The Watching Story

The Remembrance Page: Those we have loved and lost this year...

2011-12-24T08:01:00.000-05:00

This page is in Remembrance of those we have loved and lost this year, human or animal. If you want to see them, just look to the sky and you will see them.

Tucker

Henry

Bon Bon

Madison

Allie, a rescued corgi

Julz

Hope

Peeves

Rick

Magnum

Beamer

Oliver

Josie

Maggie, Champion of Everything

Ein

Rosie

Dobby and Fergus

Paris Lynn

Boots

Colleen and Jemma

Nana (and Paris Lynn)

Spencer (who has joined his beloved Melissa)

Wednesday

Reva

Jilly, who is with Rob now

Rob Hansen, who loved Jilly dearly

Merlin

And we love Merlin so much we have to include our favorite video of him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o_N3NPdvew&list=FLfremvVNzsADfBCC13uZBRQ&index=37&feature=plpp_video

Paddington

Dixie

Odie (gone) and Lucky (still here)

Rowdy

Clyde

Travis

Jessie Bell

Corky

Amber

Beth Magness

Merlin

Cody

Riley Roo

Morgana

Meghan

Petey

Quincy

Cora

Betty Davis

Misty (Neonas Misty Emerald Treasure)

Barkley

Fiesta

Ken Hartwig (1933/08/20 - 2005/06/23)

Steve Siemens (1952/09/14 - 2010/06/10)

No photo of Steve, if you have one, please send it to me! Thanks!

Nacho

Monty

And his sister, Rosie:

Lori Randall

And her daddy, Charles Oster

Starr

The Watching: Corgi Christmas Miracles

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

ChapterOne

TheRoyal Family and all their animals and helpers had moved to a new Castle many miles away from their oldhome. It had been a monumental task, andthe decision to move took months and months to make. But finally all agreed that they need aroomier Castle. Although it was hard toleave familiar territory, everyone was excited about the possibilities that waitedin a new place.

TheRoyal Footmen and Maids had been busy for weeks and weeks, packing, discarding,running a yard sale and keeping track of everything, along with all theirregular duties. The Emperor and Lady-in-Waitingpaid bills, directed the move, and of course, pitched in to help where everhelp was needed. Finally the big daycame, and pups were placed safely into small playpens in the large yard whilethe moving van was loaded. Then a longprocession of vehicles, some with Castle Folk in them, some with food andsupplies, some with animals, began the long two day trek to the new Castle to the south.

Afterseveral months of confusion and unpacking, all were settled in, a daily routinehad been established, and things were mostly back to normal. The animals and people looked forward to thelonger Summer, earlier Spring, and beautiful Fall in their new home. No one minded the lack of snow in the newplace except for the youngest ones, who had heard about that mysterious coldwhite substance but had never seen it. However, they were happy with four new pondsto play in and frogs and turtles to terrorize.

Onesummer day, the Castle received a phone call. Could the Royal family help with a special project? Of course they could! And so it came to pass that the Emperor andthe Lady-in-Waiting stood by the side of the road near the old store. Theylooked down the road, waiting for a bus to arrive bearing a special surprisefor all who lived at the Castle. Soon,the bus appeared around a curve and the excitement built, because the specialsurprise that was coming was an Only.

Onlypuppies were the only pup in a litter, whether they had been born as a trueOnly or had lost their siblings. As aresult, they were much more work than other puppies because they did notunderstand that they were not the center of the Universe. Some people sent themto the Castle, where they could interact with as many corgis and other animalsas possible. This produced a well-roundedpuppy who was not spoiled and who had learned how to get along with others.

Ina few moments, a kind lady got off the bus and gently handed the Lady-in-Waitinga wrapped bundle of flannel. She also gave the Emperor a small box thatcontained a blankie, some puppy toys, and a small chew bone. After the royalcouple reassured her that all would be taken care of, she got back on the busand waved through the window as it pulled away.

Carefully,the Lady-in-Waiting unwrapped the bundle and found an odd combination inside, ayoung corgi puppy and a sock filled with rice and tied off at the end with apiece of red yarn. She laughed andshowed the Emperor the “sibling.” The Lady-in-Waitingknew that this had been given to the pup to give the impression of anotherpuppy nearby, calming the Only.

Thepuppy had an unusual marking on his head, and they wondered whether it had anysignificance or were just random ripples in his fur. The Lady-in-Waiting ruffled the marking andthen kissed the little Only. “Let’s getyou something to eat!” she said, and they walked back up to the Castle.

ChapterTwo

Overthe next few weeks, everyone was kept busy with the Only, who had been namedTheodore. Not too long after Theodorearrived, another Only they named Julius came to stay at the Castle. Julius was younger than Theodore and seemedvery confused and afraid. He had beenfound wandering near a busy highway and had been taken in by well meaningpeople. He probably had had a family,they thought, it was just that no one knew who they were, despite many flyersbeing put up and many phone calls made.

Juliuswas a Cardigan corgi, much like a Pembroke corgi but longer and with one blueeye and one brown eye, a blue merle coat, and a wonderful fox-like tail. He cried a lot and didn’t like to be alone.Julius constantly called out “Boy! Boy!”which everyone took to mean that he had had a child somewhere. It broke everyone’s heart to see him so lost,but everyone worked hard to distract him from his thoughts, and in a few weekshe was only heard to say “Boy! Boy!” inhis sleep.

Itwas natural to put the two Onlies together so they could learn from each otherand have to get along. They had no other siblings, except, of course, thelittle rice bag that Theodore called “Bubba.” Soon the two little pups were seen everywhere, Theodore busily sniffingaround and Julius constantly asking questions and wagging his flag of a tail.

Butas they grew a bit older, Theodore decided that he did not need a littlebrother tagging along so much. He wouldhide from Julius and laugh into his paw while the younger pup franticallysearched for him. Theodore decided toplay tricks on the younger dog, so he would put rocks under his bed at night,knowing that Julius wasn’t mature enough to be able to know there was a reasonwhy his bed was so uncomfortable.

Oneday when Julius was drinking from the pond, Theodore sneaked up behind him andpushed him into the water. Theodore ranfor the woods so that Julius could not see who had done such a mean thing tohim. But someone was watching. A red winged blackbird flew down from whereshe had been enjoying the breeze in a big tree. She perched just above Theodore, eyed him carefully, and made a fewchirping sounds to get his attention. Theodore cocked his head and looked up. The bird very carefully thought about the word she needed to say to him—ithad to be perfect and language did not come easily to birds. But finally she sensed he was getting boredand about to wander off, so with great effort, she said to him, “Mean. Mean.” She looked at him again and then flew away.

Theodorewas shocked. Did she really mean to saythat he was a mean dog? No, she couldn’thave! He helped when he was asked to, andhe put his dime in the old tin can when St. Frank, patron Saint of all theanimals, came by on Sunday mornings to talk to the corgis and other Castle animalsabout being better creatures. He evenhelped the Elder corgis around the yard. How could she say he was mean? Butthen he heard Julius down by the pond. Julius was crying out for his Boy again,and something in the bigger pup’s heart melted. Yes, it was true. He wasmean. Not mean to all, but mean to ayounger and less capable animal. He hunghis head. He would not stay; he justcould not face anyone. He looked down tosee that Julius was safe and out of the pond, and then he turned and started towalk through the woods.

Theodoremade his way through the woods for several miles, climbed some hills, andfollowed a deer trace. Eventually hecame to a small cave. Some animals had apparentlylived there before, but it looked snug and warm, so he scratched out theleavings and took mouthfuls of grass and covered the floor with them. He found a small stream further back in thewoods that was clean to drink from. Theodore felt he had the whole situation well in hand, or in “paw.”

Thatevening, everyone in the Castle was very upset. They had discovered that Theodore was missing, but all Julius could saywas that he had gone down to the pond to look for Theodore and something pushedhim in, or maybe he slipped. He couldn’treally remember because he had been so upset at finding himself in thewater. The Emperor sent out the RoyalFootmen to search, along with the Border Collie Patrol, but no one found atrace of the young Only.

Aftertwo weeks, they sadly decided they had to give up the search, although some ofthe animals still kept looking for Theodore. Julius reverted to saying “Boy!” much more again, and most evenings he hadto be rocked to sleep. The summer passedon and everyone had a sad heart. The Castlehad never lost a corgi before and everyone felt responsible. The Royal Footmen blamed themselves, sayingthey should have kept a better eye on a youngster. The Emperor said he should have takenTheodore on his ride to town that day and then he would not have beenlost. The Lady-In-Waiting said that sheshould have scheduled his bath for that day and kept him in the yard so hecouldn’t escape. The Royal Chef saidthat Theodore had been pestering him to make cookies, and that he should havetaken him into the kitchen to show the little pup how to make them. But now he was gone, maybe forever, andeveryone felt very badly about the loss of the young Only pup.

ChapterThree

Meanwhile,far back in the woods, Theodore was lonely, but worse, he was hungry. He was very, very hungry, and there is nothingworse than a hungry corgi! He had found some berries, which were good. He had also found some nuts. They were hardto crack and you couldn’t get all the hard parts out, but he ate themanyhow. He even found a Twinkie wrapperthat a hiker had thrown away and licked it clean before eating it too. Once or twice, he sneaked down to the hilloverlooking the Castle to see if he could find something edible, but there wasnothing.

Thenone day he decided to search deeper into the cave where he had been staying. It was almost as though something was callinghim, calling him to come deeper into the cave. It got darker and darker as he went farther back. But then, strangely, alight shone on something near the back wall of the cave. He could not see where the light came from—itseemed to come from nowhere. After sniffing a bit, he looked at the object withthe light on it, which looked like a large flask or bottle of some kind. Theodore’s little brow furrowed in thought,wrinkling the unusual marking on his head.

Hesniffed the flask. Maybe it hadsomething to drink in it? Then hecarefully pulled out the top and looked at it. To his amazement, something likea mist came out of the flask. He took astep back and prepared to flee, but he was also very curious. In a few moments, the mist shifted, touchedthe ground, and took shape. Of all thethings in the world, it sure looked like a squirrel to him!

Nowfortunately for this squirrel, Theodore was not much of a hunter. So he just looked on curiously as the littleanimal brushed itself off and then stretched.

“Hi,” it said. “What’s your name?”

Theodoreintroduced himself and learned that the squirrel’s name was He Ping. He had never heard that name before, so hehad to say it several times before he got it right. Theodore didn’t want to be rude, but he wascurious. “What kind of a name is that?”he wondered. The squirrel explained thatthe name was Chinese and meant “peace.” Then Theodore asked the squirrel, “How did you get in that bottle?”

“Isthat your first wish?” replied He Ping. Theodore had no idea what he meant, so He Ping explained that he was agenie who had been trapped in the bottle, and anyone who freed him would getthree wishes granted. “You need tochoose wisely” he cautioned.

Thefirst thing Theodore thought of was how to make things right with Julius. But, instead, he said “I am so very hungry,so I wish for some food.” The squirrellooked thoughtful, then waved one little paw in a magic sign in the air. In a moment, a pretty bowl filled withwonderful, hot stew appeared before Theodore. He could hardly believe it and actually remembered to thank He Ping forthe food before he ate it. Oh, it was soflavorful and filling! He licked upevery bit. When he was finished and sat down, the bowl faded and was gone.

“Thebowl is like the food,” explained the squirrel. “It does not last.” Theodore hadno idea what that meant. Then He Pingsaid “What is your second wish?”

Theodorethought again about how he picked on the younger puppy, tormenting and teasinghim. But then he made another selfishchoice. “I would like a new toy, onewith a bell in it, one that I can chew on and play keep-away with.” And, in just a flash, a brand new blue toywith a bell in it was in front of him.

Oh,Theodore had never seen such a wonderful toy! He snatched it and danced around with it, tossed it in the air, andplayed for a few minutes with it. Butthen it just didn’t seem like that much fun. There was no one to play with, no one to try and take it from him, noone to lie down and chew on one end while he chewed on the other. He looked at the toy sadly.

“Whatis your third wish?” the squirrel inquired. Well, Theodore knew just what hewanted. He wanted to go home. But he also didn’t want to face Julius andthe others and admit that he had been wrong. So he said, “I would like another toy, one that is good for a young puppyto play with, one that he will love very much.”

Nowthe squirrel, who had figured out what was going on, said “That is a betterwish,” and a fuzzy toy appeared. It wasred, white, and blue and so bright that it could never be lost in the grass. Iteven had a loud squeaker. “What will youdo with it?” asked He Ping. At this question,Theodore was very sad, and still knew that all he wanted was to go home.Sensing this, the squirrel said “You have used up your three wishes. I know you want to go home, so maybe we canmake a trade.”

ChapterFour

NowTheodore had nothing to trade except the two toys. The squirrel knew this, but he had no use forthe two toys. Maybe, though, he could get a refund on them at the GenieStore. So he said “I will send you homeif you trade that magical mark on your forehead to me along with the two toys.”

Thesquirrel did not tell Theodore that the strange marking had great Power. The squirrel was not even sure to what extentthat Power went, but he knew he wanted it, and this silly puppy didn’t evenknow that he had such Power.

Theodorethought that was a pretty good trade. Hedidn’t know what his mark meant, and he never even thought about it untilsomeone commented on it. So he agreed.The toys disappeared, he felt a tingling in the middle of his forehead, and themark was suddenly gone too—but it appeared on the squirrel’s forehead.

Theodorefelt disoriented for a few moments. Time stopped, and then it reversed. Suddenly, he was back at the edge of thepool, where he had been weeks before, watching Julius taking a drink. He still really wanted to push the puppy inagain, but then it occurred to him that he had been returned to an earlier timewhen he could make amends by choosing to act in a better way. He didn’t understand how this had happened,but he was relieved, because he did not know how he would have apologized tothe little pup or the Castle in general for running away and causing such painto everyone. The squirrel genie’s magic had totally erased what had happenedover the past few weeks.

Hecalled out to Julius, “Hey, kid, want to climb the hill with me?” The puppy turned to look at him, tail waving,and said “Yes!” and they happily raced up the hill together.

Soon,Theodore and Julius were seen everywhere together. They began to depend on each other, tell eachother secrets, and play together all the time. One afternoon they would play corgi games, the next day they would climbthe hill or go splashing in the pond. Theodore taught the little pup how to swim so that if he fell into thepond he would be okay. Most of the time, Theodore would even let Julius win attheir games. Their friendship grew and deepened.

Oneof their favorite things was to climb the big hill overlooking the Castle andlook out at the big world. With theirshort little legs, it took them nearly an hour the first time they tried it,and they found there was no water at the top of the big hill when they gotthere. So the Emperor arranged to have someone take a bucket of water up thehill for whoever needed it each day, which made the boys happy.

Theodorestopped thinking about what a pest the little pup was, with his never-endingquestions and silly ways, and finally he quit thinking about how he had treatedJulius in the past. And Julius becamesecure enough that he stopped calling for his Boy.

Afew animals commented that the mysterious mark was missing from Theodore’shead. They asked if he had outgrown it,and Theodore always answered that he guessed he had. So after a while, no onesaid anything more about it.

ChapterFive

Fallarrived, with glorious and beautiful leaves to dash through and apples, whichJulius thought were the best thing he had ever had. He liked them even better than dog cookies,but after a few stomach aches, he had to be limited to half an apple aday.

Soonit was time for St. Frank to come and teach Watching lessons to the youngsterswho were First Watchers. The Watchingwas a wonderful celebration of Lifethat took place each December, and First Watchers were the young animals whowould be at least six months old on the day of the Watching. This year, at the new Castle, the celebration would be somewhatdifferent. There was a new and bigger Watching field, and Grandfather Oak fromthe previous Castle had been carefully transplanted into the new field, wherehe could have a wonderful view of everything that was to happen. GrandfatherOak’s spirit had passed into an acorn the year before so he could be born as anew sapling, move to the new Castle, and be a First Watcher. He had to attend St.Frank’s classes, so they were held once a week at the Watching field. It was a bit more work for everyone, but theywere excited that Grandfather would get to be a First Watcher. Of course,Julius and Theodore would be First Watchers too.

St.Frank told the youngsters that absolute silence was to be kept, no giggling,pushing, nipping, or whining that one had to go to the bathroom. That had to betaken care of before everyone settled in to Watch. No eating, chewing on a bone, or roughhousingwere to be tolerated. No one asked whatthe punishment would be for such behavior; they just all knew that it had to bethis way. First Watchers always got newcollars with star tags with a small jewel and their names were on the tags. Thesecollars were only worn to the First Watching, never again. Some of the biggeranimals would get a large ribbon, and the horses would get a new halter. The tiniest of animals, such as mice orbirds, would get a beautiful ribbon and a jewel carefully glued onto it so itwould not be too heavy for them to wear.

Allduring the month of December, plans were made for the holiday season. Secrets had to be kept, such as who wasmaking a gift for whom. Theodore choseJulius’ name from the special Sharing Box, and he had one of the RoyalSeamstresses help him make a red, white, and blue fuzzy toy with three squeakersin it. He wanted it to be just like thetoy that the genie squirrel had taken in the trade. It really looked pretty good, he thought, asshe helped him wrap it in a piece of tissue paper and put Julius’ name onit. In turn, Julius got Theodore’s nameand found a piece of plastic pipe that had screw-on ends. He asked the Lady-in-Waitingfor some jingle bells to put inside and he had the Emperor help him dye it blueand glue the ends on so the bells would not fall out. Then they drilled someholes so that the bells could be heard. Both humans marveled at the cleverness of the toy and asked Julius wherehe had ever come up with this idea. Julius waved his flag of a tail and, in the manner of millions ofpuppies before him, said “I dunno” and dashed off to play.

Oneof the preparations for the Watching was for the animals to decorate the treesoutside around the Castle. This year,there were new trees that no one was familiar with. Taking care of theminvolved a lot of planning through the summer, and the Emperor and his staffhad worked hard at pruning some trees, moving others, and bringing in new onesfrom the local nursery so that the trees were distributed carefully about theCastle Yard in a pleasing manner.

PrincessCheveu and her friend, Esmerelda the flamingo, decorated the Princesstree. It was always done in pinks andwhite and featured a lot of ornaments made from Royal Chickens who had whitefeathers. It was feminine and ever sopretty. All the young girl corgis helpedwith this tree. Esmerelda wasn’t reallya flamingo—he was a turkey who had been saved by Princess Cheveu oneThanksgiving. To fool the Emperor, hedressed in pink and everyone acknowledged him as a flamingo. It had saved him from being invited to dinnerin a most unappealing way. The Emperorwasn’t fooled, but he was most amused at how long this had been going on. Princess Cheveu had become best friends withthe “flamingo” and they were always seen together and always busy on some charityact or project.

TheLady-in-Waiting over saw the decorating of the Woodland Friends tree, and theRoyal Chef baked special cookies that nearly all the wild animals could enjoy—thedeer, the raccoons, the birds, and even an opossum or two. The mice were not forgotten either, andstrands of popcorn were put up. Therewas suet in every flavor and color and shape that one could imagine. Bowls were placed at the bottom of the treewith all kinds of delicious things that would refreshed all winter: oats andcorn and cereal, and now and then some eggs. The wild animals at the new Castle would appreciate this very much.

Thisyear, the First Watchers decided to form their own committee to do a treetogether. They looked carefully atphotos of previous trees and then Princess Buttercup, the adult fluffy corgiwho oversaw the youngsters, had an idea. They raided the Emperor’s office while he was out and took a pile ofneon-colored paper from the printer to Buttercup’s bedroom. When the day came for decorating, not only didthe First Watchers’ tree have circles made into chains in bright colors but itincluded all kinds of lovely origami shapes. It was the brightest tree that anyone could ever remember. Many of the shapes had been folded andrefolded many times and were a little grubby, but they looked just perfectanyhow.

TheElders’ tree had a Remembering theme, and all of the Elders dug around in theirpossessions for old toys, an ear of a bunny here, a ragged skin of a favoritetoy there, a ball that had seen better days but still smelled of memories longpast. They decorated these with smallbits of ribbon and bells and carefully tied them on the tree with a photo ofeach Elder in younger days. TheLady-In-Waiting would never say it out loud, but the Elders knew this was hervery favorite tree where she could see imagine her old friends in friskierdays. She sat on the ground by the treeand remembered along with them—when the bunny toy was purchased, how wonderfulthe ball had been, and how much they had enjoyed playing with their specialtoys.

ChapterSix

Finally,finally, after so many weeks of waiting, it was the day of the Watching! The morning arrived, cool but sunny. It would be different to have so little snow forthe celebration. No one had to bundle upquite as snugly, and the old dogs were able to ride on tops of the blankets inthe wagons that were pulled by the horses Jacques and Misty and by Blanco,Princess Cheveu’s little white burro. SomeElders would even be able to walk a little way before being lifted back up intothe wagon.

Thehorses stamped their feet in anticipation as Watching finery was woven intotheir manes and tails. Jacques had atiny bell tied on with a ribbon by the youngest Watcher, Julius. Julius thought Jacques looked very fine andtold him that with his little bark and his flag of a tail waving. Everyone had on a pretty scarf, a bow, orsome other bit of decoration to celebrate this most important Holiday.

Soon,everyone was lined up for the walk to the field. It was not quite as far to the new field asthe old Watching Field had been from the previous Castle, but it was still agood trek. The First Watchers lined up after showing everyone their special Watchingcollars. St. Frank snapped his fingers, and to everyone’s delight, a large greywolf came out of the woods and joined them. The First Watchers were fascinated by Brother Wolf. In spite of hisworking so hard to be a good big brother to Julius, Theodore had to roll hiseyes. Julius wanted to know where BrotherWolf lived, what he ate, did he like the color blue, did he like donuts? Theodore figured he would enjoy the walk becausehis little brother would be pestering someone else for a change.

Thenthe procession began. Bells jingled, andsomeone broke into a song. The Elderswere pleased with the warm, sunny weather and had a good time talking abouttheir own First Watching. Some of them would not be here next year, but theywould enjoy this Watching, especially seeing great great grandchildren attendtheir first one.

Latein the afternoon, they all arrived at the field. The First Watchers were given blankets andshown where they be sitting up at the front,. No one wanted them to miss anything. Everyone was warned not to chew on Grandfather Oak. He had a lovely ribbon wrapped around hisskinny little sapling trunk that said “First Watcher,” with silver bells onit. Later, as he grew and got a hole inhis trunk from where a branch had fallen, he would have a place to keep hisribbon. But it would go home to the Castle to be kept safe until that timecame.

Jasper,the mockingbird, called to his children to come and sit with GrandfatherOak. Grandfather reached out hisbranches to embrace each small bird and allowed them to take turns sitting inhis willowy but strong young branches. They chattered as the branches wavedback and forth. Grandfather Oak washaving some fun with the young birds, and everyone smiled to see the ancientspirit having so much fun. His dearestfriend, the tri-colored corgi Twice, sat nearby to be sure that only one littlebird at a time sat in the branches so that they would not break.

Manyof the Castle Onlies banded together with Theodore and Julius. There was a white guinea bird, and a youngskunk who had been lost in the woods and found by the Emperor sat nearby andmade small churring sounds that everyone took to be a song of the season. There was a squirrel or two, a young fillywho had lost her mother, and several other dogs and cats who were Onlies in oneway or other.

Seeingthe activity, some wild animals came out of the woods—a buck deer with hisfamily, a batch of silly squirrels and chipmunks, and a few turtles. They were all soothed by St. Frank that noharm would come to them, and places were found under the trees so they wouldfeel safe and could escape if they felt threatened. They watched the group of animals from theCastle with large, liquid eyes.

TheElders were settled in, and the corgis with wheels were helped out of theircarts and made comfortable on the soft straw that had been scattered about theday before. St. Frank wandered throughthe crowd of Elders and wheelcorgis and touched everyone, taking pain from themand giving them the gift of clear sight and hearing for the night so that theywould be able to see and hear everything that the Watching would bring tothem.

Everyonevisited the woods and had a drink or a small snack, knowing that there would bea feast when they returned to the Castle the next morning. Then the darkness fell. Quiet talking began and some of the animalsslept.

ChapterSeven

Inthe darkest part of the night, there gradually came a feeling of electricity inthe air. Not strong, just a feeling, but it woke up the sleeping animals, andthe ones that were awake looked around. A little flash of green light appeared in the sky, much as heatlightning looks. Then sparkles emerged alongthe edges of the sky, like a picture frame, and something wondrous happened—thewoods all around were suddenly twinkling. The animals all looked about, trying to understand, and then someonesaid under her breath “Fireflies! Theseare fireflies!” A riffle of quiet sound moved through the group as the word waspassed along.

Thefireflies came out of the trees and began a dance above the animals’heads. Some of them flew in formation,making lines, and others were out of formation, flashing crazily inrhythm. It was the most wonderful thingany of the animals had ever seen. Somefireflies flashed red, some yellow, some green and there were blue ones, too,that even St. Frank had never seen. Theshow went on for some time and then the fireflies suddenly stopped, but thetwinkling picture frame remained.

Thenthey saw Them, the figures whom the animals all loved to see each year. There was a Man, and a Lady and then, ofcourse, the Baby. The Baby looked alittle different this year, many thought, a little older, more like a toddler thana tiny baby human. The older animalsshifted a little. What did thismean? The Baby had always been veryyoung in the other Watchings. Theywatched carefully, sure that something unusual was going to occur.

TheFamily was sitting outside a stable and the Baby was playing with a wooden ballthat the Man had made for Him. He wouldroll it, and coo, and the Man would roll it back to him. The animals were all transfixed by thecomforting scene, and the horses were always so happy to know that the BigEvent had happened in a stable, exactly like what they lived in. It made them feel so special! The scenereminded everyone of fathers and mothers and babies of all species all over theworld, loving and playing with each other. It conveyed a simple message, but then the simplest messages are oftenthe strongest ones.

Agroup of fireflies flew upwards, flashing and dashing and formed a big starjust over the Baby, and out of the woods came a Border Collie, followed shylyby a couple of shepherds. One of themheld a baby lamb, and a dozen white sheep followed them, trusting their peoplein this strange situation. The shepherdsknelt in front of the Baby, and He petted the lamb and gurgled His pleasure atfeeling the soft coat. The lamb was quiet and seemed to enjoy the petting.

Fromthe other side of the field came men riding on the tall, long-legged beasts calledcamels. Although the First Watchers hadbeen told all about camels—that they were big animals, that they didn’t need todrink when they were on a journey because they had their own water in theirhumps, that they only had two toes instead of four, and, best of all, that theycould spit (which usually put the whole Watching class into a fit of giggles)—stillthere was nothing like seeing one of these magnificent beasts in person. And here were three of them! A few soft “oh!”s were heard from the FirstWatchers’ section. The men had thecamels lie down and then they got off and gave the Baby three boxes. The First Watchers knew that the boxescontained some things that were valuable and others that smelled good, in the sameway that maybe bologna or braunschweiger do to a corgi. The Baby busied Himself with trying to openthe boxes, while the men and the Man and the Lady spoke quietly together.

ChapterEight

Suddenlymusic began to come down from the heavens. The animals all looked up to see a scene that was faint at first, then ina minute or two became more clear and strong. The song became louder and sweeter, too. It was sung by animals andpeople together, a special song never heard before. The song told of the loveof each other, of the beauty of nature, and of the Baby who was so important toeveryone. It brought tears to theElders’ eyes, as some realized they would be in that choir next year, singing asimilar song, for the singers were the ones that leave us, yet are never reallygone.

Maggielooked up and saw Corky sitting in Dan’s lap. How happy it made her to know that they had found each other again! Next to them sat Michael, who waved down toMacGregor watching below. It broughtmuch comfort to MacGregor to see his friend looking so well. Robbie sat with Digory and Emma and barkeddown to Spencer and Milton.

Andthere was Ellie Mae! Ellie Mae had beenblind and now she could see. It was a wonderful miracle to see her looking sohappy. In the midst of a large pack ofgreyhounds was a young woman named Edie. She was young and glowing, smiling and waving at everyone. The corgis all knew how much she had helpedso many rescues and everyone waved back at her. Fashion and Sunny, the horses,were there and they whinnied down to the Castle horses, who were delighted tosee their friends looking so healthy and shiny.

Inthe very center was Paris Lynn. She wasjet black with a pretty white skunk stripe on her face, and had on her bandanaand was yapping greetings to everyone below, echoed by Flash, anotherenthusiastic barker. Her daughter,Little Paris, was with her and looked exactly like Paris. Nearly all the Watchers had some fashion or another from this mostfamous corgi, and they all waved when they spotted her. Next to Paris Lynn wasMandy, a corgi who lived longer than most any other corgi, and who knew how tosing along with a guitar and have a fun time at a picnic. Mandy was singing away, as usual.

Awhole group of corgis was sitting together—the former wheelcorgis Zorro andOlwen and Puffer and Arthur and Sinbad and Morgen and Sally and Pickett andRocky and Petey and Rosie and Libby and Buster and Mila and Benny. And brave, brave Merlin, who had been aninspiration to all corgis everywhere when he wheeled about in his cart as ifnothing at all was wrong. All had beencourageous in their carts, but they were so relieved to be able to run and toeven fly now. It brought smiles ofhappiness to the wheelcorgis below, as they realized they, too, would be betterone day.

A specialperson, Lorrie, and her dad were there. Her dad had left early because of a tornado and Lorrie had gone to joinhim because she just couldn’t live without her Daddy. Both were happy and had Cardigan corgis intheir laps! Another person loved by all the Cardis, Beth, was sitting next toLorrie, surrounded by the many rescue corgis she had helped through the years.

Honeybeelooked up and saw Deebo and was so glad that he was ok. She couldn’t wait toget home to tell Shelly about seeing him! Colleen sat nearby with Jemma on her lap. They had been hiking togetherwhen a terrible accident occurred and suddenly they crossed the Bridgetogether. They felt fine, and were nowhiking the loveliest trails in the Universe together.

Elliewas sitting next to a pizza box and there was a well-loved fetching sticksitting on top of the box. She barkedgreetings to her loved ones and said “I can have pizza anytime I want it uphere!” much to the delight of the Elders who were sitting on the ground belowher. Ellie had been well known inagility circles, as had Penni, who sat next to her. Penni had been a service dog in training buthad decided she liked agility better, too, and being a therapy dog who alwaysmade people feel better. Penni’s coatshone so bright that the Watchers commented she was like another star in theHeavens. But the two girls’ mostimportant title was Champion of a Heart, and that is the best that any animalcan aspire to achieve.

Dixie sat next to Dylan and lookedanxiously over the crowd below. Therethey were! Tenby and Wendy! She motioned to Dylan to look down and botharoo’ed approval at the choice of the newest puppy to take over the duties ofwatching over and loving Marty. Rustywas nearby, and he looked wonderful, his bright eyes sparkling at the Event thatwas so important to all the animals. Hisbrother Flash watched from below. Although Flash was blind, St. Frank had lethim be able to see his beloved brother this one last time. Flash danced in place a little bit because hewas so excited to know that one day he would be whole again, too. Poco and Honey sat with Rusty, and called out“Give everyone our love!”

Finally,everyone saw two humans, Steve and Ken. Ken had been called first, and Steve had followed just a short timebehind. They were best friends and they had some of their corgis with them.Many Watchers recognized Boyer and Dutchess. Dusty peered up at them with eyes that could see clearly tonight, and hegently and softly arroo’ed a greeting to his friends. Steve and Ken waved backdown, and Tribble wagged his tail in joy to see how happy and young they alllooked again.

ChapterNine

Aftera while, the animals and people in the choir began to fade away. Although the Watchers felt the loss, theyalso were full of joy at having seen their loved ones and knowing that theDeparted were all right, happy and healthy again. A rustle could be heard as more than a fewmuzzles were wiped on the blankets and straw.

Butsoon everyone’s attention was drawn back to the stable. There was Julius, right down in the middle ofeverything, wagging his flag of a tail and being his usual silly self. Theodore was horrified. Julius had been right next to him, but he hadbeen so transfixed by the wonderful events that he had never even seen Juliusgo. He was responsible for the puppy and here Julius was, wrecking the Watching!But Theodore was frozen, helpless to do anything.

TheBaby seemed to be listening to everything the young corgi was trying to tellHim. Then, off to the side, Theodorenoticed a light, much like the faint light that he had seen in the cave when hefound the squirrel’s bottle. He and theothers strained to see. There was achild in the light! What did thismean? Suddenly, Julius whirled around, called“Boy! Boy!” and began to run toward thechild as fast as he could. Then Theodore knew. He just knew in his heart what was happening. This was Julius’ Boy, the one whom Juliusloved so much and from whom he had been parted. And this Boy was on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

Juliussuddenly stopped. His tail was heldhigh, then it drooped, as he looked back over his shoulder for his friend. Theodore met his eyes. He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell Julius to not go, but heknew how much the pup loved his Boy. Slowly, hardly believing he was doing it, he gave a nod, and under hisbreath he said “Go, Julius, go to your Boy!”

AndJulius did just that. The pup flunghimself into the child’s arms, and they laughed and rolled together. It made everyone smile, but what did it allmean? The puppy’s tail wagged fasterthan anyone had ever seen it wag before. It was a joyous reunion, and many of the Elders wiped away a tear ortwo, remembering when they were young and had Boys or Girls to play with. All the animals were glad that the Boy andthe pup were so happy together again.

Aftera short time the light, the young Boy, and the little blue merle Cardigan puppyfaded away. This confused many of theanimals. Where had the Boy and Julius gone? They looked around for some guidance.

St.Frank quickly stepped in to comfort and reassure the Watchers. He explainedthat the child had crossed over the Bridge a few months before. The Boy had hada bond with Julius that could never be broken, ever, just as everyone there hada bond with another animal or human that would last for eternity. That Lovewould never go away. The puppy had livedfor the Boy and when the Boy was gone, Julius’ heart was gone, too. Julius had kept asking everyone he knew wherethe Boy was, and the only one who had the answer was the Baby. St. Frankexplained that this knowledge was part of the love that the Baby had for all ofus, and that sometimes He just wanted a person or an animal back sooner than thoseon Earth felt was long enough. But theBaby knew that the Boy and Julius belonged together forever, and it was madeso.

ThenSt. Frank motioned to Theodore. “Come,please, Theodore.” Now Theodore was ableto move and he walked slowly across the field through the dark to St.Frank. “The Baby wants to pet you” wasall St Frank said, and motioned down the hill.

Theodore’sheart was breaking. He had come to love Juliusas a brother and as a friend, and he had hoped to spend many years togetherwith the pup. He walked up to the Baby,who stood on unsteady legs, and the Baby laid His Hand on Theodore’s back tomaintain His balance. Theodore feltPeace and Comfort go through his body. Hisheart suddenly felt full again, and the hole that he had felt after Julius leftwas gone. He closed his eyes to the restof the world and just stood there with the Baby. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but thenhe felt himself being picked up. St. Frank scratched the youngster’s ears. Theodore looked around and saw that everyonein the Watching Field was packing up to go.

“Whathappened?” he asked St. Frank. St. Frankrubbed Theodore’s neck and said “Your marking is back on your head. Did you feel the Baby touch you there?”

Theodoredidn’t know what he felt. It seemed like it had been an instant, and it seemedlike it had been forever. “No,” he saidsimply.

“TheBaby gave you back your special mark. Itis the Chinese mark for Peace. You willhave Peace all your days, Theodore, and will have a special gift for bringingit to others. Maybe you could walk withthe Elders on the way home. I’m surethey could draw on your gift and be helped by it. And Theodore? I have something special for you.”

Atthis, St. Frank took out a grubby package containing the blue toy that Juliushad made for him. Theodore knew it wasJulius’ gift to him because he could smell Julius’ scent on the wrinkled paperand on the toy. Theodore would treasurethis special gift his whole life.

Andso Theodore walked all the way back to the Castle with the Elders, and everyonewho was near him felt a soft and velvet feeling of comfort when they talked tohim or even just walked near to him. Forall his days, he would bring Peace to those around him.

If you loved this story, you can buy the book with the original artwork by talented corgi artists at http://www.corgiaid.org/watching/2011/
along with the other two Watching books.

Please feel free to leave comments if you would like to!

May you all have a lovely Christmas with your families and your animals!

The Watching, 2010, A Corgi Puppy's Christmas Surprise by Millie Williams, copyright 2010

2010-12-24T10:18:00.001-05:00

Chapter One

Justin and Topaz looked at each other and sighed. There was no help for it—the puppies were in choir practice again, and one pup was severely out of tune. In fact, it could be argued that she was nowhere near “in tune.” No one knew what to do about the unearthly racket. The two elder corgis removed themselves from the shady spot where they had been sitting, peacefully contemplating the big back field, and wandered up to the Castle where the walls would give what remained of their hearing some protection.

Down by the barn, a steady stream of animals fled the noise as the off-key shrieking continued. The crows had flown away as soon as they saw the young corgis congregating. Blanco, the white burro, took off at a brisk trot for the farthest edge of the field, along with the goats and the other horses, and even the chickens were clucking loudly, trying to drown out the horrible noise as they scurried away.

Charlotte, who was trying to get the puppies to sing nicely, was frustrated. She didn’t know what to do that would not hurt the little puppy’s feelings. The problem was the puppy called Twice, who got her name because she would not come if you called her only “Once.” Twice’s attempts at singing hurt everyone’s ears. After a few minutes, Charlotte clapped her paws and told all the puppies that they were dismissed for the day. Then she had a long drink at the water trough and turned to find her sister, Aisling, standing nearby.

“Something must be done,” Aisling began. But seeing the defeated look on Charlotte’s face, she fell silent.

“I have tried everything to help the child, but she just cannot sing, and she makes up in volume and enthusiasm what she lacks in tone,” Charlotte mused. “Perhaps the Lady-In-Waiting will have an idea that will help.”

With that, the two red corgis dashed to the Castle to consult the Lady-In-Waiting. Soon, they were seated at her feet and filled her in on the whole affair. The Lady-In-Waiting thought for a bit, then suggested that perhaps Twice could be pulled out of the choir to utilize a different, more appropriate skill instead of singing. After all, everyone had a talent of some sort, and so they just had to encourage Twice to use the one with which she had been blessed. Charlotte and Aisling agreed that this might be a solution and said they would think about it.

Chapter Two

Later that day, Twice was playing in the leaves under Grandfather Oak, the huge tree that grew in the middle of the forest beyond the Castle. He provided a home to many birds, squirrels, raccoons, and mice. The Castle corgis often came out to be near him, although no one really understood why they were so attracted to being under that particular tree. But Twice knew.

Grandfather Oak was the oldest oak tree in the world. His time in the Castle forest numbered more than 800 human years. Few knew that there was really only one old Oak Spirit, who was the father of all the oak trees in the world. When Grandfather’s wooden body had too many lightning strikes, or his roots weakened, or he had a hard few years without enough water, or he itched from bugs, he would gently slip from one wooden body to another one—a younger one that came from an acorn he produced and that had been buried by a squirrel. That next tree, in turn, would produce an acorn that might be picked up by a child and forgotten until it was dropped along the way miles and months later. In this way, the Earth had been populated by oaks, all springing from the first Oak, Grandfather Oak. Any time he wished, he could change location and live within another oak body.

Sometimes Grandfather Oak chose a warmer climate, sometimes cooler. He liked to remain in one tree for hundreds of years, but he would abandon one tree for another one quite quickly because of what some might think were silly reasons. He was not fond of the wind, and he did not like animals that lived in his branches and stayed up all night. It was one thing for them to go out and forage at dusk, returning at dawn to be welcomed into lush branches, but quite another for them to play and rattle branches and leaves all night long. Sometimes he waited patiently for those animals to move on; other times he just left.

Twice had felt Grandfather Oak’s spirit the first time she was taken to the tree as a very young puppy. She recognized his welcoming warmth for the puppies in her litter and their mother, and for the other corgis who had come along to show the puppies this new place to play. She sat and watched the tree for a long time, trying to understand. Then, like magic, Grandfather Oak touched minds with the small tri-colored puppy. They instantly bonded, and soon they began to converse.

Twice became like a child to Grandfather Oak. She visited the old tree daily, sometimes staying all day, sometimes making two or three trips back and forth. The tree was always glad to see the puppy and greeted her with a rustle of his leaves and a smile that Twice could feel but not really see. Once she had been caught in a rainstorm, and Grandfather Oak reached his mighty branches down, down, down, making a completely waterproof shelter for Twice. When she eventually arrived back at the Castle, several corgis asked her how she stayed so completely dry in the torrent. Twice told everyone she had run so fast that she ran between the raindrops, which made everyone laugh and forget their question.

Often, Grandfather Oak would tell her stories, and she would listen so avidly that she could almost hear his words with her big ears, imagining that the tree had the voice of a strong, elder human. She became so good at this that she believed he was speaking with an actual voice. The stories were wonderful, better than any she had ever heard elsewhere, except maybe from her Grandmother Hayley. Grandfather Oak particularly enjoyed sharing his stories with Twice, because it was very uncommon for another creature to understand that he was there and to seek his friendship.

Chapter Three

On the day when Charlotte dismissed choir practice in frustration, Twice sought out the old oak to tell him what had happened. As she talked, she carefully opened up milkweed pods and blew the fluffy seeds about. She knew she couldn’t sing, she said, but she’d thought that she could make up for this by being very loud. Now, though, she had been told that she was going to have another type of lesson—just as soon as the corgis and humans could decide what kind of lesson this might be.

Grandfather Oak rustled his leaves in thought, and then he had an idea.

“Twice, there is something that you can do for me,” he began, and the little corgi looked up at him. “Look over behind me, to the North, and be very careful where you step.”

Twice hopped up and began to sniff about. Following commands like “further that way” and “go closer to the blueberry bush,” she suddenly realized there was something alive on the ground.

“Easy, child, easy” whispered the old oak tree. “Pick it up gently.” And she did. It was a small bird with a broken wing. The bird was exhausted from trying to fly and too scared to move. She brought it to the oak’s trunk and looked up inquiringly.

“Twice, take this bird to the Castle. He will help you, as you help him. Go now, he is hungry and tired, and the people at the Castle will help you with him. Run along!” he said encouragingly.

So Twice ran swiftly back to the Castle, trying not to jar the small bird or to slobber on him. Everyone was surprised at what Twice had brought home. The Royal Chef made some bread and milk for the bird to eat, and the Lady-In-Waiting found a box, placed the tired bird on some soft cloth in the bottom, then called the Doctor to tend to him.

In a few weeks, the wing was healed but the bird, whom they named Jasper, could not fly. He could flutter up to the back of a chair, or a human could lift him gently to a branch. But when he wanted to go somewhere, he rode on Twice’s back. Jasper was a mockingbird, so he could sing any other bird’s song that he heard. He could also whistle tunes that he learned from the Emperor. He was a most talented bird, and Twice loved to listen to him. She still wanted to sing very badly, but she’d stopped trying after her bad experiences in choir practice.

Twice continued her daily visits with Grandfather Oak, and one day he presented her with a baby bird who had tried to fly when he was too young. The bird’s mother had not been able to find him because he had hopped beyond where she was searching. And so, another bird came into Twice’s care.

Through the summer, Twice acquired several birds of different sizes, shapes, and colors. There was a cardinal who was redder than the barn, and a bluebird who had been so intent on catching a bug that he had flown right into Grandfather Oak and knocked himself silly. He was not really injured, only stunned, and recovered quickly. But the bluebird discovered that he enjoyed the little corgi and her collection of birds, which grew to include a sparrow, small and bright-eyed, and a chickadee. Two nuthatches lost their mother, and it took quite an effort to get them down to safety from the tree next door to Grandfather Oak. Twice ended up summoning a Royal Footman with her hysterical barking as the little birds’ calls to their mother got weaker and weaker. But Jasper was her favorite. The birds and the corgi often went out to see Grandfather Oak together. The birds did not understand him at all, but they enjoyed sitting in his branches and being with what felt like a protector.

Finally, Grandfather Oak suggested that Twice try to teach the birds to sing together. She seemed to have a talent for this because, after all, she knew what bad singing sounded like. Getting the birds to sing in chorus wasn’t that hard, as birds are good singers.

No one at the Castle knew about these lessons; in fact, finding another talent that could be explored with Twice had been totally forgotten in the busy summer season. All the humans knew was that Twice would show up every couple of weeks with another bird who had had an unfortunate accident. And everyone liked the birds very much, especially the Royal Chef, who went to the effort of baking a new kind of bread for them each day. All in all, everyone was glad that the birds were Twice’s friends and so had become part of the Castle family.

Chapter Four

All summer, Grandfather Oak told Twice stories, which she would relate to the birds, and the birds would sing back to her in thanks. Grandfather Oak’s stories covered centuries and centuries. Some were his own experiences during his travels about the Earth, and some he had learned from others.

In the fall, Grandfather Oak turned his leaves into magnificent shades of red and gold. Although it was hard for Twice to see these colors through her corgi eyes, she could feel them, just as she felt Grandfather Oak’s voice, and she knew that it was a beautiful sight. One day she brought the humans from the Castle to admire the tree, and the Lady-In-Waiting gathered up a bag of leaves with which to decorate the Great Hall. Grandfather Oak was pleased that the Lady-In-Waiting thought he was so beautiful. Twice giggled when she heard him say that, which made Grandfather Oak blush, turning more of his leaves red.

Soon, though, the leaves all fell to the ground, and Grandfather Oak began his solitary time. The birds that usually nested in his protective branches went south, the squirrels sought out thickets and dead trees with holes where they could make winter nests, and the other animals drifted away. Twice and the birds still came out to see Grandfather Oak, but many days were not good for traveling, and sometimes it was very windy, which the birds did not like.

One day, Twice went out alone to Grandfather Oak and laid by his side, where she was protected. She and the Old Oak talked all day, and Twice—who was getting good at telling stories—was complimented by Grandfather Oak. She told him about the Watching, which was a very special celebration held each December near the Castle for all the animals who cared to come. She had not been old enough to go the Watching the year before, and she knew there were many secrets about it that would only be revealed when she was finally a Watcher herself in a few weeks. But she had been learning about the Castle traditions and celebrations leading up to the Watching, said to be the happiest time of all for the animals at the Castle and the wild animals that lived nearby.

Grandfather Oak, who had heard of the Watching, sighed. He wanted more than anything to see the Watching with his little friend, but it took much effort for him to change earthly homes into a new wooden body, and he didn’t think he was ready for this just yet. Perhaps he would wait through the lifetime of this charming little corgi and her friends at the Castle, because it wasn’t often that he found someone to converse with, and he and Twice had become very good friends. He listened intently to Twice, and said that maybe one day he would go to the Watching with her, and they would sit together. Twice looked at him doubtfully. How could such a big oak tree travel several miles to see the Watching?

Chapter Five

Finally it was December, and preparations for The Watching began in earnest. The first tradition was decorating the trees that surrounded the Castle. Every year, the Royal Gardeners planted new pine and fir trees. These were too young to be decorated their first year, but in a few years, they would grow up to replace trees that had become straggly, or that died, or that got too big for anyone to decorate. Each group of corgis and other animals was given a tree, chosen by lottery to be sure that everyone had a chance at the best trees. Often the straggliest trees were the best decorated, for they seemed to shine under the attention given to them, and they would proudly hold their branches up a little higher and a little straighter.

The horses and Blanco the burro were together in one group, which required help from the Royal Footmen. Their tree was decorated with bells, mistletoe, holly, and red bows. It was a very imaginative tree, as horses are usually more concerned with carrots, apples, and sugary treats. Every now and then, one of the horses would bump the tree to hear the bells ring, and then they would all neigh. That made everyone laugh!

The humans, led by the Lady-In-Waiting, decorated a lovely tree with food for the wild animals of the woods, placing hay at the bottom along with a heated bucket of water, so that there would always be a drink available. The tree itself had suet balls, peanut clusters, peanut butter rolled up into slices of bread, orange slices, and dried apples strung on string, along with small cups of dried blueberries and nuts. This tree would be replenished every day during the winter so that everyone would always be able to find something to eat. All year, the Lady-In-Waiting had also saved bags full of corgi hair from brushing the Castle corgis, and she tucked bits all over the tree so that small animals could line their winter nests with it. The mice were delighted beyond words (had they had any words at all, that is) with their warm bits of fluff.

Princess Cheveu, a tri-colored fluffy corgi, and her best friend, Esmerelda, carefully arranged a lovely pink and white tree, their favorite colors. Esmerelda was secretly a turkey, but several years ago she had masqueraded as a flamingo to avoid becoming Thanksgiving dinner. The younger corgi girls always helped Princess Cheveu and Esmerelda with their tree.

The elder corgis and animals worked together on another tree with ornaments that featured baby animals of all kinds. There were even baby zebras, which led to some discussion about exactly what one called a baby zebra—a zebrette or a foal? Everyone agreed that the Elders’ tree was the most original.

Twice could not decide which tree committee she wanted to be on, so finally the Royal Chef said he would help her and the birds with their own special tree. They decorated a small tree with cookies cut out in the shape of oak leaves and decorated in red and gold, along with clusters of acorns that had been glued on tennis balls and sprinkled with glitter. The birds added red ribbons, and although it was not a traditional looking tree, Twice and the birds were praised for their original idea. Jasper balanced on Twice’s back and whistled songs of the season, while the other birds chattered as they attached the long ribbons that blew gaily in the breeze. Twice could not wait to tell Grandfather Oak how much everyone liked her tree.

Chapter Six

Another tradition was the gift giving. Each animal chose out of a big basket two names, either human or animal, for whom they would make a gift. Some gifts were hard to make, especially with tiny puppy feet, such as stringing brightly-dyed macaroni for a necklace. Everyone knew who was making those macaroni necklaces because of the occasional stains of blue or yellow on a white fur bib. Other gifts included cookies baked under the Royal Chef’s expert eyes, a piece of colored paper folded carefully into an origami shape, and a marigold grown specially in a tin can that had been painted with love. There was much whispering, especially among the youngsters, about what they were making. The staff at the Castle would also make sure that each corgi got a new squeak toy, a new ball, and a new rawhide; the elder corgis would receive special food treats and a new neckerchief.

Twice was delighted to have picked Jasper’s name. She asked the Royal Chef to help her prepare a special suet cake with seeds and dried berries in it. It was about the size and shape of a donut, and she carefully tied a red bow on it so it could be hung on the branch where Jasper slept each night, next to her bed. She had also gotten the Emperor’s name and spent a lot of time thinking about what he might like. Finally, Grandfather Oak suggested that she walk along the stream and look for an unusual rock that the Emperor could use as a paperweight. Twice searched and searched and finally found a very smooth stone with marks on it that looked something like a buffalo. Grandfather Oak told Twice that she could ask the Lady-In-Waiting to help her glue a piece of felt on the bottom, so the rock would not scratch the Emperor’s desk.

As the time for the Watching grew closer, the youngest animals, who had not attended it before, were given classes in the appropriate behavior. The Watching was a most serious affair, yet also very joyous. No one was allowed to speak, so the youngsters had to practice silence—not an easy lesson for busy pups. St. Frank, benefactor and confidant of all the animals in the world, worked with them until they were able to sit still for an hour and not say anything.

An animal must have reached the age of six months to become a First Watcher, and on the morning of the journey to see the Watching, all the First Watchers would be presented with new collars, blue or red, and each with a silver star with a diamond in the center and their name on it. Most never wore this collar again, but it was treasured and kept in a safe place so it could be brought out and shown to other youngsters in years to come.

The First Watchers were not told what the actual ceremony would be, only that they must sit, pay careful attention, and not speak or make any noise. There was nothing like the First Watching, everyone said, and the youngsters would remember their First Watching with great joy if the surprise was kept.

The youngsters practiced walking long distances, because the Watching Field was several miles away and the only humans allowed to go were the various Saints—St. Frank, St. Nick, who loved all youngsters, human and animal, St. Val, who practiced love where ever he went, and St. John, recently of this earth but now working with The Boss in Heaven. Wagons and carts were cleaned and repaired, and harnesses and bells were polished until everything sparked and shone like the sun. Blanco, the horses, and some of the goats would help to pull the wagons, which would hold supplies such as warm blankets and snacks, and, most important of all, the elderly ones who could no longer walk the several miles to and from the Watching Field.

Chapter Seven

At last, after what seemed like forever, it was time for The Watching! Everyone got up early and had a quick bite to eat, as they were all eager to get on the road through the woods. Each animal had on something festive—a collar made of holly or with bells attached to it, or a pretty coat. All the First Watchers had on their new collars and proudly strutted up and down, showing them to anyone who would look. Of course, all the older animals admired them.

Twice’s birds all had bits of ribbon tied to their legs, and Jasper, who could not fly anyway, had a tiny little bell on a ribbon around his neck. He was very proud of it and perched safely on Twice’s back while the other birds flew to and fro, chattering happily. When no one was looking, Twice quickly shoved a very tiny bundle under some blankets in one of the wagons.

The goats stood patiently as their red harnesses were adjusted and then backed carefully into the arms of the carts they were to pull. The horses and Blanco pulled bigger wagons with piles of blankets, and on top of these were all the elder animals. The horses stamped their feet and whinnied, and the goats wagged their little tails happily. St. Frank and the other Saints had a hard time keeping the First Watchers together because they seemed to be everywhere, and the Saints did not want to lose anyone.

Finally, all was in readiness. First to set off was Blanco, pulling his little cart, with Princess Cheveu leading him. His bells danced and sang as he pranced along, and his cart held the very Eldest animals, whose eyes were bright with anticipation. They had been wrapped up very carefully by the humans so they would not get chilled. Next in line were the First Watchers, rambunctious and full of energy—corgis, other dogs, some young goats, and a couple of kittens. Twice and her birds were in this group. St. Frank walked with them and, within a few moments, St. Frank’s dearest friend, Brother Wolf, slipped out of the woods and joined them. The First Watchers were stunned into silence; they had known that there would be many wondrous things to see, but surely none more wondrous than a tame wolf who obeyed St. Frank? Soon they overcame their uneasiness, however, and showed Brother Wolf their new collars while they chattered with excitement.

Next came the corgis with wheels, all decorated with red this year. They frisked along in their little carts. It was not their fault they had only two legs that worked and two wheels. They were always so cheerful, and one could not help but admire their courage. They were followed by the rest of the goats who were not pulling carts. The goats were quick little walkers and kept up easily with the larger animals. Someone had even woven ribbon into the beard of Splash, who was the head goat, and he baa’ed as he led his girls on the trip. The horses with their wagons followed and finally the rest of the grown up animals who had attended The Watching in years before. The long trip would take most of the day, with a few stops to rest and have a drink of water. The humans at the Castle waved until the last of the animals were over the top of the hill. It was barely snowing, just enough to be pretty and not worrisome.

St. Frank felt a sense of calm satisfaction as the group finally approached a wide field on the side of a big hill. Trees around the edge, mostly young pines, would give shelter from the wind and weather if necessary, and they also provided a place for the wild animals to feel secure, especially with a wolf roaming about. Brother Wolf would not hurt any animal, but it was hard for most to believe that. The Watchers arrived with a minimum of fuss. There had only been a couple of skinned elbows when youngsters tripped as they romped, and none of the elders had complained about the cold, in spite of the light snow that was coming down.

The Watchers spread blankets on the ground, and the more experienced Watchers checked to be sure that everyone was comfortable and wouldn’t have to wiggle about. St. Frank and the other Saints carefully carried each elder corgi or other animal to a place up front so they could see the special events of the night. The Saints gently touched the elders here and there to remove pain and to provide clear sight and good hearing for the night, so they could enjoy what might be, for some, their last Watching on this Earth. On one side of the elders were the wheelcorgis, and on the other side were the First Watchers. Brother Wolf always stayed with the First Watchers, and many of them cuddled up to his thick coat to help stay warm. Behind these groups, the rest of the animals congregated, friends seeking out friends.

The sun set quietly, and the animals waited in the dark. The snow had stopped, and the stars above were brighter and clearer than anyone could remember from other years. Many animals napped, and all that could be heard was the sound of breathing and the occasional snore or rustle as someone shifted a little. Along the edge of the field, the Saints kept watch. At some point, Twice and Jasper got up to go up the hill, claiming they needed a drink, and they were warned to not drink much, as they could not leave their places once the Watching began. Twice fetched the small bundle she had hidden in a wagon and carried it carefully in her mouth back to her place. When she was sure that no one was looking at her, she quickly dug a small hole and buried the bundle, patted down the ground, and sat on it.

Chapter Eight

When the night seemed the darkest and the stars their brightest, a First Watcher softly said, “Oh!” and everyone began to sit up to see what was happening. Wakefulness spread through the gathering like ripples from a pebble dropped in a pond, and those animals sleeping the deepest were gently shaken awake by their friends.

In the sky came a riffle of faint yellow, then another, then another. The riffles marched along in rows, and then faded as blue streaks raced across the sky. The colors changed, reflected, sparkled, and danced. The First Watchers, who had never seen anything like this before, were very excited. Soon, the stars began to move into patterns. This was something new, and even the Saints watched with anticipation. One pattern was like a reindeer that was running, one appeared to be a flying eagle, and one resembled a mighty tree blowing in the wind that Twice just knew was Grandfather Oak.

Finally, the colors began to mute and blend together, with just a few sparkles mixed in. It became very dark again as the stars rearranged themselves into their normal patterns, and everyone held their breath in expectation of what might come next.

Down at the foot of the hill, under some trees, appeared a small building, not much bigger than a tool shed. The doors opened up and a figure came out. The Man gave a slight groan of relief as he stretched his back. He must have been sitting down for a while, all the elder animals thought to themselves—they understood how he felt, and so they smiled. The Lady followed, carrying a bundle in her arms, and the First Watchers wondered what it could be. She sat down on a small upside down bucket and gently unwrapped the bundle. Everyone shifted a little so they could get a clear view. It was a Baby! He was sleeping, and those closest to him could see His little mouth make an “O” shape as He breathed. More than one mother animal thought He was the sweetest Baby they had ever seen, and they yearned to go near Him.

The Man and the Woman had a little conversation, but no one could quite make out what they were saying. Then, from one side of the field, came a group of sheep, with two shepherds leading them, and a border collie. The border collie crawled up to the Baby, wagged his tail in greeting, and offered a paw to the Man. Later on, some of the animals who had sat closest to the scene told their friends that the Man said “Good boy!” to him.

In a few minutes, three strange beasts approached from the other side of the field. The First Watchers were amazed for they had never before seen any animals like these. They were camels, exotic beasts that can go for days without water or food, yet stay strong and sure-footed as they carry humans on a journey. The humans on the backs of these camels wore crowns and rich-looking clothes. They got off and came to the Family, offering gifts. The First Watchers now understood that this was why they had made gifts for each other at the Castle. This was a Watching tradition!

While the animals and Saints looked upon the scene, the Lady smiled and thanked the visitors for their gifts. She sat the Baby, who was now awake, on the ground, and the border collie lay down next to Him to help Him keep His balance. The Baby gurgled, smiled, and looked up at His Mother, who smiled back at Him.

Twice caught Jasper’s eye. They apparently had the same sudden inspiration. With the unspoken language that animals have, they passed along a secret message to the birds who had become Twice’s charges.

Chapter Nine

And then a song began, soft yet strong, powerful yet gentle as a puppy’s sweet kiss. At first, the Watchers could hear only music and rhythm. But after a few minutes they heard a chorus of voices. The words slowly became clearer, and all the corgis and other animals and Saints looked up toward the stars, where they saw a most wonderful sight—an enormous number of animals and people, all singing beautifully together. Their song spoke of joy and love, of happiness, of kindness to all. All the animals understood the song, as did the Saints.

The Watchers all began to look in the choir for their friends who had left this earth to go above. Many of the Watchers stood up for a better view. There was always enough time to seek, and no one ever came away without finding those whom they had loved and who had gone on before. Some of the elder animals, who knew this was their last Watching on this side, dabbed their eyes and admired how young their old friends now looked, how happy and how beautiful.

In the center of the choir was a corgi named Bridget, and next to her was Indy, her dearest lifelong friend. They had been called to the Boss very close to each other, first Bridget and then Indy. Sitting around them were five baby girl corgis who all had pink ribbons around their necks, from the lightest pink of a rose to the deepest pink of a sunrise. One pup was clutching a half empty bag of marshmallows, and many of the Watchers thought she looked a little gooey. No one said anything, but they smiled at the sticky baby.

The Watchers had all heard of Bridget, who had taken her puppies with her when she answered the Boss’s call. She had loved them so much. It had been devastatingly sad for those who were left behind and seemed so unfair. But seeing them all together and well cared for under the Boss’s kind Hands, everyone felt so much better. It was always hard to lose anyone, young or old, but everyone was touched by seeing the ever-so-cute little ones. Indy carefully reached over and took the bag of marshmallows from the smallest puppy and tucked it behind him, so that it wouldn’t distract the animals who were watching below them. At a word from him, the little corgis smiled and raised their paws in a newly learned wave to the Watchers. At this, several older corgis wiped a tear or two from their eyes. They could not wait to get home and tell everyone that Indy, Bridget, and the baby girls were just fine.

Darby, sitting below, held his breath. Look, it was Molly! She had been lost during surgery, and there she was. He stood and wagged his short tail, and his eyes shone with happiness. Suki, who was now Darby’s little sister and had come after Molly had left, was ecstatic to see her predecessor. She was thankful that Molly came and whispered in her ear “Mom likes it when you lie down and offer your belly to be rubbed” and other advice. Molly saw Darby and blew him a kiss for Jane, the human she loved and missed so much. Biscuit, the lab, was sitting on one side of Molly and called out, “Tell Mom I miss her!” Jack was sitting with Molly, and he waved to all those below. “Look!” he called out, “I don’t need my wheels anymore!” and in sheer joy, he jumped up and down a few times, causing a titter among the Watchers. Next to Jack was Rummy, who had also needed a cart. How happy he was to not only be walking again but able to fly as well. Both boys waved very hard to the crowd below.

Everyone gasped when they saw Maggie, the brindle corgi. Although she had been beautiful on Earth, she was breathtaking now. In her special way, she waved to all who missed her, and barked the lovely song that all the ones above were singing. She had finally learned that not everything belonged to her, it all belonged to the Boss, but that was all right. She just followed Him around a lot and pretended it all belonged to her.

It was also exciting to see Reba the Svelte—and svelte she was! Her copper coat gleamed with sparkly highlights, and the Watchers were pleased to see her looking so well. Her friends Owain, Heart, Pandee, and Olivia waved as hard as they could and were so glad to see how happy she was. Next to Reba sat Teddy, who also had a lifelong obsession with food. They had often exchanged stories of how to best get food down from where the humans felt it was inaccessible. Now they were the best of friends, and Teddy waved to Louis and Barnianne, who missed their old friend very much. It was so good to see him again.

Booty was there, too. She was a very special horse who had run very fast in races on earth. Then her legs and feet had given out on her and she had to leave. She whinnied out that she ran every day in horse races in big green fields, and no one cared who won—it was just the racing that they enjoyed. And running didn’t hurt her legs anymore. The horses below all shook their heads and softly snorted at the joy of seeing her well again.

Watcher Rylie, who was lying on a soft warm blanket because he had to use a cart, looked up and finally found his dear friend Wendy. Wendy had been very ill, and he had wondered how she could ever be well again. But there she was, safe and healthy! He smiled and could not wait to tell their mother how happy she looked.

And Jackson was there. He was a beautiful beagle who had suddenly gotten very sick and heard The Boss call him. Like a good boy, he left and ran swiftly to the Boss, who gave him the most wonderful petting he had ever had. The Boss knew all Jackson’s secret, favorite itchy spots. Jackson raised his head and howled when he saw Cheyenne and the others in his pack below, who were so happy to see him well again.

Although it seemed like a very short time, in reality, the actual Watching took quite a while. Everyone had time to search for their friends and loved ones who had gone over the Bridge. All had a chance to see, to cry, to remember, to rejoice in the health and happiness they could see in the departed ones. There was enough time for the elders and those animals who were ill to understand that the place they would go to soon, too soon for some, was joyful and peaceful. And then, even though there had been enough time, it was nearly over.

Chapter Ten

The song began to fade and, as it did, the figures in the sky gave a last wave. In a few moments, the animals and people in the sky were gone. The field was silent. No one had cried out, no one had yapped in happiness at seeing someone they desperately missed. The animals were sitting quietly when one suddenly called out, “Look! Down there!” and pointed toward the bottom of the hill. For the first time that anyone could remember, the scene with the Family had not faded along with the figures in the sky. Next to the Family, more figures had appeared and, because the light was dim, it took a few moments for the animals to realize what they were seeing.

It was Twice, with her birds lined up in a single line on the ground—except for Jasper, who sat on Twice’s back. He waved his good wing and all the birds began to sing a song that no bird had ever sung before, quiet, but joyous. Although some of the animals had to cock their heads to hear clearly, no one missed a single note. The Baby watched, fascinated, and the Man shook his head in disbelief. What magic this was, to have birds come to sing to The Baby! Although the song was short, it was sung perfectly, in harmony. And then a ripple of quiet comments spread through the crowd because someone had noticed that Twice was softly singing, too. She did it without thinking, to help the birds with the rhythm. Her sweet voice complimented the song, without any of the shrieking and sharp notes that used to cause listeners such distress.

When the song was over, the Man and the Woman bowed their heads in thanks, and one of the men on the camels approached. Jasper fluttered up to his shoulder, and the man stood very still, for he had never seem a bird do anything like this before. He quietly conveyed his thanks for the lovely song, and Jasper fluttered awkwardly back to Twice’s back. The Baby gurgled and reached His little hands up, and, with great effort, Jasper fluttered down to Him.

And then, a miracle happened. For without asking, only through Jasper’s giving pleasure to the Baby, the mockingbird’s wing was made strong and whole again! None of the animals realized it at first, but then they saw Jasper fly easily up to Twice’s back and stretch out a straight wing, which before had been deformed. From the crowd came gasps of surprise and murmurings of happiness at being a witness to this miracle. A few moments later, the whole scene faded away, and the Watchers were all on their feet, stretching and calling to Twice to thank her for the song.

Twice scampered up the hill to St. Frank, exclaiming, “I can sing! I can sing!” and St. Frank petted her, telling her that she could always sing, but now, when she sang with love, it was beautiful. “You were trying too hard before,” he said, and smiled at her. Then, to her surprise, he said “You and I will come out to the field in the spring. We must water Grandfather Oak and place a small fence around him, so that no one will step on the seedling.”

Twice was surprised that St. Frank knew her secret—but then St. Frank knew everything about all of the animals. For Twice had buried an acorn. Grandfather Oak had never actually been born, he had just come to Be, so he couldn’t count his age. He had so wanted to attend the Watching, but Watchers had to be more than six months old. If one of his acorns wintered on the hill and sprouted in the spring, however, he could count the day he sprouted as his real birthday. He had loved Twice’s idea that he be planted there in the special field so that he could observe the Watching for years to come and help watch over the animals each year. Although it would be a very long walk for Twice to visit him in this new home, she was still young, and she could bring the birds and another corgi or two with her.

St. Frank blessed the acorn and the spot where Twice had planted it, and the spirit of Grandfather Oak immediately entered the acorn. He was tired, and he looked forward to resting, then sprouting in a new wooden body when the winter was over.

“Sleep well, Grandfather,” said Twice, and she heard him reply, “Happy Watching, child—I will greet you in the spring.” Then he began to snore quietly.

In Remembrance of All the Special Friends Who Went to the Bridge This Year

Bridget and her puppies * Indy * Welshkins * Travis * Torry * El-a * Molly * Glory * Rusty * Buster * Sam * Poppy * Topaz * Piper * Misha * Toby * Satan * Dancer * Blackie * Uncle John * Parker * Lacy * Magic * Chris and Kinsey * Gizmo * Merridy * Stoney * Lark * Angus * Cami * Wrangler * Jerry Bear * Max * Molly * Billie * Miles * Stormy * Woody * Trooper * Libby * Kendal Clare Anne * Porter * Jack * Alys * Maggie * Reba * Camilla the Hun * Reggie * Cooper * Penny * Justin * Kirby * Titania * Hughie * Teddy * Smiley * Cadi * Ivan * Boyer * Glory Be * Biscuit * Pepper * Rummy * Shooter * Booty * Aurora * Marsha * Trixie * Nanny * Nurse Wendy * Calvin * Poppy * Jackson * Cowboy * Porter

(Be sure and add your comments about the story and please become a follower, as I do post some other things through the year.

Also be sure and view the Remembrance List which follows this posting for our dear loved ones who left us this past year.)

If you have enjoyed this story, you may order the book with the artwork at www.corgiaid.org. Click on the button that says "The Watching". All profits from the book go directly to help homeless corgis and corgi mixes to get healthy so they can be adopted by a new family!

God bless you all!

Those Whom We Remember....

2010-12-24T10:17:00.002-05:00

Lovely Trixie

Beautiful Topaz

Darling Teddy

Wonderful Woody

Awesome Arcie

Precious Rummy

Brilliant Sam

Fast Trev

Gorgeous Gwennie

Happy Ginsing

Pretty Porter

Smiley Riley

Wheelin' Travis

Cami Squirrel-Bane

Abby the Adorable

Lucious Lacy

Tim, a wonderful human and friend to all corgis

Trueheart Tasha

Ellie, who saw with her heart not her eyes

Molly who keeps an eye on everything

Dashing Dan Dan

Cute little Cowboy

Incredible Edie

Our favorite nurse, Nurse Wendy

Handsome Jerry Bear

Annie, Dances with Papillions

Odie and Lucky

Our Good Dylan

Magnificent Misha

The Watching is coming!

2010-11-14T19:12:00.000-05:00

Yes, here we go again! The Watching is coming! A brand new and wonderful story for 2010, to bring hope to your heart and joy to your spirit. The book will be mailed out on December 1, 2010, if you have preordered. Orders are coming in quickly! Here is the information about the book, starting with the lovely cover by Kim Hundley, from Michigan:

The Watching: A Corgi Puppy's Christmas Surprise

By Millie J. Williams
With original art by Lyn Hamer Cook, Sari Davies, Sue Duffield, Kay Folk, Karen Howell, Kim Hundley, Susan Jacob, Chris Landers, Ginnie Mickelson, Linda Ozelis, Diane Puntenney, Cindy Read, Cathy Santarsiero, John Scarinci, Barbie Sonnett, and Milllie J. Williams

“Everyone has a gift, they told the little corgi puppy called Twice, but hers certainly wasn't singing. Thrown out of chorus practice, Twice found solace with her friend Grandfather Oak and a flock of mismatched birds that he had helped her rescue. But with Christmas coming, Twice soon joined the rest of the corgis and other animals at the Castle in preparing for the Watching. This was the first year Twice would be old enough to attend this mysterious and magical event, so she didn't quite know what would happen in the field far beyond the Castle walls. She had a few secret plans of her own, however!”

The annual version of “The Watching” by Millie J. Williams, usually released for Christmas Eve, has become a tradition in corgidom, enjoyed each year by thousands of readers. The 2009 story―The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale―was published to wide acclaim as a beautiful full color paperback book with dazzling artwork. Now we are happy to offer the equally wonderful 2010 book, The Watching: A Corgi Puppy's Christmas Surprise.
This new book will ship beginning December 1, in time for the holidays. Pre-order now to be sure you have your book in time for Christmas. Orders placed before December 1 will receive a bonus bookmark with original Watching artwork.

Coming December 1: A special two-week-only eBay auction of the original art created for The Watching: A Corgi Puppy's Christmas Surprise.
Also Coming December 1: New holiday ornaments from CorgiAid's CafePress store featuring art from The Watching: A Corgi Puppy's Christmas Surprise.
All net proceeds for these books (after printing and shipping) benefit CorgiAid. The books are only $20 each, which includes shipping, so order extras as gifts for all your animal-loving friends, young and old. International orders are $27 each.

You can go to http://corgiaid.org/watching/2010/ to order the book. Also available is last year's Watching story (there is a new cast of characters and a new story each year). You can read more about last year's book here:
http://corgiaid.org/watching/2009/

Order for your family, friends, elementary school library and local libraries! And don't forget to get one for yourself! I promise you will love this year's story very much!

Thanks to you all for supporting CorgiAid and our mission of helping homeless corgis with their medical bills!

Faith, and other things

2010-05-25T13:29:00.000-04:00

Bet you thought you were going to see a sermon, huh? No, this is about Faith, a sweet girl that came to me from Eliya just about a year ago.

Faith somehow managed to break her leg at Eliya's when she was very young. When Eliya wrote me, I had my heart in my throat as she told me the story, I thought for sure she was going to say that she had to put Faith down and I just dearly loved this little one from the time I set eyes on her. She is so people friendly and stops whatever she is doing to come and see what you are doing. Follows us around all the time.

So Faith came home, with a cast on because we agreed that for an 11 hour car trip, it might be best to protect the leg even though Eliya felt it was healed. And then we took the cast off a day or two later. Within the week, she was jumping up onto the big wooden cable spools we have in lieu of mountains for our goats. A few times I had to wince, closing my eyes and turning my head, sure the next thing I heard would be a goat crying for help! But she managed fine and the leg is strong and well now.

Then she discovered sweet grass on the other side of the livestock fencing. This is 4 x 4, the panels which we felt were safest for the goats next to the horses. The little ones can stick their heads through and eat grass. Then everyone got too big to do it. Except Faith, who managed to work out the geometry and square inches and turn her head slightly and could wedge it in to get to the grass. For a couple of weeks I was able to unwedge her and had to remember to keep an eye out, as she would simply lie down and wait to be rescued. Often I'd find the other baby girls cuddled up next to her "this looks like a good place that Faith has chosen to nap in". I was worried about the hot sun on a very hot day.

Then, one day, I could not get her unstuck. Turned, twisted and pulled. Thought about vaseline, cooking oil or dish soap. She was really stuck. This time she yelled "GET ME OUT!" She also she used other language that I know did not come from Eliya's farm but from those other bigger girls who weren't raised with exactly the same goat morality that Eliya imprints upon her babies.

So a careful excision was attempted with a hacksaw, trying to not cut the goat's throat as she laid there, chewing her cut, certain that "it's all about me" and getting the attention that she so rightfully deserves. A small 4" chunk of metal was removed, the rescuers all thanked and sent on their way. For about an hour. And she did it again. There are a number of 4 x 8" holes in the fence now whereas they used to all be nice, neat, organized 4 x 4" holes. And I have learned a new skill, how to use a hacksaw. Goats are so good for teaching us how to do things.

Thankfully, Fall intervened, the grass withered and Faith lost interest in dry grass. But she sill goes out and eats the green grass thru the 4 x 8" holes now and lies down and looks at me like "I'm stuck, can you call all the nice people who pet me, again?" "No, Faith" I say as I wiggle her easily out of the way too big hole.

And then there was Sunday. I was on the phone with a friend, my cell really only works well in the yard. So I go and lean on the goat fence and admire my beauties and talk to the babies who yell "Maaaaaa!" at me in an attempt to get some extra milk. As I wandered out there, I saw a goat on top of the big round bale we just had placed there to save me a little time in the morning since I have to bottle feed the babies. There is a fence panel wrapped around it, a good idea I'd gotten from a local friend, and a tarp over the whole thing. And here is a goat. On top. Bouncing up and down like a trampoline. I will give you three guesses who it was. Yep. Faith. Who is having the time of her life and I have visions of her screaming "Banzai!!" and making a mighty leap off the bale. I have no idea how on earth she was ever able to get up there. I hung up quickly on my friend, tried to not panic and got in there as fast as I could. Faith didn't want to come down! She had discovered a new world, she was the biggest goat of all and had conquered a new mountain previously undiscovered by the other goats. Of course, I didn't go for a camera which I would have if I had realized what a really good time she was having.

Now you all know how to make a goat trampoline.

The Winter Olympics (2002)

2010-02-13T14:37:00.010-05:00

The little band of corgis got off the Kallista RV and looked about in awe. They were here! At the Olympics! Why, it had only been a couple of years since they attended the Summer Olympics in Australia and the time had flown by. So many things in the corgi world had changed since then.

The corgis gazed at the beautiful site and were proud to be there, representing Flufftopia and the Corgis of America.

Justin, the newest member of the pack, shifted around nervously. He really had to pee but didn't want to embarrass the others by lifting his leg in the wrong spot. Justin was a very sweet and very beautiful male and he tried hard to follow the rules of etiquette that the Princess insisted that they always follow. Mercifully, the Lady Hayley Boo noticed his distress and came to his aid.

"Let's just go over here on the grass for a few moments, children," she called out to the newest brood of Royal Baybees. All the baybees trouped over to the grass and did what they needed to do, receiving praise from all the adults present. Hayley followed along, holding tightly onto Barney Anne's little paw. Justin followed all of them, counting each little puppy to be sure that all were accounted for. Nine baybees was a lot to keep track of. The Princess had insisted that all of them come along, she claimed it would be educational for them as well as fun.

Now, Barney Anne was the littlest one. She was a very special little puppy that was all white with brown spots, like a pinto horse. Sometimes she was a baby and cried and the other baybees would make fun of her, but that made her mad and then she would try to bite them. She would still lie on her back and suck on her paws and even though all the baybees had done that, they had stopped and it was one more thing to tease her about. Hayley had to warn them constantly about teasing Barney Anne and sometimes had to grab an ear or a leg and give a little pinch to get her point across. Barney Anne had been named in honor of President Barney Hisself.

"I'll go and see where we need to go," volunteered Tierre, and her sister, Topaz accompanied her towards the offices of the Olympic Committee.

The corgis had arrived early, hoping to do a little sightseeing and hoping to scope out the arenas that they were competing in. The Princess had rented a lovely townhouse for them to stay in for a few days before and after the events and ceremonies.

They continued to stretch their legs and here and there, they saw other humans and dogs from other countries, wandering about. It looked like they were not the only ones here early.

Soon, the girls were back with brochures and file folders and envelopes for each corgi, with maps and information. They all climbed back on the RV and the Royal Footman drove them to the townhouse.

2

The next day dawned clear and bright. The little group of corgis was up at first light, they had so many things to do and were very excited about everything.

The Princess was in the kitchenette, pouring out bowls of cereal and putting them into rows so that each corgi could come in and take a bowl of cereal, a carton of milk and a spoon and napkin into the front room to eat. The TV was on the Today show and the corgis never missed the Today show unless something very important was going on.

"Barney Anne! Barney Anne! Where are you?" called the Princess, who had counted out 8 Royal Baybees eating breakfast, but knew she was missing one.

"She's coming, sister," said the Lady Hayley Boo as she came into the kitchenette. The two girls nuzzled each other's ears in greeting. They were indeed half sisters, the Honorable Lady Panda Bear was their mother, but she had been married twice before taking her Vow of Celibacy some years before.

"How is she doing this morning?" inquired the Princess.

"You know, I think her little foot is getting stronger. The doctor seemed to think it would with exercise. Her eyes are bright and she never stops asking questions. She's very curious, you know and wants to know about everything. I hardly have time to answer one question before she is asking about something else entirely differently. I don't even know if she hears the answers!"

Princess Cheveu laughed as she took a pile of dirty bowls to the sink to begin to wash. The Princess tried hard to be just like a regular corgi, yet maintain her Royal Dignity as well as good manners and exemplary breeding.

"She is a little pistol, all right. I was watching her practice her judo the other day. She's getting quite good at it! Perhaps in two years at the Summer Olympics? What do you think?"

Hayley shrugged. "You know, Cheveu, I always tell my children that they can be anything they want to be if they can dream it and work hard, I will help them any way I can. She is a puzzle, though. I've never had a child like her before. She is strong and kind, yet will pitch a temper tantrum over the tiniest thing. She will cry at seeing a beggar in the street and beg me for change to give him. Then she will get angry if she sees someone being rude. Her emotions are very high. And she is high spirited. I am not looking forward to when she is an adolescent. I fear she may be wild."

The Princess was silent for a bit, then shook her head. "Hayley, you know as well as I do that this is not going to happen. She may assert her independence a bit, but she is a good child at heart. She is, after all, your youngest and smallest one. Perhaps you are being a bit clingy to her? Because she is the smallest one?"

Hayley thought about this for a minute. "Perhaps you are correct. It's hard to think that I will not have any more baybees." She hung her head a little bit. "I will miss that so much."

The Princess put down the bowl she was washing and dried her paws on a towel, then came over and put her neck over Hayley's in a sign of great affection between the sisters. She gently cleaned her eyes and ears and Hayley relaxed a bit.

"Hayley, have you thought about the grandchildren, though?"

Hayley sat up and looked at her sister. "Grandchildren? Why, no.....I hadn't."

"There will always be Royal Baybees to spoil and to teach and to love. Topaz is of a good age to begin seeking a mate and Isabelle and Delphine will be next. And who knows with these little ones? It looks like a good crop of possible champions to me!"

Hayley looked thoughtful and then smiled. "Oh, Cheveu! You always know the right thing to say! Of course, you are right! Thank you for helping me to see that."

"And the neat thing about grandchildren," continued the Princess, "is that someone else has to be the mother. That means no clean up duties or discipline unless they are really out of hand. And you won't lose your coat after they are born, either," she winked at Hayley, who did look a little motheaten. However, Hayley was very good at the creative use of pretty bandanas from Heavenly Fashions direct from Paris. Hayley laughed at the thought of new baybees that would not be so much hard work.

"You are absolutely right," agreed Hayley. Then she called, "Barney Anne! Come to breakfast! We have to get going!"

Shortly, through the door, the little spotted corgi dashed to her mother. She was wearing her polka dotted 101 Dalmatians denim jacket and she had on white socks with purple dots on it that her Aunt Paris had sent to her from TennySea. She had on a polka dotted hair bow over one ear (placed there carefully with a piece of scotch tape by Hayley) and she was wearing a polka dotted bandana.

"That child!" laughed the Princess. "She surely loves her polka dots!"

"Yes, she says it matches her fur," agreed Hayley and together they helped the little spotted corgi pour the milk over her cereal and watched her while she ate a good breakfast for the day ahead.

3

The adults were busy, gathering up the children, making sure each had lunch in their backpack, and a toy to play with if they got bored. Corgis, of course, are great family dogs and even the eldest of the pack will help a puppy if it needs it. The older corgis had decided to stay at the townhouse and rest for the morning, the younger corgis and the ones competing at the Olympics were setting out to see the arenas and locker room areas. Of course, the puppies would not be left behind so there was a general scramble to get them all ready.

There was a knock at the door and the Honorable Lady Panda Bear answered it. No one paid much attention until Sfscruffy walked into the room! The adults stopped talking for a moment, the puppies picked up on the silence and turned to see, their little black berry eyes wide with surprise. The Princess had been busy convincing Barney Anne that she really should only take one toy, either My Little Pony or her Barbie, because to take both would mean she would get tired of carrying them all day. She noted the quiet, then everyone began to talk and she turned to see what the commotion was all about. When she saw, she didn't notice that she dropped My Little Pony on the floor, causing Barney Anne to pitch one of her famous fits.

"Drop Pony! Poor Pony!" Barney Anne shrieked, and the Princess scrambled to scoop up Barney Anne and My Little Pony in one motion. Kissing Barney Anne, she promised to make Pony better with a colorful band aid and sent off Isabelle to find one. Smoothing her bandana, she turned to greet Sfscruffy.

His smile was as warm as ever. He bowed his head and gently said,"Princess..." and the Princess' eyes sparkled and she smiled back at him.

"Sfscruffy, it has been much too long!" the Princess murmured, and the other corgis turned politely away to finish getting ready.

Sfscruffy took her paw and gently kissed it. "Yes," he agreed. "But I couldn't resist your invitation to come and help guard you and the children and other corgis. I have brought all the Border Collies with me. You can never be too careful, you know."

The Princess nodded and some of the older corgis smiled to themselves, feeling the intense electricity that flowed between the Princess and the little ranch corgi mix, who had always been there for "his Princess". It hadn't taken any of them long to figure out that the little shell necklace that she always wore under her bandana had come from him, although the Princess still hadn't figured out who had given it to her. The other corgis thought that the Princess took her duties much too seriously and were hoping that Sfscruffy would soon make her laugh and take her mind off of all the responsibilities and the competition. There was much more to life and she needed to learn this.

Sfscruffy was introduced to each of the new Royal Baybees and he laid down so he could get a good look at each one of them. He had a nice remark to make about each one of them and in no time at all, the little ones considered him their friend. The Princess and Hayley warned the little ones again about talking to strangers or wandering off unattended. You never knew what could happen in a crowded situation and Hayley did not want any of her baybees to be stepped on.

The corgis left the townhouse and climbed back into the RV, which seemed so much roomier now that most of the luggage had been removed, along with the sporting equipment and it had been throughly cleaned for them. Soon, they were driving through Salt Lake City and along the perimeter of the Great Salt Lake. The little ones had never seen such a big body of water and the adults promised a swim sometime during the visit.

"Thirsty" was Barney Anne's comment on the whole matter, so while Hayley got her a drink, Sfscruffy explained that the water in the lake was not good to drink, it was very salty, like what humans tasted like on a very hot day. Barney Anne took three laps of water, then sat back in the seat and began to sing a little song.

They drove through the city and the adults noted that there were many places to shop and to visit and also noted some wonderful looking restaurants.

And then they were at the Village, where most of the events were to take place. Pulling out a long piece of thin rope, Sfscruffy explained to the puppies that they should each take it into their mouths and to hold on tight so that none of the nine would be lost while they walked to where they needed to go. He made it into a game, telling them they could pretend they were horses, being led along. So, with much stomping of feet and baybee corgis whinnying, they set off along the sidewalk. Barney Anne had her little paw held firmly in Hayley's paw. Sfscruffy asked the Princess why she wouldn't hold onto the rope. The Princess explained that Barney Anne had a mind of her own and was very likely to let go and wander off.

"She has made us very nervous a few times and Hayley is very protective of her. So we all keep a sharp lookout on her." Sfscruffy nodded, he had known a few pups like this in his time, too.

They entered the arena without fanfare and were soon issued badges to put around their necks. The Princess spotted some other dog teams, the Australian Cattle Dogs and the German Shepherds were there, and they all waved and shouted greetings, with many wagging tails. Then they consulted their maps and the corgi athletes set off to find the locker rooms and the others entered the arena and sat in some low seats along the edge so that they could watch the athletes try out equipment and check out the arena.

It would prove to be a very interesting morning.

4

The Lady Hayley Boo and the Honorable Lady Panda Bear and her sister, the Lady Micah, settled into the place where they could see everything that was going on. The Border collie who had accompanied them on Security Detail sniffed carefully about to be sure everything was safe. They spread their blankets, settled in the puppies and gave each puppy its toy to play with.

Hayley finally released the death grip she had on Barney Anne's paw and Barney Anne and the other little girls in the litter began to play Veterinarian with Pony, as he was sporting a brightly colored band-aid on his "boo boo".

The two elderly sisters pulled out their knitting and began to chat, and Hayley watched the puppies for a while. They were so entertaining and since they had had a good romp that morning and a big breakfast, she expected them to go to sleep just any time. Over the next half hour, they began to collapse into a big pile and she gathered up their toys into another pile so that one would not be kicked under an arena seat and lost. Her eyes were growing heavy, too, and she asked the Border collie if she would mind watching the puppies for a few minutes so she could close her eyes, too.

After a while, the Royal corgis began to come out onto the playing field. The Princess was participating in Curling, and Isabelle and Delphine were competing in Snow Dancing, which is sort of like Pairs in Ice Skating only they do it in snow. Roo was going to be in the Luge competition and Topaz and Tierre were in the two man Bobtail Sled event. All the corgis had worked very hard to get in shape for their sports. Almost anyone could be on the Flufftopian team as the nation wasn't very big and so it was easy to be good in some kind of corgi sport.

Isabelle and Delphine did their warm ups on the sidelines and then ran around the edge of the arena a couple of times to loosen up. They were very fast and sleek in spite of the grubby sweatshirts and sweatpants they were wearing. It was a wonder to all that they so proudly wore their uniforms for competition but insisted on warming up in the grubbies. The Princess and Lady Paris Lynn had put their little white feet down firmly on this point, though. The girls were to wear the lovely warm up suits when the actual day came for them to compete. In the meantime, they put up with the pretty girls and their bizarre costumes.

On the third time round the arena, some silent signal was given between the girls. Panda had nudged Hayley awake and she proudly watched her daughters dive into the snow and porpoise along, up and down. Then a quick turn and back down into the snow. Four feet later, they leapt into the air together and each executed a perfect flip. Back down into the snow and evidently they parted because the next move was made separately but in nearly perfect synchronization. The corgis and even the Border collie watched in fascination.

"M'ams," said the Border Collie, "that is the most beautiful routine for Snow Dancing Pairs I have ever seen!" The corgis thanked her for the compliment and all continued to watch the routine. Panda proudly told the Border collie that the last move was coming up and to watch carefully. The girls had executed a perfectly timed Snow Angel together. They moved as one. They separated again, then gathered as much speed as possible, porpoising towards each other and leapt into the air. The idea was for them to pass each other by a mere inch or two but that wasn't what happened. One of them misjudged the slipperiness of the snow and the two girls crashed into each other in mid air and dropped out of sight into the soft snow. Everyone gasped and watched for a moment and then everyone was in motion.

The corgis had to take the stairs down but the Border Collie leapt over the railing and down ten feet to the floor. As she ran, she spoke into the microphone that was attached to her collar.

"Sfscruffy! Alert! Lady Isabelle and Lady Delphine have been involved in an accident. On the main floor. They were practicing and fell. I don't know their status, yet, I'm still in route. Please send the paramedics!"

By the time the Border Collie got to the girls, one was sitting up and rubbing her head and asking "What happened?" It was Delphine and she had a dazed look to her eyes. The Border Collie told her to lie down, that help was on the way. Then she sniffed around in the snow and found Isabelle, who was out cold and had a cut on her head that, although bleeding profusely, did not look serious. Very quickly, the corgi family arrived and in just a few minutes after that, the paramedics and Sfscruffy. The Border Collie and Sfscruffy knew first aid and had not moved the girls and a paw was placed on Isabelle's head to slow the bleeding. Hayley was stunned. Panda and Micah moved to either side of her to comfort her. Some minutes passed and then Isabelle began to come around. The paramedics did not think the girls were seriously hurt, although Delphine complained she had twisted her paw somehow. Just to be sure, they were going to transport them to the hospital for some x-rays and observation. Sfscruffy called for another Border Collie to come and accompany the girls to the hospital, and soon, they were all loaded up and on their way in the ambulance. Micah went to the side of the arena to gather the girls' things together and the Princess had already composed a press release for the reporters that she knew would soon be on the scene with their never ending photos and questions.

The corgis trotted up the stairs and Panda and Micah were tsk tsking about the probability of dropped stitches when they threw their knitting needles down. It made Hayley feel better to hear that, Panda and Micah had both had puppies and were experienced in cuts and bruises of various types. The girls' injuries must not be serious if they were discussing their knitting. Then Hayley nearly missed a step. She just remembered that they had left the sleeping puppies unattended. With her heart in her throat, she put on a burst of speed, leaving the two old corgis behind. Tearing around the corner, she saw with relief that the puppies were still sleeping soundly. Just to be sure, she began to count onetwothreefourfivesixseveneight....who was missing? She counted quickly again. Only eight. Which one was missing? Oh, no, it was Barney Anne again. She supposed that the little pup had awoken and had to go to the bathroom. She looked about, running quickly up and down the aisle. Nothing. She called. No answer. At this, she began to panic. Her mother and her aunt were only half way up the stairs. She needed fast help and she needed it now!

Leaping onto one of the seats, she called out SSFFFSSCCCRRRUUUUUFFFFFYYYYY!" as loudly as she could.

Sfscruffy was gathering up the girls' belongings when he heard the paniked sound that came down to him. He dropped what he was doing and signalled the Border Collie who beat him up the stairs. The Border collie was already casting up and down the aisles, looking for scent when Sfscuffy made it up the stairs to see what had happened. Quickly, Hayley, explained and the little farm corgi and the elderly corgis and Hayley spread out to search.

It wasn't long before they had their first clue. A small polka dotted sock was found on the floor. Sfscruffy immediately shouted into his microphone for help.

"Close the entrances. Check all bags out. One of the Royal Baybees is missing, perhaps kidnapped. We will be up as soon as we can gather the other baybees up. Please send an escort to section 15 A."

As the corgis and Border Collie woke and prepared the puppies to be moved, it was noted that Barney Anne's Pony was missing and her backpack had been left behind.

5

Before Sfscruffy called Security to seal the building, the little spotted corgi was already outside.

She had awakened and called for her Momma, but her Momma hadn't answered. So Barney Anne decided to go for a walk. It was so nice to go all on her own. She got tired of all the adults telling her to put her sweater on, to stand up straight, to not suck on her paws. She had managed to get up and down the steps, in spite of bringing Pony with her. He was her dearest friend, she slept with him and told him all her little puppy secrets. He played with her when everyone else was busy.

They had marched right out the front door of the arena and no one had even noticed, as she was so close to the ground. The day was still sunny and not too cold. Barney Anne went down the sidewalk and looked around. Which direction? She thought about it for a while and decided that way, and off she went, working hard at avoiding people's feet. She knew that someone could accidentally step on her or kick her and she would be hurt. As she walked along, she made up a little song and sang it to Pony. He liked it a lot.

After about an hour, they came to a large park, with trees and bushes and benches all around. Now, Barney Anne was getting hungry and she asked Pony if he would like something to eat and he said yes. There was no one around to give Barney Anne her bowl of food with yogurt or even some puppy cookies. So she told Pony to stay under the park bench and she set off to find them some lunch. It didn't take long at all to find a puddle where she had a long drink and most amazing of all, she found half of a hot dog that someone had tossed away just a few minutes before. She carried it back to Pony and shared it with him. Then it was time for a nap, so they cuddled together and snoozed for a while.

When she awoke, she was getting a little bit chilled. The day had clouded over and it looked as though it might snow, although Barney Anne was unaware of this. She stretched, yawned and woke up Pony who told her he was cold, too.

"Then we will go home, now," she said to him and set off in the direction she thought they had come from. But the little spotted corgi had gotten turned around and set off in the wrong direction.

Back at the arena, a full scale search was on. Lockers were being searched and sniffer dogs were assigned different seating areas to check under each seat. Everyone was calling "Barney Anne! Barney Anne!" The Royal Corgis were beside themselves. Sfscruffy had assured them that baybees sometimes wandered and that they were always found. Hayley tried to remember when Peekaboo had been "lost" but had only been off on an adventure with King Jordan and Queen Clover. Hayley had been terribly worried but that had been at home, at the Castle, not in a huge city filled with strangers. She tried hard to think positively and take good care of the other eight baybees, but her mind was filled with torment. Sfscruffy finally ordered them to all go home and to begin to contact the media and print posters with the little spotted corgi's likeness on them.

"And put a picture of Pony on there, too," he suggested, "just in case she leaves him behind."

Barney Anne was cheerful, although cold. She walked this way and that, carefully holding Pony's tail in her mouth. But soon, she was getting worried. And worry was not something she had ever had to deal with before.

"Maybe down this road," she said to herself as she turned into a dark alley.

6

Now, Barney Anne was too young and Pony was not bright enough to know that a dark alley was probably not a good place to go. But Barney Anne had turned down the alley, thinking it was a shortcut to where she wanted to go. It was a very long alley, and very dark, but her little eyes adjusted rapidly. She was getting tired again and there were many things lying in the alley. Partway down, she put Pony down for a moment and had to wipe her little drippy nose. Like her namesake, President Barney, Barney Anne had a problem with her sinuses and was just waiting until she was a little older to get it fixed. The Royal Doctor had assured the Princess and Lady Hayley that it was easy to do and would make it more comfortable for Barney Anne to breathe. Unfortunately, she had no hanky, so she used her bandana and blew her nose, loudly, then giggled, as it wasn't lady like and no one had been around to correct her. This freedom thing was kind of fun. She looked around. There was nobody else there. She sat down and had a good scratch, another thing her mother and the Princess were always after her about. She laughed and Pony laughed with her. The little corgi was very carefree.

But she was also still tired. She looked around and found a large cardboard box. Now, one of Barney Anne's favorite things in the world to do was to play in a cardboard box. This looked like a good one and she yipped in pleasure. Dragging Pony with her, she put him inside and inspected it. It looked like a great place to take a nap. Placing Pony just so, she propped her head up on him. She stuffed a paw into her mouth and sucked on it and in no time at all, the tiny corgi and her best friend, the stuffed Pony, were sound asleep.

The search had intensified. Most everyone was out looking for the small baby corgi. The athletes from the other countries had paused in their practices to scour the city. The Media had picked up on the story and it seemed that everyone was looking for the tiny Royal Baybee. Some people had mentioned they had seen something they thought was a kitten at the park, and the athletes from Great Britain were all over the park. One of them had found a tiny sock with dots all over it under a park bench and after sniffing it carefully, Sfscruffy had declared that it did belong to Barney Anne. But where was she?

While Barney Anne rested, there were two creatures who entered the alley, each from the opposite direction. They were unaware of her presence, but would soon find her and meet up.

7

The search had been stepped up to a high degree. Not only were the security people and the Salt Lake police department looking for the little spotted corgi, but so were most of the athletes, and the spectators. The scheduled events were still going on and some of the corgis had competed, but with a half heartedness that showed their worry.

"We have to find her," the Princess said, "Or the Olympics will be ruined!"

Sfcruffy looked up from his map, which he had divided into sections. "She can't have gotten far, unless she was picked up. And that is always a possibility." Silence followed this statement as the implications were realized. If someone did indeed pick up the small spotted corgi, then they might not have recognized her as a purebred. She was not microchipped, yet. She was quite tiny and looked like a pinto horse. There had been thousands of posters distributed about the city and surrounding areas.

The little spotted corgi slept hard, as did Pony. Both of them were very tired. She began to snore because of her little cleft lip that had not been fixed yet. She had been scheduled for surgery as soon as the corgis returned from the Olympics; Hayley had wanted to wait so she would not be in pain during the games. In her sleep, she alternately wiped at her runny nose with one paw and sucked on the other one. Every now and then she shivered and her trusty stuffed Pony cuddled up closer to her to keep her warm.

At one end of the alley, there was an outline of a soft shadow. It was hungry and it was looking for something to eat. Not the usual garbage that it found but something fresh, something tasty. Perhaps a squirrel or a rat? It licked its lips in anticipation. It was a huge black cat and it sniffed the air as it crept down the alley. What was this? An enticing air of something unaware, something not on guard wafted towards the huge cat's nose. Ah. This would be easy to catch. He went into his jungle cat routine, lowering himself, enjoying the anticipation of the hunt, easy though it should be. He flicked his tail a time or two. There. In one of those boxes. He strained to listen and heard a soft slurping as the prey breathed.

Inside the box, Pony awoke and froze. There was Danger outside. He didn't know what to do. Well, he couldn't do much of anything. He was, after all, just a stuffed Pony. But because he was loved and cherished, he was Real when he was with Barney Anne. What could he do? He took every ounce of his being and he moved slightly. It was difficult since he had no muscles and bones. There. He did it again. The little spotted corgi shifted and began to snore louder. Oh, no! This would never do! He put all of his thought and being into this action, it was all he had to move with. He gave a sudden jerk and the small puppy woke up.

"Momma?" she inquired in her little voice.

At the other end of the alleyway, another being had entered. It pushed a grocery cart, piled high with many things, many of them useless to the average person or corgi. The cat had not noticed this creature; he was used to seeing these things all the time in this area of the city. The grocery cart had a wheel that wobbled and banged along.

The person pushing the cart suddenly stopped and stepped to one side as they spotted the cat. She had heard the little one call out for her Momma.

"What are you doing?" called a voice. "Stop!"

8

The large black cat poised. He had been foiled before. He didn't intend to run from this person. He switched his tail and his yellow eyes flicked back towards the box. There was a slight sound of movement from the box, then suddenly, BAM! Something hit him and he didn't turn to see what it was. He made his way through the alley way like greased lightning and in a flash, he was gone.

The woman chuckled to herself as she picked up the folded up umbrella she had pitched at the cat. Her aim was still pretty good for an old broad, she reckoned. Then she looked down at the box and saw a bright little pair of eyes peeping out at her. It was hard to see what it was, exactly, it was so grimy, but it appeared friendly and she had saved it from the cat. She eached down and picked the little creature up. Of course, it was Barney Anne.

"Here! Here!" the woman exclaimed. "Are you a kitten or are you a puppy?" She examined the little creature carefully and saw that it appeared to be all right. She wiped the little one's snotty nose with a hanky and the little one squeaked her pleasure at having help with that chore. Barney Anne then began to babble away in her baby talk, and of course, the lady, being human, could not follow. But it did appear that the puppy was happy. She hugged it to her neck.

"You are sure a sweet little thing," she said. "Let's get you out into the light and take a look at you." She wheeled her shopping cart around back out of the alley while murmuring sweet nothings to the little puppy. Something was picking at her memory. Something....she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Getting old was tough, there was more than ever to remember and she couldn't remember any of it, so she really didn't try to remember much, anymore.

Once out onto the street, she paused and looked at the baby puppy. More than ever, the thought flitted in and out of her mind, and she tried to grasp it. Suddenly, she had it! Holding tightly onto the puppy with one hand, she began to dig through her possessions with the other. She wasn't too neat about it. She was quite excited. Finally, she found it. She had saved it because it was cute and because she could write a letter sometime on the back of it. She didn't mind that she had no one to write a letter to, just you never mind, the point was that she had to be prepared to write a letter in case the opportunity ever arose. Shaking out the paper, she looked at it and then at the filthy baby puppy in her other hand.

"Oh, my. You are Barney Anne!" she exclaimed. Barney Anne wiggled with pleasure. She had tried to tell this nice lady what her name was in her very best polite manners, but the lady had been too busy talking to her to take note of this. In any case, Barney Anne was happy that someone knew her name. She hopefully peeped about something to eat, but the lady seemed preoccupied. The lady was trying to remember where the Olympic arena was. Down this street about a mile, she reckoned, and she turned her cart in that direction.

But another problem had arisen. Pony had been left behind. He had been relieved that Barney Anne had been found and that she was safe. He listened to the old lady and the cart bang down the alleyway and was glad in his stuffing that she had been found. Then the silence fell. It was very, very quiet. He had a moment of panic when he realized what was happening! He could only be Real if someone loved him and believed in him. And now that someone was going further and further away from him. Pony felt weak. He could not even move because he had used up so much of his will to wake the little spotted puppy. He lay there on his side, miserable for a time, not knowing what to do, not being able to do anything at all. Then he began to get very tired. It was a different tired and he could feel himself slipping away to where ever it was that stuffed animals went when they were not Real anymore. His eyes got very heavy and he felt as if he was on a cloud.

"Good bye, Barney Anne. I love you," were his last words to her.

9

But Barney Anne had heard him.

At first, she politely wiggled and asked to be put down. But the bag lady who found her didn't want to let her out of her hands, she was scared Barney Anne would run away from her. So Barney Anne cajoled and begged in her best widdo peeps, that she had to get down NOW. This usually worked when humans held her; they always thought she had to go pee. It didn't work.

By now, they were very close to the Olympic stadium and people had seen the lady and the small spotted baby corgi and were whispering and pointing. Barney Anne decided that it was time to make her move. She began to yell and pitch one of her famous Barney Anne Temper Tantrums. She yelled and cried and flung herself about.

"Ponnneeeee! Pooonnnnnneeeee! I want my Pooonnnneeeee!" she shrieked. "I love you, Ponnnneeee!"

Now, as you all might know, Hayley Boo was very tuned into the thoughts and feelings of all of her children. She was in the stadium, preparing more posters to be carried out and hung about the city. She sat up suddenly and listened. Yes! It was her smallest daughter! With a happy bark, she flew out of the office with Sfscruffy and the Border collie protectors in hot pursuit.

Coming down the long stairway, Hayley spotted her daughter right away. She flew over to her as fast as she could and by this time, the old lady had decided she had had quite enough of this busy dirty little puppy. She put Barney Anne down, who had spotted her Momma and ran towards her. Pausing only to wipe her nose with the back of her paw, she babbled to her Momma about Pony. Hayley Boo could not make out most of it but she did hear Pony's name and she was also most impressed by Barney Anne's display of temper. Why, she did not realize the child had it in her! And Barney Anne was pointing down the steps and babbling something about a box.

After a few minutes, Sfscruffy had it all sorted out. It had been hard, with Hayley Boo translating Barney Anne's baybee puppy talk and the excited old lady telling him where she had found the baybee corgi. Sfscruffy turned to the two Border Collies. He told them what to do and in a flash they were off and searching. The scent was fresh and they had a general idea of where to search. The crowd parted in front of them as they ran.

Back in the alley, Pony was becoming stiller. His fuzzy body did not send out the warmth that it once had, to keep his little corgi puppy warm. He lay listlessly on his side, where he had ended up when he woke up Barney Anne. Everything was foggy. He was not in pain, why, stuffed animals cannot be in pain; however, there was still a deep hurt deep inside his stuffing where his heart would have been, had he been a real Pony. For a while, he had been Real. He supposed that this was the highest calling of any stuffed animal or toy. Not every toy was so very lucky to experience Realness. You had to have a child or a puppy who believed in you, and loved you, and somehow, you became Real. But when the belief stopped, when the child or the puppy grew up and thought of other things in life, when the toy was casually tossed in the corner, and forgotten, they lost their Realness and became just a stuffed toy again. He lacked the energy to sigh. He knew that it was going to happen one day; it was one of those things that stuffed toys just somehow know. However, he was grateful that he had the love of a tiny spotted corgi baybee to let him become Real and experience love. He knew that had he not experienced it, he would never have missed it; he would not be able to think or be a companion to Barney Anne. He would exist but would not be able to think or to feel joy or happiness. He was glad he had been her special toy. And he hoped that she would think of him now and then.

Pony noticed that he was losing his sense of being. The box was getting very dark and he couldn't hear the street traffic anymore. He was thinking that there was a breeze but he wasn't sure. He was almost gone.

10

"Quick, quick. Thee must look harder!" the Border Collies panted to each other, as they turned down the alley and began to sniff. They were actually looking for Barney Anne's scent, since they did not remember what the little stuffed pony smelled like. And there were so many enticing smells to distract them. But Border Collies are bred to work. They often say it is The Boss's Highest Calling for a dog. Sometimes they can be a bit smug about it, but they have good hearts and mean nothing bad by this. It's just how they are made.

One took one side of the alley and the other checked the other side. Carefully examining every trash can, every box, every dumpster. To their great dismay, they heard a garbage truck turn into the alley at the other end!

They looked at each other, then sprang ahead. Racing down the alley, barking furiously, they managed to make the trashmen drop the cans they had picked up and run for the safety of the truck. They heard them say something about "...dang alley dogs. We'll get the trash next week. Forget this week!" and the Border Collies breathed a quick sigh of relief and began to search again.

About halfway down, they found him.

Back at the Olympics, the corgis had been hustled back inside the building. A blanket and some kibble had been found for Barney Anne, who was now curled up, wrapped securely, and warm, and was snoring and snuffling gently. She was placed into Hayley's back pack for safety. Sfscruffy gruffly muttered something about cutting a hole for her head to stick out of and making her stay in there for safety's sake, but Hayley paid him no mind at all. She knew he only wanted the small spotted corgi to be safe, as he did all of the Royal Corgis. It was just his way of dealing with his fear and frustration about the whole situation.

Hayley asked if he thought the Border Collie Patrol would find Pony.

"If anyone can, they can," he replied. He sat down and looked at Hayley. They have had much training and are very quick, quicker than any corgi. I expect they will find her Pony very soon, if he is to be found."

Sfscruffy and Hayley thought about their beloved toys that they had each had as puppies, and wondered where they were. Puppyhood passed so quickly and as they wondered, two little essences experienced a moment of happiness, then faded away again. It was, of course, their favorite puppy toys and ust thinking about them would stir the essences a little bit and slightly evive them.

"Is it? Is it?" one of the Border Collies, asked, and then answered herself, "Yes, it is! Here is the beloved toy!"

"Let us run," said the other Border collie. "I am faster than thee," he said, as a challenge.

The female Border collie laughed as she held tightly onto Pony. "I can run like the wind. I challenge thee!" she said with a twinkle in her eye, whirled and ran down the alley, disappearing around the corner before the male could respond. Giving a cry, he ran after her.

Faster and faster they ran down the boulevard, making a game out of dodging people, who wondered at the crazy two black and white dogs, one holding something small and brown in her mouth. This was the wind that Pony felt on his face.

In no time at all, they arrived at the arena, and without breaking stride, they leapt over the restraining wall. The guards saw and started to give chase, until they realized that these were the Border Collies personally attached to the Royal Corgis. They called ahead so that everyone would know they were coming.

In just a couple of minutes, they were in the prescence of the Royal Corgis. Hayley still looked rather tense and Sfscruffy had been pacing up and down. Bowing, they presented the small brown pony to Hayley.

"We are here to serve the child," one of them graciously offered, as they bowed and retreated.

Hayley quickly picked up Pony and put him under the blanket with Barney Anne. But was it too late?

11

Deep in her sleep, something in Barney Anne stirred. She shifted, stretched slightly, and rolled over, coming into close contact with Pony. Taking a deep sigh, she smelled him. His smell went way inside her brain and instantly, the little stuffed Pony felt something deep within him. After a few minutes, he felt warmth coming gently from Barney Anne's small body, then he became aware of little things, Barney Anne's heartbeat, her regular breathing and the little thread that connected them together forever, was growing thicker and thicker. He experienced some light flashes and wondered at them, then suddenly realized he was able to think again. He waited patiently. Was it to be so? He thought it was but didn't want to be disappointed if he came to and found another puppy or child who had found him and had decided to love him. He would, of course, love the puppy or child back unconditionally, it was in his nature as a stuffed toy to do so, embedded in his very essence. But in his deepest parts, he only wanted to be with Barney Anne.

After a time, he noticed his glass eye was able to see. He only had one eye, the other having been lost in an accident a few weeks before. One of Barney Anne's siblings had decided to play with him and it had escalated into a game of Keep Away From Barney Anne amongst the larger and stronger uppies. His eye had come off and gone down one of the Siblings' gullets to who knew what depths. He didn't miss it, he could still see and sense with his essence, but it was handy to have at least one eye. Slowly his vision cleared and he saw her! His essence leapt with joy and unconsciously, he began to put out heat and all the love he could gather within himself.

Barney Anne slept on, twitching and dreaming of a Tea Party with Pony as her guest. Pony knew this, as all stuffed animals know their charges' dreams, and smiled a little smile. She was his Barney Anne. He always wanted to be with her.

A few days later, the closing ceremonies were held. So much effort had been put into the search for Barney Anne and subsequently, Pony, that the corgis had not won any medals, their minds being elsewhere. Some had actually pulled out of their events in order to search for them. The ones who had performed had done very well, and Isabelle and Delphine, the Royal Nieces who had participated in Snow Dancing had garnered very good scores for the first time this event was ever held at the Olympics. And there would be another Olympics in two years and the Princess hoped to have Blanco, her white burro, trained even better. Owain, a friend of the family, was still practicing his gymnast routines and this time, he had a real coach to help him. Blanco had also been talking to Hopi the mule about letting his corgi compete in two years in some equestrian event.

The little delegation of corgis entered the Olympic arena and waved until they thought their little legs would drop off their bodies. The crowd was on its feet and Barney Anne rode in a red wagon with her siblings. She clutched Pony with one paw and stuck the other one in her mouth and sucked it. Her little eyes were round and filled with wonder as she gazed about at all the humans who were cheering Flufftopia on, and congratulating them! She didn't quite know what to think about all of this fanfare. The other siblings had their tiny flags and waved them as hard as they could.

Finally, after being seated, the ceremonies began. At one point, the resident of the Olympics asked the Princess to bring down Barney Anne. A hush fell upon the audience as they waited to see what would happen next. Barney Anne, of course, insisted on bringing Pony with her and the Princess carried her quickly to the podium. The President of the Olympic Games made a short speech about bravery and fortitude and congratulated the corgis on fine performances. Then he said he had a special presentation and from his pocket, he took the tiniest little gold medal that anyone had ever seen!

"For Barney Anne," he said, and the Princess lifted her up high so she could have it put around her little neck. The baybee spotted corgi squealed in delight and everyone laughed. Finally it was quiet enough and the Princess made a very gracious speech, thanking all who helped and prayed to help find Barney Anne, especially the homeless woman who now had a home, thanks to some generous people who had heard the story. She held Barney Anne up to the microphone to see if she wanted to say anything. There were a few titters as they heard her snuffling and snorting.

Now Barney Anne didn't know much about ceremonies, but she did know one thing. She had better not wipe her nose on the fresh bandana that she was wearing. She looked out at the expectant crowd.

"Pretty!" she crowed, and removed the medal and put it on Pony's neck.

The crowd went wild and it seemed that everyone was taking photos. The Princess smiled and waved her way back to their seats. It had been a long two weeks and lots of fun, but the best thing was that Barney Anne and Pony were safe again with their family.

The End

(Please be sure and leave comments! And please do not copy the story, just send the link to friends to read it!)

The Dirty Little Secret of Christmas - People for the Ethical Treatment of Squeaky Toys - PETST

2010-01-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

Oh, so you thought it was all joy? All lightness and happiness? Gift giving, songs, good things to eat?

I'm afraid you have been sadly taken in. For Christmas has a dark side to it. And the People for the Ethical Treatment of Squeaky Toys would like to tell you what is really going on.

Every year at Christmas, and truly, every day, squeaky toys are maimed, torn apart, gutted, de-squeaked and brutally shredded, all in the name of fun and pleasure for our corgis and other dogs. They are abandoned with their guts hanging out, dismembered and their squeakers chewed into a mass of plastic, and tossed aside for a new, fresh toy who will soon experience the same terror and degradation that the previous one did. And to what end?

The toy manufacturers know this. They make them cheaply and plentiful and usually quite shoddily made. No squeaky toy deserves this. They deserve to be made with the finest of materials and best of stuffing. This would ensure that their lives are long and that any repairs could be made in the hopes of them living a long and happy life, rather than immediately becoming shredded again.

The fault also lies in the purchasers' hands. To buy a squeaky toy, one should be prepared to give it to a corgi that would cherish it, not snatch it and go screaming off to the other corgis that "neener neener, I have a new toy and you don't" which of course excites the pack mentality and causes squeaker destruction and a long and horrible, lingering death.

PETST has a solution for all of this. We have education programs that will teach people how to treat their squeaky toys, caring for them, bathing them and keeping them clean and inside where they cannot freeze to death. Squeaky toys should be kept in a bin or on the couch so that they can experience the friendship and comfort of having others of their kind around.

We have a rescue program for unwanted squeaky toys and place them in good foster homes with cats who have been taught not to hump them. In addition, we have a team of specially trained physicians and surgeons and nurses, to tenderly sew squeaky toys back together, replacing eyes, limbs and noses as well as the actual squeaky device so that the squeaky toy can sing its joy when it is truly loved by a corgi. We are not against the ownership of squeaky toys by corgis or humans, rather, we wish them to be cherished companions to these beings, just as all of God's creatures are.

Alas, there are so many to be saved. Squeaky toy rescue is looked down upon and often is devastating for those who do it. PETST must schedule regular vacations to the Bahamas in order to rid the people doing the rescuing of these precious little lives. PETST also must pay for the surgeons and others who help, often at the cost of $1,000 or more per squeaky. Why put so much into a 99 cent toy, you may ask? Its little life is worth just as much as the big toys that one often sees human children playing with. We make no differentiation between size or quality. Eyes are expensive, limbs must be recreated. Nearly all of the squeaky toys require extensive psychological counseling and many can only live safely in a dark box with others of its kind for the rest of its life, as to see a corgi is to cause it great trauma and fear when confronted with a corgi, even a friendly one who would not hurt it. Sadly, these are lost cases and the boxes must remain in storage. That, too, is expensive.

We invite you to participate and send us $20.00 a month. Unmarked bills are best and wrap them carefully when you mail them. We will see that you recieve a photo and a story of a squeaky toy or two, as well as a Christmas card from it with an imprint of its new limb on it. Many people are able to actually adopt the squeaky toy of which they are helping with the care, so do inquire and we can send you one or more, how ever many your heart feels it can take in. Please send all donations to the owner of this blog.

Remember that each night, squeaky toys cry themselves to sleep because they have been lost, abandoned or forgotten by the puppies who used to cherish them, put aside for a newer and more whole toy. They simply cannot compete with this. We are here to help and you can help. Won't you donate today?

To make our point, we will show some photos below of lost and injured squeaky toys. Some of these had to be humanely euthanized, but they were held and loved at their final moments. Please, wil you find a way in your heart to help us out?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Squeaky Toys

Warning: Graphic photos and video follow, not for the faint of heart!

Sadly, this bit of fluff was all that remained from a loving squeaky toy when we made our raid on a squeaky toy mill.

This spotted pony toy was left for dead in the snow, but amazingly he was not injured, just a little frostbitten. He now lives with a little old lady on the couch, and she knits him sweaters to keep him warm.

This sweet purple bear managed to escape death and terror by lying very still during a snow storm. He also recovered but will require counseling for the rest of his life. He is in Montana now, in a front room with many stuffed animals on the walls for company.

Sadly, this ball did not make it. He was beyond the help of the most famous surgeons in the country who devote their time and love to restoring squeaky toys to as normal as possible.

Rest in Peace, little ball.

A warthog, although badly bitten and maimed, has made nearly a full recovery. He can no longer grunt, as his grunter was brutally ripped from his middle. We have a special fund to collect money for a new grunter for him. He now lives with a chihuahua, who treats him with respect and does not pee on him or bite him.

This elephant managed to also hide in the snow with the sweet purple bear. The family in Montana is currently in line to adopt him so he can live forever with his friend the bear.

His twin brother, however, did not make it. All we found was his torn body in a pile with other dead squeaky toys.

We will never forget you.

We have some video of squeaky toys being tortured, taken by one of our undercover agents. Please do not allow children to watch these videos!

In the first one, notice how the chicken screams as it is pushed around on the floor!

In this next video, you will see a blue elephant being tortured by a golden retriever and two corgi pups, and being encouraged by two humans to do so:

Thank you for your time. We hope that you will help us in our endevour to stop this unnecessary abuse!

The Watching, 2009, A Corgi Christmas Tale

2009-12-24T13:17:00.004-05:00

The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale

By Millie J. Williams

Copyright, 2009

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Lola, a rescue corgi who was the inspiration for this story. May all corgis in rescue find their way to health, happiness, and love in a forever home, and may CorgiAid always be able to help those corgis in rescue who need us.

CHAPTER 1

The quiet tapping at the door sounded urgent. After a short time, a Royal Maid crept into the Royal Bedchamber. Quickly approaching the bed, she touched the Lady-In-Waiting on the shoulder.

“Lady, Lady, are you awake?” she whispered. “There is an emergency, and we don’t know what to do…”

The Lady-in-Waiting sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she saw how distressed the Royal Maid was, she put on her bathrobe and slippers, the pink bunny ones that a corgi puppy had given her on her birthday. The two humans crept out of the bedroom quietly, so as not to disturb the Emperor.

As they hurried down the hall, the Royal Maid explained. A foundling had been left at the door to the Castle, with a note tied to its collar. One of the Royal Footmen had discovered it just minutes before. Not knowing what else to do, the Footman had brought it to the kitchen, and the Royal Chef had given it a bowl of food.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” the Lady-in-Waiting wondered.

“I am not sure, but it’s red and white,” said the Royal Maid.

In just a couple of minutes, they were at the kitchen, the center of much of the Castle’s activities. Sitting at the table was the Royal Chef with a big bowl of what looked like macaroni and cheese in front of him. He also had on a bathrobe and blue bunny slippers. The Lady-In-Waiting smiled, for most of the staff in the Castle had bunny slippers of some color or another, given as gifts from favored corgi pups. Her glance drifted, and she saw the small red corgi on the floor, gulping down warm macaroni and cheese. She took a chair and waited for the pup to finish eating. The little corgi had a rather large nip out of its right ear. She wondered how that had happened.

When the corgi was through eating, she called it gently to her and picked it up. It was filthy, but she didn’t hesitate to put it in her lap, where a quick glance confirmed that it was a girl. The Lady-in-Waiting ruffled the corgi’s ears.

“What is your name?” she asked, as the Royal Chef handed over the note, which she quickly read.

“Lola,” burped the corgi, full of macaroni and cheese.

The note said that Lola had been bought as a farm dog to help herd sheep, cattle, and sometimes ducks. However, there had been a problem, because Lola was afraid of farm animals. The note stated that she was being given up to rescue, as the owners did not want a useless farm dog anymore.

Since it was early daylight, and Mr. Andre, the Castle’s hairdresser, was still in bed, the Lady-in-Waiting wasted no time and went right to the kitchen sink where she promptly gave Lola a good scrub. The Footman and the Maid scurried about in their bunny slippers, gathering towels, soap, and other things required for a bath. Soon, Lola was squeaky clean, and the Footman was instructed to take her out for a walk and warned to not let her roll.

“I want her dry for when the Emperor comes down for his breakfast,” the Lady-in-Waiting cautioned. It was always good to present a clean Foundling to him when one came in to the Castle for fostering.

She watched the Royal Footman attach a leash and take Lola out. There was much work to do, yes, much work this day. Lola would need a new collar, she would need introductions to everyone at the Castle, and she would certainly need to learn some manners. So the Lady-in-Waiting went back upstairs to begin preparations.

CHAPTER 2

Over the next few days, Lola was introduced around to all the humans and animals at the Castle, and her lessons began in earnest. She was taught how to be a polite corgi, to say “please” and “thank you” and “I’m sorry.” She was given a tour so that she knew where everything was and was shown where she would sleep. The only problem was the farmyard. As the note had specified, Lola was afraid of farm animals—not merely afraid, but terrified. The Lady-in-Waiting had to take her away from the barnyard when Lola began to tear around in a circle, desperate to get away from the animals she did not understand.

So the Lady-in-Waiting decided that lessons in farm animals might help Lola. First, Lola was shown pictures of the animals. She seemed happy enough with those and even licked a few of them. Then she was shown some animal videos and shows on TV. These made Lola very restless, but so long as a human was there with her, and the human’s arms were tightly wrapped around her for safety, Lola coped rather well. Next, large stuffed toys, sheep and ducks and cows, were brought in. Now Lola didn’t mind these at all and played rather nicely with them. But when the toys were rubbed on a similar live animal in the barnyard to help her get used to the scent, she sat in the furthest part of the room, turned her head away, and closed her eyes. She did not like the scent and refused to play with the toys anymore. She would not even look at them—she believed if she could not see them, then they could not see her.

After all the ideas that the Lady-in-Waiting and others had come up with were tried, the Emperor decided on something new. Announcing that he had a special place for Lola to stay, he clipped her new purple leash to her new purple collar and led her out to the barn. This was not what Lola wanted at all, and she struggled and tried to get away. But the Emperor firmly put her in a box stall in the barn that contained her food bowl, her water bowl, a soft and comfortable bed, and quite a large number of toys and bones.

Lola was very anxious. She kept looking around for farm animals but didn’t see any. She sniffed the air suspiciously. Yes, there was some kind of animal near, but to Lola, all farm animals smelled similar. She curled up and lay down on her bed, putting her head under the blanket. Maybe if she could not see the animal, it could not see her. She heard the Emperor leave, and it was very quiet for a time.

But then she heard some strange noises. There were rustlings and stompings in the straw in the next stall. Lola peeked out from under the blanket just in time to see a large grey monster stick its head over the side wall of her box stall!

Of course, it was not a monster, but a very small pony. He was dappled grey, and quite handsome, with a long flowing mane and tail. The pony and Lola looked at each other and shrieked, one in corgi language and one in pony language, for the pony was as afraid of Lola as she was of him. One barked furiously, and the other whinnied and kicked his stall. Soon they were both exhausted and just stood there, panting and looking out of the corners of their eyes at each other.

Finally, Lola spoke.

“You are a horse!” said Lola. “I am not afraid of horses!” She thought if she said that the pony would leave her alone.

The pony shook his mane. “I am not a horse. I am a pony!” He stamped his little hooves to show that he could trample a corgi if he needed to.

Lola remembered the lessons she had from the Lady-in-Waiting. Maybe, she thought, it would be better to be nice to the pony until she could find a way to escape.

“My name is Lola,” she began, but the pony stamped his feet some more to keep Lola away from the wall that separated them from each other.

“What a silly name,” the pony whinnied. “I have never heard a sillier one!”

Lola put her ruff up.

“And so what is your name?” she asked, rather belligerently.

“Sebastian,” he snorted and stamped his feet again. At this point, Lola had had enough and decided to get back under her blanket.

And that was all the conversation they had that day, as both were afraid of each other.

The next day, the Royal Chef gave each animal extra treats with their breakfasts. And after such a big meal, they could not help but sleep. Later in the day though, Sebastian attempted some conversation. He was bored, and the only one he had to talk to was that silly corgi in the next box stall.

“I do not like dogs!” he stated and stomped his little hooves again for emphasis.

“I think horses are dumb!” retorted Lola.

That was the end of the conversation for the day. And all that night, Sebastian kicked the side of the stall to wake up Lola, just to be mean. Lola would wait a while, and then she would begin to bark to keep Sebastian awake. By the next morning, both were very tired, so they ate their breakfasts without a word and slept most of the morning.

CHAPTER 3

The stand-off between Lola and Sebastian continued, so one day the Lady-in-Waiting brought out some treats and smiled at both animals.

“I trust this is going well?” the gentle Lady asked them. Both animals looked sulky and didn’t answer. The Lady-in-Waiting gave both of them the treats and then told them that if they tried to get along, they could go outside on the following day. Lola and Sebastian wanted to go outside very badly, but they did not want to be near each other. However, the appeal of going out was stronger than the niggling taunting that they had been inflicting on each other, so that night, for the first time, both slept rather peacefully and woke refreshed.

When the Lady-in-Waiting arrived the next day, she took them out into a small corral, just big enough to race around and stretch in. But the two animals retreated to opposite sides of the corral and stayed there. Shrugging, the Lady-in-Waiting left, but she posted a crow to watch and to come and get her if there was any trouble between them.

After a while, Lola casually wandered over and peeked into the open doorway into Sebastian’s stall. When he was looking out over the field, she dashed in and then out again, quick as could be. But she didn’t realize that ponies have eyes on the sides of their heads and can see behind them, too.

Lola eventually was tired and curled up to take a nap. Sebastian tiptoed over to her stall, looked inside, checked again to be sure she was asleep, and then tiptoed in and out again, resuming his place looking out over the fields and swishing his luxuriant tail.

When the animals were returned to their stalls for the night, both were shocked. Lola had scattered hay all over the floor of Sebastian’s stall, dumped his water, dug a hole, and buried his evening carrots. And Lola was stunned to see that Sebastian had done much the same to her stall. He had dumped her water on her bed, too, and tramped her treat container. All the treats were ruined. Sebastian kicked the stall again that night, and Lola barked whenever she heard him breathing softly, knowing he was asleep.

The next day when the Lady-in-Waiting came to check on them, she was upset over the mess and their poor manners. She told them they were to be punished. They had to stay outside together in the corral unless it rained. The doors to the stalls would be closed. They would have to share a water bucket. No soft beds, no treats. If food was ruined by bad behavior, too bad—that was all the food they would get for that day. She was very firm, but inside she was laughing. With all her experience with animals, she figured that any interaction between them was a good step forward.

Over the next few weeks, the two little animals mostly ignored each other but did occasionally speak to the other one. One day, Lola admitted that, for a farm animal, Sebastian had a lovely mane and tail. Another day, the sun bounced off of Lola’s copper-penny coat, and it sparkled. Sebastian cautiously offered a compliment, and Lola actually graciously accepted it and thanked him. The bits of resentment and fear between the animals gradually began to break down, and they were finally allowed to have their own separate sleeping areas again.

One day, it was quite hot, and the only shade was in one little corner of the pen. Sebastian was standing there, but Lola wanted to be in the cool area, too. She paced up and down, panting, very worried that Sebastian would hurt her. But the pony saw she was hot and took pity. He lay down so she would not be afraid of his tiny, but very strong, hooves. Lola crept over and lay next to his side—the one without feet sticking out. And an amazing thing happened: they drew comfort from one another and both took a nap. Later, they retreated to the opposite ends of the corral, but both were moving around more now.

On another day, they told each other their stories.

Lola had been bought as a farm dog, but came to her new home at much too young an age. A rooster had pecked her in the head on her first day. The cows and horses were so big that they frightened her. Lola had become obsessed with staying out of the way of the animals, and no one was kind to her. The sheep butted her. The horse had swept his long tail in the air and sent the puppy scurrying away. The pigs threw mud at her. A cat had nipped her ear, which was how it had come to be ripped. And so she learned not to like farm animals.

Sebastian had been born in a traveling circus. From the time he was a tiny foal, he was trained. He was never allowed to be a baby—he was expected to learn tricks just as the other ponies did. Although he had been good at the tricks he learned, he didn’t like them much, because the trainer was too quick with his whip and sometimes the young pony got confused. He learned to be stubborn and did not do his part in the act. And the dogs in the act were mean to him, growling at him if he didn’t perform as expected. So Sebastian was taken to an auction, where luckily the Emperor found him and brought him home to the Castle.

The short-legged red dog and the dappled pony looked at each other in sympathy. Each thought their life had been especially hard until they had heard the other one’s story.

Finally Lola spoke. “I am sorry it was so scary for you with those dogs in the circus act. I am not like that, and I don’t think most dogs are that way. Things will be better for you soon.”

Sebastian was surprised at Lola’s reaction. He thought for a while, then said, “Many farm animals are not as smart as horses and dogs, and feel like they are not as important. I think the farm animals where you used to live were testing you to see if they could push you around. I think being here at the Castle is much better for you and for me.”

So a truce was called. It was a little shaky at first, as Lola was fascinated with that long tail of Sebastian’s, and she did want so to chase him to see it flow out behind him. And Sebastian had to be very careful not to step on Lola when he was walking, having come close to doing so a time or two.

CHAPTER 4

Meanwhile, back in the Castle, a litter of puppies had been born. There were six little pups: four of them were black and two of them would grow up to be red corgis. One of the black puppies was named Goer after a famous horse, because when the pups would wake up, they would toddle about, but Goer would GO! She would race about in circles as fast as her little fat corgi legs could take her. She was constantly in trouble, from falling down the stairs to teetering on the edge of the porch. It was all the worse because she was so tiny compared to the other ones. The Lady-in-Waiting finally assigned her to a different corgi each hour, both to play with and for the older corgi to keep an eye on her.

Goer enjoyed going to the barnyards to visit with the farm animals, and Lola especially liked to play with her while Sebastian looked on. Although he was still leery of other dogs, this one didn’t seem too bad, and she was awfully cute. He held very still as she zipped in and out of his pony legs. It was hard, but he received a lot of praise from everyone for holding so still.

And then came the day that the neighbor’s bull got loose and came onto the Castle grounds.

It was a bright fall day, the leaves were a riot of color in the trees, and the air was as crisp as an apple. By now, Sebastian and Lola were getting along just fine and had become good friends. They were polite to each other and well-mannered. They could even run together in the field and enjoy themselves. A few of the older animals were let out with them so they could all interact: a goat named Rosebud, a bunny named Blue, and, of course, Blanco, the white burro. The Lady-in-Waiting was most pleased. She had also taken Lola and Sebastian on outings to meet the other dogs and farm animals that lived at the Castle. Although some nervousness lingered, she taught them to ask how an animal had come to live at the Castle, finding that there were commonalities in all the stories. This made both Lola and Sebastian feel part of a whole, instead of a tiny bit of nothing.

On this day, the Lady-in-Waiting had returned them to their corral and had just left when Sebastian pricked his ears at something he saw moving around. It was the neighbor’s bull, a nasty-tempered animal with whom none of the Castle animals had anything to do. His name was Brutus, and he was very mean. He liked to chase animals just to see them flee in terror. Both Sebastian and Lola had been told how mean he was and instructed that if he got loose, which he seemed to do now and then, they should find a safe place and wait until the neighbor came and got him. Brutus had not hurt anyone—yet—but he seemed to enjoy getting out of his pen and looking for animals to terrorize.

Lola and Sebastian turned to go into the barn, which they felt was safer than the corral, when they heard something else—a bright, piping, little corgi bark. It was the kind of bark puppies make when they have cornered a cricket, a caterpillar, or a small frog. It was joyous and nonstop. They froze.

“That’s Goer!” exclaimed Lola, and together they turned to see something they never wanted to see: a tiny corgi puppy, who had given the slip to its minder, oblivious to the hurricane of a giant bull who was searching for the source of the happy sound so it could be extinguished. Without thinking, but acting as one, Lola and Sebastian sprang into action.

Lola began barking furiously. “Hey, Brutus! Your momma was a Holstein cow! She was scared of everything!” Lola yelled. At the same time, Sebastian whirled around and began kicking the gate out of the corral for all he was worth. In just a few blows, there was enough room for both to squeeze out. In a flash, Sebastian began to taunt the bull towards him, dancing just out of reach as the bull slashed with his horns and stamped his feet. No one had known that Sebastian’s great grandfather fought bulls in the bull ring in Spain. As Sebastian worked from the instinct deep within him, frustrating and angering the bull more, yet dancing out of the way, Lola ran and snatched up the corgi pup. She raced towards the Castle, where an uproar was already taking place, as everyone frantically searched for the missing puppy.

The Emperor took Goer from Lola and handed her to the Lady-in-Waiting, who checked her over for injuries, and then followed Lola to the barnyard. But there was nothing to be found, for Sebastian had lured Brutus back to the property line, and his owner had come and taken the bull home again. Sebastian was standing with nostrils flared, neck arched and tail extended, stomping his tiny feet and hurling insults in the form of excited whinnies as the bull and his owner left.

Everyone at the Castle was grateful and delighted that the two animals who had hated each other on sight, based only on their mistaken preconceptions, had united and not only saved a puppy’s life, but had become close friends. Even better, Lola had forgotten her fear of farm animals in her efforts to save Goer. In fact, the Lady-in-Waiting told Lola that she had made so much progress that she could join the other corgis that lived in the Castle. But Lola said that she wanted to remain in the barn with her new friend, Sebastian, at least for a while.

CHAPTER 5

One day in the fall, the Lady-in-Waiting told Sebastian and Lola about a very special occasion called the Watching, which was coming up very soon. She explained what a joyous yet solemn event it was. Both animals listened with rapt attention. They had never heard the story before and were eager to participate. The Lady-in-Waiting explained that many animals would be there, farm animals as well as lots and lots of dogs and some wild creatures. Although Sebastian and Lola had worked hard to get over their differences and fears, there could be no disruption during the trip to the Watching, nor the Watching itself, so they were given the choice to come or to stay home. Both chose to go.

But this had given Lola an idea, which she secretly told Sebastian. He thought about it for a while and then agreed. They could do this, he thought, and better still, they could do it together. It would be their present to everyone.

Fall gradually turned to winter, and finally it was almost time for the most wonderful part of the year for all the animals. The Watching was coming! The Watching was coming!

The celebration always took place toward the end of December, in a field a few miles from the Castle. This year it was quite cold but not bitter, and the roads were dry and safe. The wagons and carts that would bring many of the animals to the gathering place were given new coats of bright paint by the Castle Footmen.

St. Frank, patron saint of the animals everywhere, had given Watching Lessons to the First Watchers during the month of December. It was a solemn time, and the animals were expected to remain totally silent for most of the Watching. An occasional “ooh” or “ahh” was permitted, and often, towards the end, some spontaneous conversation was allowed. First Watchers were those pups or other animals over the age of six months who had never attended a Watching, including Lola and Sebastian, who were quite excited about the whole idea. First Watchers received a new collar with a shiny tag with a star engraved on it and a small diamond. Sebastian would get a new halter to put his tag on. Most animals only wore this special collar for their First Watching, and then the collars were put away in a safe place.

Goer and her sisters and brother were much too young to go and so would be left behind in the care of the humans at the Castle. The only humans allowed to go along were St. Frank, St. Val, St. Nick, and St. John. St. Val was the patron saint of Love, and all the corgis and other animals tried hard to follow his simple message to treat each other kindly and to love each other. St. Nick was beloved by animals and children alike, for his generosity of spirit during this season. This St. John was a new saint, recently called from his Earthly life to a Heavenly one. He was still searching for his way to help others, and he had requested to come along and assist with the Watching this year.

The trees on the Castle grounds were always decorated festively for the Watching, and this year they were spectacular. Everyone had pored over magazines and looked for ideas for months and months. The Puppy Tree was small and loaded with tiny puppy toys and much glitter. The Puppy Tree was always a little lopsided, and if one were to brush against it, one might come away somewhat sticky. Princess Cheveu, who was a lovely tri-color fluffy corgi, was busy with the younger girl corgis. Their Princess Tree had peacock feathers and gold balls and white fluffy snow on it. Her dear friend, Esmerelda, a turkey who had decided to become a flamingo, had come up with a pink-themed tree; everything on the tree was pink—flamingos, roses, pink lights, pink tinsel.

The elder corgis had decided on a photograph theme and busily worked decoupaging photos of those who lived at the Castle and close friends to pieces of wood that the Footmen provided. Then they decorated these with bits of tinsel, acorns, and whatever they pleased. The Footmen graciously helped the arthritic elders by placing the photos just so on the colored backgrounds, and everyone agreed that the photo tree was the best one of the year. The Lady-in-Waiting worked hard on the Woodland Friends tree, placing wonderful edibles in the branches, fresh hay beneath it, and nuts and dried fruit mixed into in the hay to provide a surprise for those who searched it. This tree was kept supplied with food all through the winter for the wild animals who lived near the Castle.

CHAPTER 6

At last, the big day arrived. The Watching always took place in the wee hours of the morning of December 25th,so travel to the event always began in the early afternoon of the day before.

There was much bustle and busy-ness as the humans loaded the wagons and carts with snacks, water, and other necessities, such as warm blankets to lie on for the Watching. Princess Cheveu braided the tails and manes of the horses, adding holly and tinsel and, now and then, a beautiful feather. Blanco, the white burro, who was Princess Cheveu’s personal mount, was followed by Jacques, the bay-colored Friesian, and the three Appaloosas, Misty, Magnolia, and Chrissie. Various goats pulled small wagons, each with an elder corgi or smaller animals who would find it difficult to keep up on such a long journey. Older birds and squirrels sat on Jacques’ broad and very warm back, and each horse pulled a bigger wagon, filled with supplies such as blankets, food, and water buckets.

The highest point on the biggest wagon always contained the eldest corgi. This year it was Hayley, who was 14 years old and in fairly good shape, except she was unable to walk several miles, nor could she hear anymore. She barked songs whenever she saw the others singing, but no one minded that she barked the wrong ones. Finally everyone gave up and just sang whatever song she was barking.

Then it was time, and the caravan of animals began the long procession to the field. Leather creaked, and bells jingled; puppies laughed and barked and were warned to stay close by and not dash into the woods and get dirty. Everyone looked so festive, and all had on a bit of holly, or a collar of tinsel, or even a pretty plaid coat. They all wanted to look their best on this very special day.

A light meal had been offered before they left, and snacks were available along the way. A big breakfast buffet would be prepared on the following morning when they returned. The trip to the field would take several hours, as many of the animals needed a rest stop several times along the way. Elders and youngsters tired easily and needed a short nap, and all welcomed a drink of water and a snack while they rested.

The youngest puppies were stunned when a large grey wolf appeared in the woods and began to walk next to St. Frank. This was Brother Wolf, St. Frank’s dearest friend. Each year, Brother Wolf asked the youngsters if they would help him find the way to the Watching, and would they please sit near him and help him understand the ceremony? Of course, he knew the way, but the young First Watchers were very happy to be singled out for attention. They danced with delight, barked, and stayed very close to Brother Wolf—which was the intention. St. Nick walked with St. Val, who always had the most interesting things in his pockets, such as peppermints and stickers of foxes and little bits of paper folded into origami cranes and buffalo nickels. He gave these things out liberally to anyone who walked nearby, so everyone came away with something from St. Val. He was a very loving saint.

No one knew too much about the new St. John. He had been called early by The Boss, and although he missed his old life a little bit, he was allowed to peek in now and then to see how his family was doing. Marching next to him but unseen by anyone but the Saints was Lasca, a frisky little Japanese Chin. Lasca had left this Earth shortly before St. John had, and the little Chin had been on hand to greet St. John as he had crossed over to his new life. He was healthy and happy again and thrilled to be reunited with John, whom he loved very much. St. John was along for an orientation, as next year he would have more duties. He carried a clipboard, and every now and then checked off some chore that had been accomplished.

It took several hours to get to the Watching field, which was clear of snow this year. Several improvements had been made. Along the sides of the field were some three-sided shelters in case of snow or rain. A small water pump had been added so that water did not have to be hauled in, and a special area was roped off for the corgis on wheels, who could not walk anymore. St. John directed the corgis on wheels, helping them get out of their carts and comfortable on thick, warm blankets.

In the center of the field was the spot for the First Watchers, and on the other side was an area, protected by low spruce trees, for the elders. As the elders were helped to their spots, St. Frank touched each of them carefully, giving them a pain-free night so they could concentrate on this most special of all holidays. They were also given the Gift of Clear Sight and of Good Hearing. Some elders had turned in applications for jobs on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge that St. Frank and The Boss might offer in the coming year. They knew this could well be the last Watching for them on the Earth, but they were eager to participate from the other side next year.

Wild animals, hesitant about attending, stood in the dark of the nearby woods. They had not been told what the Watching was all about, but knew in their hearts that they needed to come. St. John beckoned to these animals to come closer and join the rest of the group. Squirrels raced from tree to tree, trying to find the perfect branch to sit on. Skunks politely stayed a good distance away. A magnificent stag silently watched it all, and then drew close to Brother Wolf and the First Watchers. A family of raccoons churred softly, kneading their hands together. St. John passed out peanuts and bits of bread, which all the wild animals really seemed to appreciate as a treat. There were a lot of birds, especially crows, who particularly liked being near the Castle.

As everyone settled down, having had a drink and a warm blanket to lie on, and in some cases to pull over themselves, silence reigned. A sneeze was heard now and then, or a cough, or a corgi scratching itself. Each animal thought about what the Watching meant to them and wondered what would happen this year.

CHAPTER 7

And then, all the questions were answered. A little glimmer appeared in the sky, streaking downward and then curving back upward. It crossed itself and then zipped along the horizon. A few of the First Watchers stood up and then remembered to sit down again. It was beginning! As everyone watched the glimmer, suddenly the sky became so bright with color that the animals could see the whiskers on the animal next to them. It had never happened so fast before, and it surprised many of them. Zig-zags of light wove in and out, making the colors dance in the eyes of all who watched. One or two of the First Watchers were a bit afraid but soon settled down when they realized that they were not going to be hurt.

After a while, the colors slowly faded, and there was a silent strain as everyone adjusted their eyes to see. Everyone gazed at the valley just below the Watching field. Then they saw them! The Man and the Lady and the Baby! They were misty figures at first, but everyone knew who they were. In a few minutes, they became very clear and everyone could see them. The Family was in front of a small barn, and this year the Baby was sleeping quietly, which caused several of the older animals to issue a soft “shhhhh…” to the others around them. The animals were happy that the Baby had been born in a manger in a barn. That was a good place to be born, and many of them had entered this life exactly the same way.

Soon the Baby gave a little kick and then turned and stretched and the Lady picked Him up. She gave Him a smile and a little hug and then tenderly held Him close to her. Everyone could tell how much she loved Him. The Man beamed and held his hands out, and the Lady placed the Baby in his arms, where he, too, lovingly snuggled the Child. A group of shepherds with a border collie approached, with several sheep. They gave the Lady a little lamb that was white as a cloud.

Then the animals noticed some strange creatures coming in from the other side of the field. They looked carefully. Yes, it was those odd-looking creatures that fascinated them every year. These were the camels, and St. Frank smiled as he saw the puzzled looks when it was noticed that some camels had one hump and some had two. He wondered if The Boss had been behind that bit of a surprise. That would puzzle the corgis and others for many days to come. The men riding the camels got off, bowed, and gave the Lady some presents.

But suddenly a disruption occurred! The elder corgis looked about for St. Frank to explain the unplanned event to them. A grey pony with a red corgi riding on its back trotted across the field. The Lady and the Man looked at each other in surprise, and then smiled, and the Baby smiled, too. For it was Sebastian, ridden by Lola. Sebastian and Lola greeted the Family, and then Sebastian began to lope slowly around in a circle. As he did, Lola stood on her back paws on his back and then turned around several times. She made a mighty leap off Sebastian and then back on again, much to the delight of the special Family. Lola and Sebastian performed several more tricks, then a short dance routine, turning in synchrony. Finally, they stopped in front of the Family and Sebastian bowed deeply. Lola leapt off and gave a little bow, too. The Baby gurgled and laughed, which touched everyone. They knew He had been very pleased with this gift.

CHAPTER 8

Panting a bit from the exertion, Lola and Sebastian stood by quietly, and at last the long-awaited song began. It came from above, yet all around them. Every year it was a new song, different, yet somehow the same as the year before. It was beautiful and soft. Everyone’s eyes drifted upward, and there they saw the choir in the air above the scene in the field. Oh, how many animals and humans there were! It was all the ones who had left this Earth for a place in the sky. Everyone sought out and strained to see old friends, family members, beloved elders—humans, too. And they were there, every single one of them. The corgis were relieved as they picked out each creature or human that they loved. All were young again, all were bright and happy. There were dogs and cats and horses and squirrels and a few beavers. There was a camel and a zebra. Everywhere one looked, there was someone they knew. The choir waved and called out personal messages, which, miraculously, could be heard clearly by each Watcher for whom the message was intended, yet not by the creature next to them.

Kasper and Nebi the cat looked anxiously through the huge crowd of animals and people who were singing above them. “Look!” whispered Kasper. “She’s up there!” And sure enough, there was Bronwyn, a brindle cardigan beauty. The two animals were very excited as they waved and blew kisses to Bronwyn, who waved back to them.

Tyler was being held by a pretty young woman who was called Jo. She also had Diva in her lap, a sweet little Havanese. Diva had been confused when she arrived, but had been taken over by Jo, to comfort and love her until she was reunited with those she loved on Earth.

There was Jawoo, with Einstein and Guido racing around and barking at her, causing the corgis on wheels to wipe away a tear or two. They were so happy to see their friends running again. Jerome, who had followed Guido to the Bridge, was now restored to health and looked very dignified. Vera sat with both of the boys, helping them through their first Watching on the other side of Life. Lurch, the kitty who lived with Guido and Jerome, looked on in disgust. You couldn’t take those boys anywhere without their causing a ruckus! With a fierce meow, he brought them in line so the song could continue.

A handsome young man named Joseph sat with several animals about him, a corgi named Normie in his lap, and Felix, Beethoven, Rusty, and Mozart sitting close to him. They all waved madly down to Shirley the Fluff and Bunsen. “Tell Mom her Dad is here and ok!” they called down to the Earthly group. Another young man sat nearby. His name was Marty and he was surrounded by pets who had gone ahead of him. There was Baron, Indy, and Angel, who were German Shepherds, and of course, Dunkin the corgi, who wiggled and squirmed and made Marty laugh. The Divine Miss Emily sat with Tigger and smiled down at Skeezix. Nearby sat Aunt Jeff, Hurricane Hugo, Mr. Monty, and the cat clan: Foonman, Brewster, Einsam, Loretta Lynn, Skeeter, Max, and Grampy Spook. Emily disappeared for just a moment, then was quickly back and continued to sing. And elsewhere on Earth, a heartbroken Melissa thought for sure she felt a soft kiss on her nose. Tim sat nearby and hugged a big German Shepherd called Boris and they both sang the beautiful song together.

Brandy, who had been so ill before leaving, now had a glow on her face that was bright as the sun. She sat in Betsy’s lap, a human who had been called too soon. Betsy stroked Brandy’s lovely fur and waved at everyone below. Jordan, Axel, Tramp, and Jake stayed close by Betsy, who everyone agreed was the best rescuer of corgis anywhere. She had so much love for all animals, and they had picked her out to stay with until they were joined by their Earthly families.

A beautiful standard poodle named Chelsea had on a shiny new tag that said “The Boss’s Special Dog,” because she had been a service and therapy dog and had given so much of her life to helping others. Her eyes glowed with happiness, as she was now allowed to roam the halls of senior homes to give gentle licks to those who were leaving and to help them cross. It was good to have a friend for one’s crossing. Even in her new life, she had purpose and happiness. Sam helped her in this job, as he had always wanted to do this. He felt so good now, helping people and animals cross over safely and happily. Rosie and Flynn, below, were very proud of Sam and his work.

St. John, who had been sitting quietly on the ground with his animals who were still on Earth—Fargo the German shepherd, Tink, Cisco, Peeves, and the cats, Mac and Meggie—watched Lasca take his place back among the Heavenly Crowd. St. John pointed out the ones who had left, Ke-ko, Kody, Kewpie, and the cats, Humperdunk and beautiful Gracie. It was an odd thing, he thought, to be able to come and go as he did, but St. John had the benefit of seeing either group of animals whenever he wanted to. All the earthbound animals were happy to see the ones in the sky,and to sit in St. John’s lap again for a few minutes. They missed him so very much and would travel home to tell Marilee that they had seen him again.

Grom and Wallis looked up to see their human Grandpa sitting there. He was young again, and so happy. He held in his lap Beckett and Botch, two corgis who had left very close together, breaking two families’ hearts. Slasher was there, too, and all three dogs barked their greetings to those below who were watching. Berny, who was Ruth’s father, waved down to Woody and Thumper who barely recognized him. It was only his scent, which drifted down on the breeze, that alerted them to his presence. How he smiled down at them! They could hardly contain their tears.

The spectacle continued for quite some time, allowing each Watcher time to look carefully to see restored friends and family, time to reassure themselves that the ones in the choir were happy and glad to be where they were. It was a huge comfort to everyone to see so many friends who had left this year, and to know that they were well and whole again.

Eventually, the choir faded, as did the song. One or two First Watchers called out “Don’t go, please don’t go,” but the images had disappeared. The animals would never forget the song this year, for it had touched so many hearts. Many tears were shed at seeing those who had been lost, but it was good to know that they lived on in another place.

As the sky began to grow lighter, St. Frank addressed all the animals, saying that Lola and Sebastian had worked very hard to overcome their fears and that fears were what kept anyone from believing in themselves and what was to come. Lola and Sebastian walked slowly up from the field to stand quietly behind St. Frank, and then St. Frank blessed them all, wished them a Good Watching, and dismissed them to return to their homes. Angels quietly came from the woods to assist in tucking in elders so that they would remain warm on the ride home. The Saints did a head count to be sure that everyone was in line and would follow the wagons safely home to the Castle. Other animals got up and stretched and said it was the best Watching ever. The wild animals quietly dispersed into the woods, as silently as they had come.

As the caravan left the field, someone began to sing a song and then others joined in. It was soft, as everyone was tired, but a good many of the animals managed to sing most of the way home. Lola and Sebastian brought up the rear together, having overcome their trials and hard times and become good friends. And St. Frank, St. Nick, St. Val, and St. John smiled to themselves as they saw another Watching miracle taking place in their little charges’ lives.

May you all have a blessed Christmas Season!

Millie

REMEMBRANCES (Please see the following post for some lovely photos! You will have to go to the bottom of the page and click on "Older Posts" to see them.)

In Memory of All the Special Friends Who Went to the Bridge This Year

Bronwyn * Kramer, Forrest, and TC * Goldie * Obie * Jawoo * Zeus * Guido and Jerome * Ginger * Brodie * Noah * Normie * Marty * Dunkin * The Divine Miss Emily * Tim * Harley * Mali * Chester Luis * Lil' Handsome * Dink * Calvin * Spock and Jessica * Deion * Angie * Slasher * Nicky * Jake * Tucker * Henry Willie * Yogi * Rizzo * Buzz * Lewis * Bucky * Buddy * Brandy * Betsy * Tramp and Jake * Einstein * Axel * Jordan * Chelsea * Sam * Artie * Chloe * Misty * Zen * Cruiser * Simon * Cody * Sabrina * Miss Daisy * Emma * Dewi * Dunnie Bunnie * Diva * Wylie * Kacy * Breezy * Beckett * Botch * Berny * Lurch * Max * Bayley * Kelsey * Jacob and Abigail * Shalla * Ranger * Quinn * Tryst * Kobie * Corey

You may order the book with the artwork from www.corgiaid.org/watching Please support CorgiAid! Thank you!

Memorial photos for the Watching, 2009

2009-12-07T19:30:00.020-05:00

Buzz

Gwennie Linnea

Calvin

Deion

Golden Gwinn

Kiss

Shalla

Tucker

Zen

Emma

Artie

Junior

Snickers

Buzz and Kramer

Tucker

Quince

Tyler

Bailey

Angie

Deacon

Miss Daisy

Georgie

Larry

Marty and Indy, Angel and Bear

Rosie

Liz and Lex

Noah

Raleigh

Little Su

Parker

Maggie

Giggles

St. John

Sam

Merridy and Gobie

CorgiAid activities

2009-11-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

And how could I forget all of this? CorgiAid is having their annual auction beginning tomorrow. Go to: http://www.craftsforcorgis.com/ and bidding also begins tomorrow and ends November 29th. Lots of corgi and non corgi stuff (check out those wonderful "state" baskets people have been donating!). There are cookies, state baskets, toys, grooming items, artwork, jewelry, books, toys, calendars, you name it and one of our creative donors has come up with an idea that will interest you! Every cent goes to CorgiAid!

We have also chosen two of the illustrations from the Watching book to become ornaments. If they aren't up not, they should be, soon. Also the CorgiAid calendar featuring 12 corgis who were helped by CorgiAid, and their stories. Go to: http://www.cafepress.com/corgiaid for these items. You can also go to: http://www.cafepress.com/wheelcorgis as they have a calendar featuring the "I CAN!" corgis who must be in a wheelcart because of back injuries or DM. Many of these corgis are in carts provided by CorgiAid's loaned cart program. You can buy from both places and then check out once, which will save you money on the shipping. All profits from the first site goes directly to CorgiAid, the profits from the wheelcorgis site goes to purchase carts for corgis to be loaned out (and are therefore owned by CorgiAid, so they benefit in a round about way....).

And if you have been living somewhere else the last ten years, and don't know about it, Corgiaid is found at http://www.corgiaid.org/ where you can read about the dogs who have been helped this year and in previous years.

If you have forgotten to order your book, "The Watching:, this can be ordered off the CorgiAid site, too, look for the tab that is under the banner at the top.

Thank you ALL for making CorgiAid what it is, a huge success for the corgis who need us most......

The Further Adventures of TBBEYTM Aisling

2009-11-14T08:41:00.000-05:00

If you have been following Aisling's adventures, you already know she is a kleptomaniac, steals everything she can and then looks at you with big, innocent and kind eyes. I guess stealing is all in one's perception of whether it is actually stealing or not.

About a week after the Ladder Incident, Jerry was sitting in the front room and saw this going on:

Apparently, Jerry put a dog cookie up there one night that he intended to give to someone as an extra incentive at bedtime to get someone to go into their crate. He forgot about it and the next day, I found it and handed it to the nearest corgi. Also apparent is that there are residual molecules that cluster about the last known site of a cookie's life, much as a ghost will hang around some areas. And, Aisling, being ever curious and totally food driven, pushed the fox over on the little table and proceeded to climb up and examine the site for further evidence of the ghostly cookie's previous domain.

Oh, but it get worse. She has two daughters, Goodness and Mercy, who are now about 10 months old. (Shirley, the fluff, is being reared by a brother to Aisling, I expect great things out of her one day, too!) Although they exhibit some sterling qualities passed on by their sire's DNA, we must remember that they are being reared by the Beautiful but Evil yet Terribly Misunderstood Aisling herownself.

This morning, Jerry the Rastafarian, decided to have Justin and Mercy accompany him to work. He works at a small airport here in Northern Michigan. And the pilots and passengers who come in like to see the dogs. Our most famous celebrity so far has been the Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm. Our greeting party for that day included Hayley and Topaz, as well as Jerry, myself and Jim, the airport manager. All Republicans, I might add, even though Jen herself claims to be Democrat. :) No one else was here to greet her!

Jerry's habit is to leave here and go get some kind of pastry on the way in, for himself and whoever might stop by the airport. This morning's choice was blueberry muffins. He put them in the back of the vehicle to be sure that they were "safe". Nuh uh. Mercy climbed in the back and claimed she was guarding the muffins from terrorists. So he rescued said muffins and took them in the building, along with the two corgis.

When Jerry went outside to do something, she then ate the food that Jim left behind for his dogs. Then she got into the trash and ate the wrapping that the muffins came in. The trash can is completely empty. What a helpful corgi! Jerry had secreted the muffins safely in the refrigerator. When he called to tell me this, he told me he was putting his lunch and his wallet in there, too. No point in letting her get her paws on his credit card.

By the way, this all happened by 8:30 this morning......

The Watching is coming!

2009-11-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale

By Millie J. Williams

With original art by Evie Anderson, Kay Folk, Robert Holst, Kim Hundley, Chris Landers, Ginnie Mickelson, Diane Puntenney, Cindy Read, Cathy Santarsiero, John Scarinici, Christian Slade, and Barbie Sonnett

“Christmas was coming, and Princess Cheveu and all the other corgis and animals at the Castle were preparing for a mysterious and magical event called the Watching. A little red and white corgi, Lola, had been abandoned at the Castle doorway because she couldn’t do her job herding farm animals. Like other lucky rescued dogs, she had found safety at last. But would she be able to overcome her fears and journey to the field for the Watching? And what big surprise would await the Watchers?”

The annual version of “The Watching,” usually released for Christmas Eve, has become a tradition in corgidom. Millie Williams wrote the original story in 2002 for the Corgese list on Yahoo Groups, and since then it has been enjoyed each year by thousands of readers on Corgese, Corgi-L, WheelCorgis, and other e-mail lists. Each year, people have looked forward to the new story, and in 2008, “The Watching: Misty” was published, with photos, on the Web. Now the 2009 story―The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale―is being immortalized in a more permanent form, published as a beautiful full color paperback book with dazzling artwork.
All net proceeds for these books (after printing and shipping) benefit CorgiAid. The books will be shipped beginning December 1, so pre-order now to guarantee you’ll have your copy before Christmas. Books ordered by November 15 will include a special bookplate, signed by the author herself. The books are only $20 each, which includes shipping, so order extras as gifts for all your animal-loving friends, young and old. International orders are $27 each.

To order, go to: http://www.corgiaid.org/watching

Coming December 1st: A special two-week only eBay auction of the original artwork, created for The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale, by Evie Anderson, Kay Folk, Robert Holst, Kim Hundley, Chris Landers, Ginnie Mickelson, Diane Puntenney, Cindy Read, Cathy Santarsiero, John Scarinici, Christian Slade, and Barbie Sonnett.

Coming Soon: A limited edition series of holiday ornaments featuring original art created for The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale.

The Beautiful but Evil yet Terribly Misunderstood Aisling

2009-10-31T20:42:00.001-04:00

Ok there is a story. Really. You all know how misunderstood the Beautiful but Evil yet Terribly Misunderstood Aisling is. The rumors of her stealing sandwiches is legendary.

Well today she did it. She really, really did it and was terribly misunderstood.

We have a large wooden box on the porch that holds "stuff" and therefore has a lid and therefore is a horizontal surface which catches "stuff" all the time. The current box of "stuff" is a box containing 2 dozen plastic flamingoes which I was trying to con someone into giving me real money for on Craigslist. But I digress....Since the dang box of flamingoes is in the way and since it is 60 or 70 feet out to the "trash shed" where I can put empty dog food bags filled with puppy papers and puppy "stuff", it's much easier to pitch the half filled bag on top of the flamingoes to keep certain ever hungry corgis from tearing it to shreds to find the 6 molecules of unconsumed dog food clinging to the plastic inner lining. So said bag was flung up there because it was only half filled with puppy papers.

Sometime yesterday, the ever brilliant Jerry, the Rastafarian, placed, without thinking about it too hard, a 5 foot high stepladder against the wooden box which the flamingoes rested on which also contained the half full dog food bag.

A little while ago, we looked out the window. Something didn't look right. Something was out of order in the universe.

And here is Aisling, absolutely brilliant in her pursuit of food and rocket sciencetry (is that a word?), climbing up the ladder. Really. She's never been trained to do that before. But with the lure of 6 molecules of uneaten dog food beckoning her, how could she resist?
So there she is, caught red handed. And trying to get out of it. And claiming she was misunderstood in her intentions.

You have to love this girl. And I have two daughters of hers.....

Wonderful Animal Videos

2009-05-21T17:08:00.001-04:00

The Family Portrait

2009-04-29T13:41:00.001-04:00

"Ok, guys? Guys, let's all line up on the steps so I can take your photos. Come on, there is a cookie in it for everyone who cooperates....."

"All right but Allie, I need your butt out of the photo. I know it's warm there and all but this is just for the baybee corgis. Shirley, you don't need to smile right now. Just hold that thought for just a minute, please? Thanks!"

"Yes, Allie, go on up the stairs and you can come lie in the sun in a few minutes. Shirley, don't smile just yet. Goodness, can you please come down one step for me, honey?"

"Allie, you need to make up your mind where you want to go, just make it not be here, please. Girls? Pay attention and get on the first step. Don't make faces at each other, either."

"Allie, I know you have lost a lot of weight but your butt is still in the picture. Please leave the pups alone and go lie in the sun. Goodness, you don't need to smile just yet. And can you please sit down pretty for me? Mercy, please try and pay attention."

"Now that's better. OK, Shirley and Goodness, don't look so serious. Mercy, can you please look at me and can everyone please smile for the birdie?"

"Well, this is about as good as it gets, reasonably clean, sitting straight and not smiling but looking ever so serious for our first Family Portrait!"

The Easter Story by Olivia

2009-03-22T12:36:00.001-04:00

Warning: Graphic photos that may upset some viewers!

This is the story of a little corgi named Olivia, who got a Peeps chick for Easter. Olivia was not sure what it was. It was blue and didn't look at all like the chickens that MillieMom had in the special pen outside. And it didn't sqwuak or run around or act silly. It didn't even cluck. Olivia thought she would just lay there with it and watch it for a while.

After a while, she decided to get up and try to get it to play. Maybe the chick was just shy. After she carried it around for a while, she put it down.

Finally she called JerryDad over who had been watching her try to be friends with it. He told her to try and take a little bite of it. He said it was good to eat and that being a corgi, she should like anything that has to do with food. But Olivia still wasn't sure about this.

Alas! Olivia was still too upset by the fact that this was a blue chick. She did try a bite, though and we are hopeful that she will participate more fully in the Destruction of the Peeps, our annual Easter celebration, next year.

The End.