Petey's Christmas

Petey was as thrilled as any two year old on Christmas Eve. He kept putting his head in the shopping bags with the gifts to be wrapped. He couldn't stay out of the wrapping paper. And zipped back and forth between the bedroom where the gifts were being wrapped and the Christmas tree all day. It really was like having a toddler in the house. But somehow Petey turned in to a teenager over night.

John and I got up Christmas morning and began opening our gifts. We take our time opening one at a time and admiring the gift before moving on to the next one. I had wrapped three treats in tissue and a whole box of a new kind of treat for Petey. We thought that we'd all take turns opening gifts.

John went first. Petey seemed to sense that this gift wasn't his and didn't bother to come assist as he always has in the past. I tossed him a tissue wrapped treat. He opened that with great gusto and proceeded to run to his favorite eating place to devour it when he realized he was already in his favorite eating spot. So, he ran the two steps to his ring bed and began chomping on the treat. John continued to open his gifts as Petey ate and Petey didn't care.

When he finished his treat, he wandered back in to the foray but only for another tissue wrapped treat. He didn't give John's packages a second glance. I gave him another treat. He opened and ate it once again with great enthusiasm.

I thought Petey might not like that he missed out on the gift opening so when I started to open mine, I called him over to help. He begrudgingly took a nibble at the corner. Then he took a good whiff and knew there were no bacon treats in that package, so we wandered back over to his ring bed with a sigh. I tossed him the third tissue wrapped treat and all was right with the world again.

I finished opening my gifts and that left the one package of new treats for Petey. I truly wondered if he'd care to open it. I called him over to open the last package. I don't know if he could smell the treats through the package, or if he recognized the shape or what, but he knew that was his gift. He happily tore in to the wrapping and got the bag out. He pranced and danced around as I opened the pouch to pull out a treat. I gave him one and he returned to the ring bed for one more Christmas morning treat.

It brought a little nostalgia to us to remember the days when Petey opened every one's gift without a care as to what was in it or if it was for him. Petey will be 15 in few weeks. I guess it is time he grew up.