Cinnamon's Christmas Visit to the Country Cousins' Hunting Lodge

Here I am riding shotgun. I'm all decked out in my bow.

Well, on Christmas day after the uneventful non-present opening at home, we jumped in the car and headed for the Country Cousins' in the mossy forest of the Kitsap Penninsula.

It was a special day so I was all decked out in my Christmas finery (aka Bow) for the occasion. I tried to sleep in the car but I was too excited. When we got near their house, my owner rolled down the window so I could smell the perfume of the forest. All of a sudden we slowed down. Someone was in the road ahead of us.... it was Uncle Tom and Indy. They were out for a Christmas walk. I got so excited when I saw Cousin Indy that I started whining. Indy jumped on the car and tried to hug me hello. I love my country cousins.

Here's Cousin Remi. He's the patriarch of the family.

So after that we went into the house (which, I think, also serves as a hunting lodge) so I could see Cousin Remi. He was actually nice to me.. can you imagine? After we settled in and traded toys, I decided to look for Cousin Samson. He was nowhere to be found. He's the best cousin because he plays with me. But he wasn't there. Since I was getting bored, I just curled up and went to sleep.

Soon it was time to open presents. Uncle Tom, Aunt Glenda and family hadn't opened their presents yet so everyone was excited. AND THERE WERE PRESENTS FOR ME! I brought some treats for my cousins but they really overdid Christmas FOR ME. There was a huge sack FULL OF GIFTS. As I opened them, Aunt Glenda told me that the toys inside were not really toys... they were training aids and I needed to be trained to HUNT SQUIRRELS.

What happened, and probably was the reason I was laid off as Official Squirrel Guard, was that all my barking and chasing did nothing to impact the squirrels. They just came back and tried to steal food out of the bird feeder. Instead, what I was hearing from these HUNTING EXPERTS, was that I needed to start HUNTING squirrels so that they couldn't come back at all! (It's all about outcomes!)

And here was how I was going to learn to do it.

1. The Flying Cammo Squirrel toy was designed to help me learn to jump high and catch squirrels. It has a picture of a flying squirrel on it.

2. The Squirrel Squeaky toy is for me to practice catching and carrying squirrels once I catch them.

Here's the Flying Cammo Squirrel Toy

Here I am being instructed on how to practice hunting with the Squirrel Toy
(Notice how well I am paying attention)

Here I am practicing.

I appreciated these gifts but am not at all sure I want to go hunting in my back yard. Can't we just ask them to leave, nicely? I'm an Urban Coonhound and not really comfortable with violence (well, after my stint at the Survival Camp!).

So after all that excitement the family had dinner while we dogs watched. We are good at playing the staring game during dinner. Imagine, three pair of eyes watching every bite of prime rib and vegetables that the people take. It was hard work doing all that staring.

After dinner I got a small piece of prime rib and then scoped out Remi and Indy's dishes to see if they had left anything. Since I was so hungry, I got in all kinds of trouble eating their food. But it was worth it because I got in a few mouthfuls before I was caught!

And, since it was Christmas, all was forgiven and I got bedtime treats right along with Remi and Indy.

Here we are getting TREATS!

Thank you to my Country Cousins for another great holiday.

Peace on Earth (except for squirrels),
Cinnamon