Woof! Well, it happened again. It happened the last time the outside got cold – and the time before that, too. What happened? The Magic Tree came back.

You see, when it gets cold outside, sometimes a tree appears in our house. I don’t think it grows on its own; I think my pack-dad and pack-mom bring it in. Now, since I’m a boy four-legger, I feel the need to pee on trees. (It’s what I do.) Somehow though, I think it’s best to not pee on this one.

I have learned that – when the tree appears in our house – this means lots of other fun things are going to happen. First of all, many of our two-legged pack-family members start to show up. That is my favorite because they always give me lots of attention – you know, rubs and throws and stuff. They sneak me extra two-legger food, too! Woof!

The Magic Tree is special to me. A long, long time ago, when I was a tiny four-legger, I came to live with my pack-family. The day I came, they had a Magic Tree in our pack-den. When I first got there, I was a little bit scared because my pack-mom had me in a box and it was dark.

I could tell she was carrying me around because I was slipping and sliding in there just a little bit. All of a sudden, she put the box down and it wasn’t dark anymore! There was lots of movement and noise… So, I walked out and had myself a look around.

The first thing I noticed was that there was a much bigger version of ME already there! (Okay, it wasn’t really me, but it was a big four-legger who looked just like a me.) I later learned that he was to be my big four-legged brother, Charlie. Also, there were lots of two-leggers there. Later, I learned that three of them were my two-legger brothers. (They always come to see me when the Magic Tree is here!)

So…out of the box I came. It really was very noisy! But, I needed to figure this out, so I went up to one of the two-leggers. He lifted me up, so I gave him a big smooch right on the face. Then I went to the next two legger and then the next. They all got lots of kisses. (I’m a very good kisser).

When I was done with the two-leggers, I focused my attention on the other four-legger. He was the same color as me and he looked just like me, but he was way bigger than me. He didn’t look all that tough, so I gave him a little nip on the leg. He loved it! He started jumping around and playing with me and we went racing all around the pack-den. (That was our first day together, and I still miss Charlie. He taught me how to swim, how to fetch, and how to do my “business” outside of the house.)

I always get something fun to play with when the Magic Tree is here. Last year, I chewed the paper skin off a box and when I got it open, there were lots and lots of tennis balls in it! Can you imagine that? Woofin’ cool! I usually get a super tasty bone to chew on as well. I love when the Magic Tree comes to our pack-den!

Jim McCoy