Merry Christmas Eve!

From our family to yours, here's wishing you the happiest of holidays.
Stay safe, enjoy yourself, and please take a moment out of your day to think about those who are far away from home, protecting our freedom.

"Bogie"

I have a new "nephew." His name is Bogie. Bogie is a Boxer puppy and is the newest member of my brother's family.
Bogie is almost a Christmas puppy...but his is not. Christmas puppies like their pictures being taken in a Santa hat and sleigh, right?
Not Bogie, he wasn't thrilled about any of this stuff...these pictures were taken before he got to his new home with my brother's family.
Do you know what Bogie wants for Christmas? A brother!

Stay tuned! Nephew #2 arrives home tomorrow night!

Christmas Lights Display

No, folks, sorry to disappoint you, but this is not my house! Check it out though, it is and amazing display, with over 45,000 lights! I bet the power company LOVES this family!

Best Christmas Lights Display (HD):

Merry Christmas to the Dog Lovers!

How precious is this? It was sent to me from another dog loving friend.

What's in a name anyway...

"What's her name?"

A common question. Each and every time I take Kona out on a therapy visit, I get asked the same question. "What's her name?" "His name is Kona," I say with a smile. "Oh, she's a boy?" they ask. "Yes, he's a boy...." and on and on it goes.

The other day, while I was at a senior care facility with my Love on a Leash team mate Marilyn and her boy Brutus, we had to giggle a bit. A lot of the folks we visit with are hard of hearing. That is certainly no surprise. They always ask what our dogs names are, and of course we tell them. Here is how the conversations went the other day.

Marilyn: Hi, would you like a visit with the dogs today?

Mr. A: Sure, what's your dog's name?

Marilyn: His name is Brutus.

Mr. A: Rita?

Marilyn: No, not Rita, his name is Brutus.

Mr. A: Oh! Her name is Theresa!

Marilyn: No, his name is. Brutus. Like Popeye and Brutus.

Mr. A: Oh! Brutus!

Marilyn: Yes! His name is Brutus.

Mr. A: And what's your dog's name?

Me: This is Kona.

Mr. A: Kona?

Me: Yes, Kona. (I smile, and wink at Marilyn)

Mr. A: Nice dogs....

Next room.

Mr. B. : Oh, pretty dogs, what are their names?

Marilyn: This is Brutus and this is Kona.

Mr. B: Theresa?

Marilyn: No, this is Brutus. Like Popeye and Brutus.

Mr. B: Well, hello there Popeye.

Marilyn just smiled. On to the next room...same story.

Mr. C: What's your dog's name?

Me: This is Kona. He's a 3 year old Golden Retriever.

Mr. C: Conan? Like the Barbarian?

Me: No sir, Kona, K-O-N-A.

Mr. C: Like Conan O'brian?

Me: No sir, Kona, like Kona Hawaii, or Kona coffee.

Mr. C: I like don't coffee.

Me: Have a nice day sir, see you next time.

Next room.

Mrs. D: OH! Such pretty doggies! Let me see them! What are their names?

Marilyn: This is Kona and this is Brutus.

Mrs. D: They are so beautiful!

Both of us: Thank you! We sure think so!

Mrs. D: Their fur is so nice and soft.

Marilyn: They are pretty aren't they, like Ebony and Ivory?

Mrs. D: Which one is which?

Marilyn: Oh, no, that's not their names....

Mrs. D to her roommate: Look at these beautiful dogs! They are named Ebony and Ivory! Aren't they pretty!

On to the next room...

Mr. E.: What's your dog's name?

Me. His name is Kona.

Mr. E: His name is Kona?

Me: Yes, that's right, Kona.

We chat for a couple of minutes, and as we leave I hear Mr. E say to his roommate, "Who the hell would name their dog Coma?"

Yup, Merry Christmas, with love from Theresa and Coma.

Firework

While I am not normally a huge Katy Perry fan, I really enjoy the message this video sends. Be yourself, and celebrate who you are. (And the girl jumping into the pool? That'd be a younger me.)

Visits and more visits!

In the last 5 days, Kona and I have been on 4 therapy visits. Whew! No wonder I am running around, trying to get so much done with so little time! Every visit is worth it though, so no complaints...

Because of privacy issues, a lot of the facilities we visit don't allow pictures of the dogs with the patients. I like to try to at least get a picture of the dogs here and there though, so here are just a couple of pictures I've taken in the last couple of days.

They are all just such sweet, loving beings!

Here we have Kona, Happy, and Brutus.
Here is the crew from today. Don't the first three from left to right look like they could be related? It's Scootch, Kona, and Happy, then Bunny and Riley. They brought a lot of holiday cheer to the VA today!
And of course I needed a close up of my goof-ball. He is such a ham!