We love our puppy customers -
They're our #1 bread and butter,
Especially right now at Christmas time
With their MasterCards all a-flutter.

Oh sure, they've heard about puppymills -
They don't live in a cave.
The tree-huggers dreamed THAT whole thing up.
They're really quite depraved!

All OUR pups came from "Local Breeders".
These signs around TELL you so;
We paint em up and hang em high
Cause we want you to know!

We don't put a price on honesty,
But this pup will cost eight hundred dollars.
You don't think that we make the big bucks
Selling fish food and martingale collars !

But back to our Christmas Greeting
And why we wish you all Good Cheer;
You see, you are $pecial folks to us
At this festive time of year.

We love you because you're lazy,
Though very well-connected.
You just won't take the time to find
A breeder who's respected.

You so rarely do your homework.
Santa, send us MORE trusting fellas
With no time to learn about Cataracts, hip dysplasia
Or Luxating Patellas !

Zoonotic's not a word you learned
Playing Scrabble or at school ?
Color Mutant Alopecia ? Duh !
We LOVE it, man, you're COOL !!!

Cryptorchids must be flowers from Hawaii you say ?
We will sure not tell you better.
And you don't need to know Brucellosis, my friend,
Unless, of course, you get er !!!

You think that CERF-ing's what cool dude s do
Somewhere out in California ?
And OFA's just another old workplace law ?
We're sure not going to warn you !

But should we stumble upon someone
Who IS savvy in any way,
We'll just start extolling the wonderful work
Of the grand ole USDA !!!

We love you cause you just don't care -
You buy it because you want it.
You can lay your cash on OUR counter, ma'am,
If you've got it, you OUGHT to flaunt it !!!

We love the things you DON'T ask !!!
It makes our job so easy.
If you saw the sights behind the scene
You'd probably get quite queasy.

You'll never see the breeding dogs
Who suffer on the wire,
Or pups that die of hyper-thermia
When their truck gets a flat tire.

We'll keep you from our back room, too,
And put a padlock on the freezer.
Those diseased tiny puppies stiff and cold
Would not be a crowd pleaser.

We hope you have a vet you like -
That pup's probably gonna need him.
Ivomec wears off in thirty days -
That's how long we've guaranteed him !!!

Who cares when you get that blue slip home
And find out that it wasn't true.
Your Local Breeder's way out in Timbuktu?
HO! HO! HO! That joke's on you !!!

So come and see us, one and all -
Join in our Christmas Cheer !
We've strung the tinsel all around.
If we could, we'd serve you beer !

We've got the carols playing
And a Santa, for good reason;
We're all scrubbed up and looking good
So you'll make our Christmas season.

As you walk away with your new pup
We'll shed a happy Christmas tear.
Don't change ONE THING about yourself-
Just DO come back next year !!!

(ching, ching)
Dr Cathy Priddle

AUTUMN

What do we do when our loving pets face the last leg of the race?

We do all we can to help them finish well, of course.

We take time to read the unspoken needs of the friends we've come to
know so well.

We give the simple reassurance of a loving touch when the old boy
seems confused for no reason.

We groom them faithfully, but more gently, as age brings muscle
wasting, and the arthritic bones aren't so well padded.

We learn to slow down for their sake, as they enjoy the scent of the
wind, or track a visitors trail across their yard.

We expect to be inconvenienced, and aren't angry when it happens.

We watch for pain and treat it, watch for changes in vision and
hearing and do what we can to help preserve those precious senses for as
long as possible.

We take care of their teeth, and make sure their food is a manageable
texture for them.

We remind them of the need for a potty walk when they seem to forget.

We remember the little rewards.  We scratch the graying ears and
tummy, and go for car rides together.

When the pet we love has an unexplained need for comfort, we give it
freely.  When infirmities bring a sense of vulnerability, we become our
old guardian's protector.

We watch their deepest slumbers, when dreams take them running across
long-forgotten fields, and we remember those fields too.

When they cannot stand alone, we lift them.  When their steps are
uncertain, we steady  them.

And if their health fails, it falls to us to make the choice that
will gently put them to rest.  But until that is absolutely necessary,
we pause to let the autumn sun warm our old friend's bones.

And we realize, autumn is not a bad time of year at all.

Old age is not a disease or a reason to give up.  It is a stage of
life that brings its own changes.

Autumn can be a beautiful time of harvest.

And, sometimes, the harvest is love.

author-- Christy Caballero