An Ice Storm Christmas

The last few days have certainly been interesting.  Ontario was hit hard by a severe ice storm this past Saturday night into Sunday morning.  We lost power for eight hours that night and we were one of the few extremely fortunate families.  Many others were without for days and some continue to struggle without electricity.  It has been out so long in some areas that the phone company has also lost the power required to run the lines.

We woke Sunday morning to some of the worst natural destruction our area has seen.  Not only did the ice down hydro lines, but also a vast number of trees.  Portions of our street were impassible due to trees having fallen across them.  With all the falling ice we were as careful as possible whenever we would let Rilley out,  but for some reason he thought it would be a grand idea to sit beneath our maple tree and look up!

Nonetheless, Christmas Day is here and in true Rilley-style, he brings some merriment to the day. (Whether he intends to be entertaining or not.)  You see, Elizabeth bought him a nice big bone as a gift.  Immediately upon unwrapping this magnificent piece of chewable goodness, he grabbed it in his mouth and headed for the back door.  Now, if I were a dog I would resist the innate desire to bury it and at least give it a chew or two first...but no, this is Rilley after all...

...this bone must be buried and it must be buried NOW! 

Okay then Rilley...out you go!

As you can see, the aforementioned ice storm foiled his plan.  The video above was actually his third attempt at finding a place to bury his new bone. 

Darn frozen earth!

After criss-crossing the backyard numerous times, he finally realized that this was a fruitless endeavour and brought his bone back in, settled down in the hall and began to chew away.

Nom, nom, nom.

Now, with the turkey cooking in the oven, and a lull in the activity, Rilley has decided to take a nap from all the morning's excitement.

Zzzzzzzz...dreaming of turkey.

And that's pretty much how Rilley's Christmas has been...his third "bonus" Christmas since undergoing his treatment.

So from our family to yours we wish you a

Merry Christmas

and a very Happy New Year!

National Mutt Day

Here's a little something to add to your "I did not know that" pile.

Today, December 2nd, is National Mutt Day.  Hey, I had not idea this existed either!  I only found out about it through my Facebook news feed and a post from the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center.

Interestingly, this day is celebrated not once, but twice a year...July 31st and December 2nd.  So why am I writing about this?  Well, despite Rilley's rugged good looks, he is not a pure bred beagle, he is indeed a mixed breed, or mutt, as it were.  Furthermore, not only is he a mixed breed, but he is a mixed breed we rescued from the shelter.  You see?  This day seems to be far more important for Rilley than it would at first appear.

So there you have it!  As the saying goes, you learn something new everyday.

Happy National Mutt Day Rilley!  (And if we don't have one in Canada, may be we should!)