Thursday, December 1, 2011

A Dog's Eye View of Christmas

I'm so excited!  Christmas is almost here! I know because I heard some dogs on the radio singing Jingle Bells.  Last year was my first Christmas so I didn't realize the significance of the day until the night before.  That's when I found out that lots of the pretty boxes under the special tree that lit up were for me.  And those boxes were filled with TOYS!!!! 
That's when I understood that Christmas is when dogs get lots and lots of toys! So this year I'm ready.  I'm already sniffing the pretty packages but all I smell are clothes.   I hope those are for the humans cuz I don't like clothes.  My cousin Sophie like to wear sweaters and stuff, but I don't.  May be we'll buy her a new sweater from Cute Critters at the Winter Festival on Saturday at Eastworks.  And maybe I can convince Mom to buy me some cookies from Wagga Tails Treats cuz they are going to be at the Festival too.
Although the most important part of Christmas is the toys, and we pets get excited about all of the new things in our houses please remember that Christmas can be a dangerous time for us.
We all like looking at the pretty trees with their flashing lights and pretty balls, but the oil in the trees is toxic and the needles don't digest.  The chemicals people put in the water that help the tree live while it is inside are also toxic to pets.
Make sure your pets don't chew on the electrical cords that keep the lights flashing and those pretty balls, if made of glass, can easily break and those little pieces of glass can cut our paws.  Tinsel, is very tempting, but tinsel does not digest either and can get all knotted up in our bellies.  We can die from knotted up bellies.
So please be extra watchful of your pets around your Christmas tree.  In our house the tree stands on a high table so I can see it but can't reach it.  In some of my friends houses, there are gates in the doorways so the dogs can't be in the room with the tree unless there are humans in there too.  Cats are different so gates don't work for cats and cats love to climb trees. So houses with cats need to be extra careful.
So please remember to keep your pet safe during the Christmas Holiday and remember to buy them lots of toys and treats.  If you don't know what to get them, just give me a call.  I helped design all of the pet gift baskets and can help you choose the right gift for your pet.  You'll find some of our most popular ones in the Pet Gift Section of our website.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Your friend,
Zeva

14 comments:

  1. Hi Zeva,

    Thanks for letting me know about all the possible hazards that go along with Christmas. Who knew that something so much fun could be dangerous?

    Its me, Blue Sky. I am black and white and very cute, so says my Mom, Deborah. I live here with her and 2 other cats, Lullaby and Blue Sky. Sometimes my Mom buys us gifts. Ooooh, we l<3ve those!

    And that's why I am writing. Lullaby and Celestine also want to know the answer to this.Since you helped design the gift baskets, we hoped you might have some insider information.

    I know that what is inside is supposed to be a surprise. But, we really want to know now. What is inside your kitty gift baskets?

    I hope you and your family have wonderfully happy and bowwwowy fun Christmas!

    Purrrfectly,

    Blue Sky

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  2. Hello Blue Sky
    All of our cat gift basket have lots of different things in them. Our Cat Napping basket has a pretty fleece blanket hand made by Mom's friend in Greenfield and lots of treats and toys. I don't know much about cat toys but there are little balls and some toys with feathers. I know some cats that even like to sleep in the baskets.
    I hope you and your fellow cats get nice treats and toys for Christmas and make sure that you stay safe.

    Merry Christmas,
    Your friend
    Zeva

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  3. Hiya Zeva,
    mid July marks the beginning of the festive season in India. From then onwards till January we have so many festivals to celebrate. Today is raksha bandhan which is celebrated in north india. Sisters tie pretty decorative threads around their brothers' wrists, and feed them sweets. In return brothers vow to take care of their sisters and usually give them gifts or money. Wish I had a brother. well I did when I was born, and so did Miu when she was born. but the Lord knows where they all are now.
    My mama has a brother tho'.
    Ur pawpal,
    Bumo

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    1. Good Morning Bumo

      Thank you for teaching me about Raksha Bandhan. I love a good celebration so I am going to celebrate along with you.

      I don't know where by brothers and sisters are but I do have three cousins who live near by. Two of them are boys and they are brothers so I just might pretend they are mine for today.

      You have so many interesting things to talk about, you should write a blog too.

      Your friend,

      Zeva

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  4. Zeva, ME write a BLOG? he-he. I am quite enjoying this exchange of mini blogs with you. U will get to hear about all our celebrations, mind you. There is one coming up next week ! :-)
    Luv,
    Bumo

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  5. Hey Zeva!

    Miu and I r very excited. Tomorrow is Janmaashtami, Lord Krishna's birthday (he is one of our most important gods). It's a holiday. They say Krishna was born at midnight just like Jesus. All the VIshnu (he is one of the 3 supreme gods of whom Krishna is an incarnation) and Krishna temples are richly decorated. Many have cradles with baby Krishna. There are special prayer and worship services all night long.

    Priya mama is from South India and this is how we celebrate it: Late evening small footprints are drawn with wet rice powder from the front entrance to the worship area or pooja place; this represents little Krishna entering the house (Being an incarnation of god he could walk as soon as he was born. Special sweets and savouries made of pounded rice (sheeday) are offered to him along with fresh home made butter and curds (the sacred offering is called prasaad) - being the adopted son of a cowherd he loves dairy products and is very famous for stealing them much to his mother's chagrin (so says our mythology). Indian festivals are all about love, song and dance and most importantly eating. YUM! :-)

    In Mumbai on the West Coast (Mama is from the East Coast though now we live nowhere near any coast) young men form human pyramids to knock down curd filled pots (dahi haandis) strung high over the streets. They often compete with each other to see who manages it fastest. Woe to you if you plan to travel on that day in Mumbai!

    Doesn't it sound grand?

    Bumo and Miu

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    1. Dear Bumo and Miu

      It sounds so wonderful. Thank you for sharing your holiday with me. Your description makes me feel like I am at your house, helping you celebrate.

      If I lived near you, I would come to visit and bring you some treats and we could play all day.

      Wishing you a Happy Janmaashtami!

      Your friend,
      Zeva

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  6. Happy Janmaashtami to you too, Zeva and Marie! Being a long weekend we won't be online much. C u in a few days.
    Luv,
    Bumo and Miu

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  7. Hiya Zeva,
    Yesterday was our Independence Day...call it our 4th of July. The Prime Minister gives a speech on the ramparts of the majestic, old Red Fort in Delhi. He then hoists our flag cheered on by crowds of flag waving people. It usually rains a bit . But yesterday we had nice fluffy clouds with a clear blue sky. There was the usual 15th August wind and so much kite flying. Miu and I chased kites up and down the garden. We destroyed the ones that came down he-he. It was loads of fu n.
    Ur pawpal
    Bumo

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  8. Wow! Sounds like you did have fun. Never thought of chasing kites. Not a bad idea. Must be like chasing big birds. At least you and Mui had something else to chew on instead of each other this time.
    Human celebrations usually include food so I hope your Independence Day celebration included lots of treats for you.

    Your friend,
    Zeva

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  9. Hiya Zeva,
    Yet another festival on Monday! This time it's a Moslem festival called Eid-ul-Fitr or just Eid. Though it is not a Hindu festival, Mama has Muslim friends, so we help celebrate. Its all about ending a month of fasting during the Moslem month of Ramzan, peace, hugging, gifts, new clothes and YUMMY food. Moslems make a delicately flavoured mutton rice called Biryani and a vermicelli sweet called Seviyaan on the occassion. We get all the bones of course. A fixed portion of what is cooked is given to the poor. Doesn't that sound like fun? Does your mama have any Moslem friends?

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  10. in our excitement we forgot to sign our post. It's from Bumo and Miu of course :-)

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    1. Oh Boy! Another celebration. I wish we could visit you and share in your celebrations too. They sound exciting and yummy.
      Mom had a Moslem friend at work a long time ago who loved to cook and made wonderfully delicious foods very unlike what Mama cooks. When Mama left that job, she lost touch with her friend.
      The next holiday we have coming up is Labor Day. I'll write a blog and tell you all about it.
      Until then,
      Your friend,
      Zeva

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