A different Christmas this year?

Well it's already different because at this rate, the kids are getting precisely NOWT from Santa. I can't believe I have bought so few presents. Part of that is because the two teenagers never know what they want, and when they do, it costs $2,000 (Man-child's dream electric guitar, which will remain a dream). Little Guy changes his mental list every other day and still hasn't written his letter to Santa, provoking the awful possibility that he might not believe. (I have told the teens that I will flatten them if they utter a syllable of doubt in front of LG.)

What else? Ah yes, the dog. Not that I'm buying her any presents, but we are taking her to Colorado with us. Oh yes. This little mutt landed on her feet when she was adopted by this fool owner. The kids wanted her to come with us, and indeed, the cost of boarding her for two weeks was about the same as flying her from Chicago to Denver. (Actually, the cost of boarding has a little add-on vet bill possibility is she comes out with kennel cough, has to have an x-ray and is put on anti-biotics for two weeks.) So the mutt is flying to Denver next Thursday night - on Pet Airways.

Don't laugh! I couldn't bear the thought of flying her in cargo, sitting on a freezing tarmac for hours at either end (in sub zero temps) and possibly never making it. She's a shelter dog for goodness sake. Who knows what baggage (not literally) she has and what such an experience could trigger. And Pet Airways is no more expensive than commercial cargo or two weeks boarding, so what's the problem?

Actually, it started getting a bit much when the airline told us that they'd stopped boarding. We need the dog held somewhere for one night until we get there. (The Chicago-Denver flight is once a week.) Fortunately, they gave us the name of a lovely pet hotel thingy and friends in Denver vouched for it. Unfortunately, they don't pick the dogs up from the airport, so they in turn, recommended a lovely Pet Taxi service. I know.

This is all the Ball & Chain's fault as usual. He and the Man-Child are doing their annual manly thing of driving two days over the snowy plains of the Mid-West. His response to my hint that they take the dog, if I recall, were "If she comes in the car, you're all coming in the car." Gulp.

So this Christmas should be quite different from others. I just hope the dog doesn't get altitude sickness from being at 9,000 feet and above for two weeks. I don't even think there's an emergency vet within a thirty mile radius of Copper.

Watch this space.

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