Saturday, December 24, 2011

Our Four-Legged Friends Help Provide A Genuine Christmas Spirit

We spent the past 12 months writing largely about human depravity--the kind that leads to legal actions and, too often, to innocent parties getting cheated in courts of law.

Covering the "justice" beat in postmodern America can make one a tad cynical about the human condition. So what to do in this season that is supposed to be marked by thankfulness and good cheer?

Here in the Schnauzer household, we turn to our four-legged friends. We give thanks for Murphy Abigail Shuler, the wonderful miniature schnauzer who inspired this blog and gave us so much joy for 11 years, before her death on January 14, 2004. We give thanks for our current "babies," the brother/sister Tonkinese combo of Baxter and Chloe. They are a never-ending source of wonder, curiosity, and amusement. They remind us every day that there is a loving God up there somewhere--although his presence often is obscured by the actions of warped humans who seem to feed on creating misery and torment for others.

We also are thankful for those who, through the wonders of YouTube, create videos that makes us smile--or even LOL--at the antics of our animal friends. One expert at this is Andrew Grantham, a resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia, who created the greatest video in the history of the Internet and gave new meaning to a character named "Clark Griswold."

Just a few days ago, Grantham released his latest creation, a charming combination of talking animals and "The Twelve Days of Christmas":



Want to sense the deep meaning of the season, the kind that should last all year long? Check out this video of a mother cat comforting one of her kittens, who seems to be having a nightmare. It has drawn more than 39 million views, making it one of YouTube's top 10 videos for 2011:



We can't leave this subject without a return visit from one of our favorite interest groups--"The Holiday Dogs of Hungary." Merry Christmas!


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