12 Days of Christmas contest, Day 2

Already won one of your generous prizes so don't consider this story as an actual entry but this happened around Christmas a couple of years ago and it always tickled me.

Back when I was working at the Raptor Center we all rotated jobs and one week around Xmas time it fell to me to be cage cleaner of the day. We had a flight with a couple of female Great Horned Owls that we were using to foster abandoned baby owls so the center manager had just had me install some platforms for the nest up in the corner of the cage. Great Horned Owls are very territorial around nests but the owls were tame, both imprints, so we did not figure this would be a problem. So anyway, I was happily raking up the owl pellets and bones in the cage when I was almost knocked to my knees by a blow to the head. First thing that occurred to me was a perch or platform had broken loose and fallen on my head. After I regained my balance, I looked around for the offending object and nothing. *L* Nothing that is, but Luna, the alpha owl, sitting in the corner of the flight with my unhappy hat grasped ungently in her talons. My Xmas gift that season was keeping my scalp in one piece and the knowledge that even a tame momma owl protects her nest......Mel

This wasn't quite Christmas two years ago, but just a few weeks before.

My friend, known hereafter as "Crazy Annie" came to visit with her crew of somewhat obnoxious Jack Russell Terrorists. Three, count 'em, three of the creatures growling and snapping at my *much* larger dogs, chasing them off their beds, stealing their food, etc.

Her one teenager Jack Russell, Jack Flash, after annointing the leather rug with both teeth and early marking capabilities, was finally relegated to a chain outdoors where he forlornly sat staring at the kitchen door.

We were busy baking, but checked on him every so often. On about the third check, we saw my dog Circe just beyond Flash's chain circle, holding something in her mouth. We thought nothing of it, but when we went out to retrieve Jack Flash, we discovered that Circe had systematically rounded up all of her squeaky toys, stuffed animals, misc. logs and rocks that she had adopted as her own, and carried them over to Jack Flash to play with.

Circe touched my heart that day--not only did she "forgive" Jack Flash's earlier assault on her belongings, she willingly shared them with the temporarily imprisoned fellow. Hats off to you, Circe, sympathy, empathy and comraderie all rolled into one!

Susan

all i have is ... what is fresh in my mind .
this year is our 1st Christmas in our new home .
1st real tree for my Family .
cats knocked it over ... one day after my wife & girls finished decorating .
thats all i got .
--paul

*LOL* I love dog stories and you folks reminded me of another dog story from the time I was about ten years old. We had a golden beagle for deer hunting and that bugger would chew up and eat anything. He'd pick apples from the trees, bush berries from the vines, even oranges. Heck, he even ate a half sack of steer manure one time which, believe me, was way way worse when it came out the backside of the dog. Anyway, I had gotten a Fort Apache set for Xmas and out in the backyard sand box I'd taken great care the set up all the walls, towers, cattle pens, Indian villages etc. Man it was so beautiful, with all the plastic soldiers and braves all carefully arranged for battle! I just couldn't stand to take it down so I left it set up so I could play with it for the holidays. Well, you've probably guessed what happened. While picking up the dog poop the next day, I noticed an arm with a tomahawk protruding from a poop. The rest of the yard was a veritable Frankenstein's workshop full of chewed up plastic body parts buried in doggie poops. Here a chewed horsie, there a headless calvaryman. Oh the horror of it !!!!*L* Then my pop in this typical practical way, had the nerve to suggest I soak the poops, pick out the whole, or mostly whole pieces, wash them and reuse them, a suggestion I was very happy to have my mom veto......Mel

Congrats , Susan !!
thanks again , Vance !!
--paul