Dear Santa Paws,
In case you don’t know me, I’m Loki. I’m a puppy. You understand puppies, don’t you? I mean, a puppy is a puppy and puppies just have to be puppies sometimes…right? Well, I’m not your average Labrador or Jack Russell or Golden Retriever pup…I’m a mighty Great Dane pup. Well, I’ll be mighty when I grow up! For now, I’m just practicing the mighty part. Just try to keep in mind that I have a Great Dane sized body powered by a puppy brain.
I’ve been told that Santa Paws is a kind, understanding, wise creature who brings treats and toys to puppies. My big Great Dane sisters say that a few days after mom puts the tree in the house we get ‘presents’. I don’t know why mom brings a tree in the house – she never lets me bring tree branches in the house, but she’s mom…and mom is always right (especially when she has treats). So we have a tree in the living room. It smells good and there are things to eat on the tree and there’s a bowl of water under the tree, which is convenient after I’ve had a ‘tree snack’. Tree snacks make me thirsty.
My sister told me that naughty dogs don’t get presents. This confused me. What is naughty? My sister said that I have a lot of explaining to do if I want Santa Paws to visit me. So, Santa Paws, let me explain…
You see, Santa Paws, all those things you may have heard about that I did, well, it’s because I’m so big and our house and furniture seem to be shrinking and I do still have a puppy brain. So, when I zoom under the table and then stop and then stand up and then hit my head sometimes all the things on top of the table spill. Well, that’s not really my fault – I’m growing. I used to be able to run under the table without any problems. (Santa Paws, can you bring my mom a new table – one that I can walk under without hitting my head? It should be strong, too, so that when I need put my paws on it to reach the banana that mom left for me in the middle of the table (she knew I’d need a snack) the table won’t tip up and scare me. And maybe a new bed, too, since ours seems to be getting smaller. We don’t quite fit like we used to, me, my mom and dad and my two sisters.) And honestly, I really thought mom left all those things out just for me, because you know how thoughtful mom is. How was I supposed to know that shredding blankets wasn’t ‘legal’ – it was so much fun…and fun is good, right? And that sponge, well, I was taking it to mom, it just sort of fell apart in my mouth. And the orange was just a snack. And that shoe incident really was my sister’s idea – she dared me and I couldn’t say no to dare, could I?!
Santa Paws, as you can see, I’m just a puppy. All those little “issues” were just misunderstandings. And I am learning good doggie manners, some days I just forget.
There two things I’d like to have for Christmas. My human brothers and sisters have a much longer list, so if I only want two things, that’s not really asking for too much I hope. I’d like an orange tree so I can have oranges any time I want (I LOVE oranges) and a Bassett Hound (the one I met at the vet – she was very cute and I think my mom would LOVE another dog with long floppy ears).
~Loki, the Mighty (almost) Great Dane
