Season's Greetings

We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ... Woof, Woof!!

Bow Wow, what a year it has been for us. We're a little more than 1 1/2 years old now and so we've started to put away some of more puppy-ish behaviors. We don't chew as many shoes, although Dad did "donate" a few shoes for our enjoyment. We're getting a little better about chewing on the couch pillows, but they are so irresistable! (We've only ruined three so far and we think that displays a great sense of restraint...don't you?) We're wearing our winter outfits now and although they are warm, we kind of look like a couple of sheep. Too bad we won't be traveling with mom and dad up to Utah for Christmas. We could play the part of the sheep again in the Christmas eve play. We liked doing that last year for our very first Christmas.

Our parents remain busy. Mom is still teaching at Albuquerque HS. She's working on her National Board teaching certification this year so we don't see as much of her as we'd like. She's also working towards her second degree black belt in Kung Fu and will test next summer. We get to watch her practice in the front room every now and then, but have to be quick to move out of her way.

Dad seems just as busy with his early morning seminary class and work, but at least he is able to take us on a walk every day. We like to run and sometimes it takes a bit of effort to get dad moving his feet fast enough for us, but we usually succeed. We love it best when we are off leash. Being brother and sister means we know each other very well and can anticipate each other's every move, so one good poodle smash deserves another. Sometimes on our walks we see some of the local wildlife. Just last week we saw two coyotes waiting in the early morning sun and sometimes, if we are very lucky, we see a roadrunner. There are plenty of dogs in the neighborhood and dad tries to give names to all of them. Each day we say hello to Psycho, Rocco, Buster, the Apple Dumpling Gang, the River Bottom Nightmare Band, Ren and Stimpe, Casper and friends, and many more. Who can remember their names ... just dad.

This fall was a special treat for us. Dad took us with him to Dickson Farms to buy apples. On the way home we stopped at one of the local Native American food stands and dad shared his navajo taco with us. We love those! After this scrumptious snack we stopped in the foothills of the Sandia mountains and dad took us on a long hike up the La Luz trail. We only got about half way up the mountain before we turned around and went back. We don't know if dad was tired, but we sure were. This was our longest walk ever ... 8 miles. You can't imagine all of the different smells there are in the Sandia's.

We still try to be as helpful around the house as we can. We are always ready to clean up little spills in the kitchen (and even clean the plates if left too close to the edge of the counter). We help out in the garden harvesting tomatoes, onions, beets, spinach, and green beans. We like to sneak a few tomatoes when mom and dad aren't looking! We're great at announcing new visitors when the door bell rings, but can't seem to figure out the difference between the real door bell sound and some of the sounds on TV... we'll get it eventually. At night, when we're tired from a long day's play, we like to snuggle with mom and dad...and they like it too!

We've had a good year and look forward to an even better year next year. We hope to see all of you again...so until then keep your tails waggin'!

Merry Christmas,
Duncan and Dakota


A dog is like an eternal Peter Pan, a child who never grows old and who therefore is always available to love and be loved.
--Aaron Katcher, American Educator and Psychiatrist