned up the kitchen, took Dino's bed and washed it. Then she packed it away. She even got rid of all of his blankets! Speedy was right ~ he must not be coming back home!

I was really nervous but Speedy stayed clear of the humans (I guess he thought he might be next!). He went into his kennel and only came out to eat and go outside. I wanted to do the same thing but curious girl that I am, I kept bothering the humans. I really wanted to know what happened but they weren't paying a lot of attention to me. I have never seen them so sad.

Nobody spoke a word ~ I wish someone would explain this all to me ...

Sadness Falls Upon My New Home

If you've read with me then you know I've talked a lot about Dino, the Wire Fox Terrier that I share my new home with. He is a feisty little guy and when I first arrived here I didn't like him much but I have learned to respectfully steer clear of him. I do this because I know my humans love him and therefore he must have some redeeming qualities.

The other day he was acting odd (well, odder than normal). He didn't eat breakfast and the Mom kept paying a lot of extra attention to him. He eventually perked up (who wouldn't given all that attention!) and I thought maybe he was just faking it so that the Mom would give him more love than the rest of us.

The Mom was sad all day and even when I climbed onto her lap and licked her face to make her smile, she smiled with a sadness behind it. I tried to make her feel better and even laid right next to her and stared at her but she just gave me that sad smile.

Dino went back to sleep and the Mom brought him in his bed into the computer room and laid him near her as she worked on the computer. She had him covered in blankets and kept checking him and he would pick his head up and look at her but really didn't respond to her. At first, I thought "how ungrateful of him!" but then I realized there was much more going on.

The Mom eventually stopped working on the computer and picked Dino up. He hardly responded to her with a VERY slight wag of his short tail and she was talking so sweet to him. It's obvious she loves him very much. She sat on the sofa and held him all wrapped in his blanket. She was so sad that it made me sad. I could see the tears in her eyes and I guess she was sad because Dino was ignoring her.

At least, that's what I thought. Suddenly things moved quickly! The Mom was talking to the Dad and the kids were nervous and I'm not sure what was happening. The Mom was holding little Dino and she was crying really hard now and so were the kids. The Dad even had a tear in his eye. I got closer but I wasn't sure what had happened.

They all got into the car, the Mom carrying Dino in his blanket, and left us! I was scared but Speedy told me that something like this happened once before in the middle of the night and the humans got in the car with "Toast" (Dino's canine mother) but never came back home with her. I wonder if that's what happens if you ignore humans ~ do they take you away and never bring you home again?!? Maybe that's how I ended up in that shelter ~ I'll have to keep that in mind...

Life With Speedy

Lively And Exhausting

Speedy, the 5 year old Shiba Inu is a unique personality. First, he wants to play all the time. Second, and most important, he does naughty things in the house and then he has to be corrected by the Mom. For example, if no one is paying attention to him he grabs a pillow from the other room, comes into the room where we are all watching TV and runs passed everyone with the pillow in his mouth! If he didn't want the humans to know he had the pillow then why come into the room where all of us are? Obviously he does this to get the attention of the humans! He opens cabinet doors and takes shoes and runs around the house with them! Although he doesn't really destroy things, he certainly knows how to get the attention of the humans!

The best part about my relation with Speedy is that he lets me use him as a pillow!

Life With Dino

Talk About A Challenge!

Dino, the 13 year old Wire Fox Terrier is sure a piece of work around here. He REALLY thinks he's the boss but from what I hear, it's a terrier thing (and I don't understand it because I really thought I was the boss!)

So now, as the months go by, he is slowing down quite a bit more than he was when I first arrived. The Mom says he has health problems but he looks fine to me other than he can't always see me. This can cause a problem because once he realizes I'm standing next to him he gets really mad at me and snarls. I told you he was crabby but everyone else in this family seem to really love him. He is wayyyy different with the humans than he is with those of us who wear the fur in the family.

Anyway, I'll leave him alone because he is old but it is kinda fun to lay next to him because he doesn't usually know I'm there... heh heh... I love to tease him!

"Not The Mom"

He's the DAD!

I have frequently mentioned "Not The Mom" but now I'd like to expand a little bit on this person. First, I found out he's the DAD! Yep, that's what we who wear the fur coats in the family call him around here (I think the 2-legged children call him that too!). But even better than that... he will give us treats if we bother him enough so for me, he is THE KING!

When he is eating dinner I like to sit under the table right at his feet so he can sneak food to me. Speedy is much more obvious, as you can see by the picture attached! He just gets up there on his back legs and puts his head on the Dad's arm until he gets some food. One thing though, if the Dad gives something to Speedy, he always gives something to me too so I don't mind Speedy putting himself out there like that ~ we both benefit!

Also, if we team it up correctly, we can get the Dad to give us treats just by bothering him when he is watching TV or even sometimes if he is just walking through the kitchen! I look at him with my soulful eyes and he asks me if I've been a good girl today ~ well, DUH ~ OF COURSE I'm a good girl ~ and then I anxiously wiggle around and jump on him and voila` he gives me a treat from the cabinet! I LOVE training my humans!

What Is This Thing Around My Neck?!?

Oh MY ~ I Think It's JEWELRY!!!!

They've done the strangest thing to me today. The Mom put this thing around my neck ~ I think it's jewelry ~ and then attached this long rope-thingy to it and the human holds the end of the long rope-thingy and they expect me to walk wearing this contraption. It was kinda awkward at first but I have discovered that with this jewelry and rope-thingy on I can drag the humans anywhere I want them to go ~ what fun this is! They really know how to make a girl feel at home in this house. I think I'm gonna LOVE living here. Speaking of love, if you love your pet, check out these great "Puppy Love" products: