Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Ranger's Christmas Surprise

Anyone who brings a fresh-cut Christmas tree into a home shared with a furry four-footer is guaranteed to get an interesting response.

Kitties like climb up the branches, bat at the ornaments, and play with the presents underneath.

Dogs often just straight up knock them over.

Surprisingly, Ranger's history of Christmas tree behavior has been fairly tame. 
As a pup, he would bury his face in the branches and breathe in all the lovely outdoor scents lingering there. 
When the kittens were little, Ranger would quiveringly watch as they played underneath, sorely tempted to chase them but understanding that that would be a grave mistake.  
And then there was one horrible year when my darling dog repeatedly lifted his leg to the tree, marking the carpets, presents and ornaments alike as his territory. I nearly strangled him with my bare hands.
But this year, Ranger has a new and much more adorable trick up his sleeve.

Late in the evening, when the house is mostly dark and everyone else has gone to bed, and he is patiently waiting for me to finish up, Ranger has taken to sleeping under the Christmas tree.

He is much, much too cute to scold. And I think he knows it. 

Yep, he sneaks around to the far side, slips into the narrow gap between the tree and the wall, then curls up underneath the branches in his cozy cave. Oftentimes, he kicks the presents out of his way, and rearranges the tree skirt to his liking.

I mean, you know, a dog's gotta get comfortable.

But the upshot is that my good old dog has found himself a festive little place to sleep, and as much as I tried to change his mind at first, I've decided to be okay with his new holiday habit.

As long as the tree stays standing. .

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