When we first moved to Arlington, I didn’t know anyone.  My backyard was so much smaller and I couldn’t find a single lizard to eat.  I didn’t like it too much.

Then winter hit and brought snow with it. 

Yeah, that works out well for a guy who stands about ten inches off the ground. 

But then I figured out how to sneak out of the yard and go next door.  That was where I met Jessie.  She’s the little girl who lives there.  Sure, they locked off my escape route but now she just comes over to play with us. 

That’s much more fun than playing through the fence!

Today she came over and told us all about what she got for Christmas.  Of course, we had to show her all of our new toys. 

I got kind of nervous for a minute when she first got here and I barked at her.  Boy did I feel bad after she started scratching my neck and ears. 

Oooh I love that!!!

She stayed for dinner, which was fun (Our dinner, not hers silly) and then she played ball with us.

Finally, I have friends in the neighborhood!  I’m still not wild about the snow, but I’ll just stay inside on the couch those days.

I can’t wait till summer comes.  Maybe then I’ll find something tasty to hunt in the backyard and she’ll come over and help.

~Tom

Oh Boy! I got all kinds of goodies!!!

I didn't get a "Vet" stuffed animal like I asked for.  I got a better one! 

This one is the Mailman!

He has a little tuft of Blue hair that I can't WAIT to chew off.  Jack got a little stuffed "LifeSaver" that squeaks.  Its pretty cool so I stole it!

I know I'm supposed to be good and appreciate the toys that I did get, but Santa won't remember if I was a little greedy by next year...

I hope...

We also got a collection of bones, chew toys and snacks that should last at least a week. (They'll probably last longer than that, but that's only because I don't know where they hide em.

Everyone else got a bunch of cool toys, but nothing I really wanted so I'm not gonna talk em.

The only thing I didn't get was that "iPaw" thingy.  That's okay though, I don't even know what it is.  I just wanted one because everyone is talking about them. 

This was a really good Christmas.  For dinner, we had a Turkey!  I don't just mean that there was a Turkey in the house.  I mean that I'm just getting over sleeping off a full on Tryptophan high.  Mmm... mmm... good.

Tommorrow is the beginning of 'Diet Days' but that will be after we eat the brownies.

Merry Christmas Everyone!   burp...

The other day we were watching 60 Minutes and I saw an actor who had an interesting point about Black History Month.  The Actor was Morgan Freeman.  He was talking to Mike Wallace when he said:

"You're going to relegate my history to a month?'' Freeman said on the program last Sunday. "I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.''

In a simple but profound statement, Morgan Freeman has said more of value than most civil rights "leaders" will in their lifetimes.

He went on to note that there are no white or Jewish history months.

And he did say that the history of his home state of Mississippi still bothers him to this day. "Forgive," he said, "But never forget."

Wallace asked Freeman how can we get rid of racism.

"Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man. And I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman. You wouldn't say, 'Well, I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.' You know what I'm sayin'?''

I think Morgan is saying history shouldn't be black and white, just plain 'history.' At least that’s how I took his statement...  So we change the world in a day, huh? Have we made enough progress in our society to really be colorblind? I wish it were that easy.

I think Dogs have it figured out pretty well. When I go to the Dog Park, I see new dogs of all shapes and sizes.  Some of them are bigger than me and some are smaller. (Well, most are bigger than me…) But that doesn’t make them any better or worse.  I’m not more afraid of a big dog than a little one. For that matter, I’m not afraid of the black, brown, white, merle, striped, or spotted ones.  We dogs have a fairly simple way to tell who are friends are. 

We Sniff!

Now you may not like the idea of sniffing, but if you look around the park you see a whole lot of dogs playing and having fun with their friends. They take them for face value with no expectations.  One dog is as good or bad as the next and I’ll chase anyone that wants to play. (Besides, the sense of smell is directly tied to memory and nostalgia.)

Next time you are around a collection of dogs, watch us.  Most of the time, we don’t mind to share our toys, the attention of our people, and even our “Scooby Snacks” when there are plenty for everyone.

Wouldn’t it be a much better world if everyone would just have a sniff and remember the ‘good ole days?’ 

Disclaimer:  Any Reference to "Scooby Snacks" is meant strictly as an example of a yummy treat.  Frankly, I prefer "Charlee Bears" when it comes to snacks.