Hey Mom,

Last night I turned Pawsburgh into a Christmas miracle! As the town’s secret Santa, I led by example & showed humans the joy of giving. We ended up melting the Scrooge’s heart & had a howling good time spreading cheer among my furry friends. Back home now, with a belly full of good deeds and a tale to wag about.

Licks & love,
Rockie 🐾

Listen to the story here

Once upon a time, on the night before Christmas in human reckoning, yours truly, Rockie, made my customary escape to that vibrant town of Pawsburgh. As my beloved human snoozed, visions of frugality dancing in her head, I gallivanted off to where the grass is a touch greener, and the fire hydrants never rust.

Even before the Kelpie Keys were in sniffing distance, I could sense a frisson of excitement in the air. My heart, swifter than my dainty paws, soared with delight knowing adventures awaited in the moon-kissed streets bustling with my kin.

“Sadie!” I announced, my presence to my cherished ally as we met by the shimmering Briard Bridge. She wagged her tail, twice for hello, thrice for ‘I missed you’.

“Rockie!” she barked back, her eyes agleam, “I reckon we’ll find you at Paw-tisserie tonight, poring over your beloved spaghetti?”

I snorted, my compact frame bristling with mirth, and we trotted towards the blithe lights of Poodle’s Pasta. “Nay,” I countered. “No pasta tonight, Sadie. My human’s heart, it’s unfolding like a reluctant flower in spring – and I have got to see it.”

“Oh, Rockie,” she chuckled, “always the champion of the underdog.”

Indeed, ’twas the night before holidays, and in the small hours, as creatures of two legs snore without grace, miracles, as they say, sneak in through the door. My human, as tight-fisted as the worst (a Scrooge, in a manner of speaking), had shown inklings of change – and those inklings I had to encourage.

Arriving at Topaz Terrier Town, I found not the bustling market of joyous exchange but the lone figure of my human, shuffling through the snow. The sight shook my terrier heart; ’twas a turn I didn’t expect.

“What has brought you here?” I howled, my voice a blend of woof and warmth.

She kneeled, hand outstretched. “Rockie, I’ve been blind as a bat in daylight. I now see what I must be! Generosity, it’s got to be in me!” she declared with newfound passion, her words thawing out in the frosty air of genuine revelation.

My heart swelled like a sail in the wind. A transformation as delicious as a delectable morsel of food I couldn’t resist – which isn’t peanut butter, mind you – was unfolding before my vigilant gaze.

The night grew older, our hearts younger. Together, we strolled through Poodle’s Pasta, where my human, with newfound charity, handed out treats and toys to the delight of my doggie compatriots. We passed by Best in Show Photography, capturing joyous moments free of charge, sealing memories of a night when greed took its leave.

Together, we conquered The Pampered Pooch Salon, where my human groomed and pampered pups without payment, and The Pawsome Pet Pharmacy, dishing out meds to those in need.

As the dawn teased the horizon and the human world awoke, a certain Manchester Terrier and his generous human strolled back home along streets that felt less cold, hearts aglow with an ember of hope.

“And that, Sadie,” I prattled to my friend as we said our dawn farewells, “is my yuletide tale.”

“How very Paddy Chayefsky of you,” she teased, her eyes twinkling with the knowledge that not all stories require embellishment.

Sometimes reality does the trick just fine.

The End.