Latin Labrador

Buddy: We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We had a quiet day yesterday and even had a bite of turkey. That doesn't happen very often around here because Jan is sticky about .. What, Cotton?

Cotton: No, not sticky. They word is stickler. Jan is a stickler.

Cameron: That's strange. I thought Jan is a human.

Cyndi Jan is a human. Cotton is trying to say she's a stickler about feeding us people foods.

Percy: Especially the foods we really like. Fatty or sugary foods, chocolate .... She has this crazy idea we should eat dog or cat food.

Rusty: Yeah, the only way she'll give us turkey is to wring out the fat, pat it dry, and for good measure, blow dry it.

Crystal: We wish Jan would stop reading about what not to feed us and realize we like turkey, fat and all.

Sam: Yes, if we killed our own turkey, we wouldn't roast it and drain off the fat. We'd just spit out the feathers.

Merci: Isn't there a federal law that every dog and cat, especially the females, must be fed at least six pounds of chocolate a day?

Cotton: Yes, it's part of the Federal Animal Anti-Cruelty Act. But pet owners protested and now they're claiming chocolate is hazardous to our health. (We're joking here. Chocolate can be deadly to your pet!)

Buddy: Excuse me, but I was telling readers about our post before you interrupted. To continue, we feel like taking it easy today and figure maybe you do too. So we have a nice, calm dog dance routine to help you relax. Afterward you can resume your nap.

Merci: Buddy, you're looking at the wrong video. There's nothing calm and relaxing about this dance routine! It's pure fun.


If the video doesn't play for you, click here.

Christmas Music

We were going to post some of the beautiful email cards we received from some talented bloggers , but we decided to keep this post simple. It's Christmas eve and folks have other things on their plates. Besides, we couldn't show the cards we received by snail mail -- our scanner won't work unless we install an ink cartridge so it can set everything up for printing. Since we don't print with that all-in-one, we don't understand what the problem is, but then we're just dogs and cats. Thanks to each of you who sent us any type of card. We couldn't "borrow" any money from Jan's wallet (it was empty) to send stamped snail mail cards so we posted our homemade card. (If you haven't received your card yet, see post below this one)

Instead, we have a video for you. Beautiful Christmas music. O Holy Night by Celtic Woman. We hope you like it as much as we do.



If the video doesn't play, click here.

Have a blessed Christmas, filled with family, friends and fun.

Christmas Card 2009

We hope each of you will have the joy of Christmas as you remember why we are celebrating the day.
(Click to enlarge card.)

We are grateful to know every one of you. You each bring something special into our lives.

(s) JFF -- Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
and Jan

Cyndi Was 6 and Forgotten Dog's Christmas

Yes, you read that right. Was. Cyndi was officially 6 years old yesterday. And we forgot. Totally forgot. It's all Jan's fault again. If she would read her calendar book more often and remind us of special occasions, we wouldn't have to keep telling you all we inherited Jan's forgetfulness. It's a genetic trait passed on though handling our food or something.

Cyndi, we are so sorry we forgot about you. It has become a pattern with us. Too often any more we "remember" a birthday when the Cat Blogosphere posts it and we open our email to learn you all were celebrating while we slept. But now that we remember -
Happy 6th Purrthday, Cyndi!

We love you and hope to share many more purrthdays with you, at least a few of them on the correct day.

(s) Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
Oh, yeah, and Jan.

Cyndi:Thanks to all of you who came by yesterday with birthday wishes. So my family forgot my day. I forgot it too. What's important is I have a home, lots of siblings, a warm bed when it's cold, and all the food I can eat. I'm not forgotten like the dog in the following poem. My birthday wish is that every furry adopted by a human for Christmas be treated with love and kindness, so there are no more furry forgotten ex-Christmas presents.

Forgotten Dog's Christmas
Author Unknown

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With no thought of the dog filling their head
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap
Knew he was cold, but didn't care about that
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Figuring the dog was free of his chain and into the trash
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But Santa Claus - with eyes full of tears
He un-chained the dog, once so lively and quick
Last year's Christmas present, now painfully thin and sick
More rapid than eagles he called the dog's name
And the dog ran to him, despite all his pain
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Let's find this dog a home where he'll be loved by all."
I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year
For Santa Claus had made one thing quite clear
The gift of a dog is not just for the season
We had gotten the pup for all the wrong reasons
In our haste to think of the kids a gift
There was one important thing that we missed
A dog should be family, and cared for the same
You don't give a gift, then put it on a chain
And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight
"You weren't given a gift! You were given a LIFE!"

Lorenzo, Flying Frenchman

We all enjoy a good animal video and we loved this one. We're sure you will too. This is an amazing exhibit of strength (you try balancing on moving horseflesh), precision, courage and trust.

Lorenzo the Flying Frenchman and his team of grey Lusitano horses perform at the London International Horse show at Olympia in 2008.



If the video doesn't play for you, click here.

If you enjoyed this video, you might be interested in this one which shows him training his horses.



If this video doesn't play for you, click here.

Hope you enjoyed these videos as much as we did.
(s) Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam

Star of Martha Mill

We have mentioned before that there is a crew working on reclaiming a local mill.(Tearing some of it down, reclaiming whatever possible for other uses.) Just recently we posted on the Doggy Christmas Surprise that Matthew, the project manager, and Drew, the supervisor, gave the 3 of us dogs. We haven't quite figured out what we're supposed to do with it yet. Jan imprisons us in it, then usually disappears into the house. It's very boring in there alone. We dig for pecans, watch the traffic and bark at passersby. Buddy is working on a plan to get over it so he can climb the tree after the squirrels.

We are in agreement that Jan should be imprisoned with us, not just checking on us every few minutes. Eventually she realizes that and comes outside to join us in prison. Then we run, play tug, Merci jumps on her, Sam body slams her, and we dogs get lots of exercise. Jan just stands there holding our leashes while we have fun. Guess Jan just doesn't know how to have fun. Maybe we should get her a tug toy for Christmas.

Oh, we got a bit off track. We started to tell you about the star of Martha Mill, which in past years could be viewed from Thanksgiving through Christmas. No one seems to know how old the tradition was. The oldest man living who worked at the mill started there in 1937 and there was no star then. There is a photo of it that was taken in 1989. It was last put up in 2004.

This year Matthew worked with the local archivist to revive the Christmas star. Jan knew Matthew intended to light it, but she didn't know when. It debuted Thanksgiving eve. It was startling when seen from a distance for the first time, like a beacon of hope in the darkness. If it hadn't been for us dogs having to pee that night, Jan would have missed it. We hope she realizes how fortunate she is to have us to show her the sights -- and to keep her company on her picture taking jaunts. It's not easy to take a good picture in the dark, especially when handicapped by hands shaking from the cold. Good thing she had the 3 of us leashed to her to keep her hands steady.

Here are a few of the pictures we helped Jan take. Oh, and Penny, Jan fibbed last night. She did come home to get her camera to take some new shots.

This is a photo we like. The star appears suspended without support.

Peekaboo. Through the branches of a tree.


The star shines clearer from this angle than from head-on.


Another peekaboo shot.


Here is the star under a full moon.


And a shot from across the street. The overhead branches make it look eerie.


Thank you, Matthew and crew, for being involved with and giving to the community.

(s) Buddy, Merci & Samaritan

PS -- Have you visited our new JansFunnyFarm store at Zazzle yet? We only have 9 designs so far, but we'll be adding more as we can.