Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a Munch.
Maybe it was the stolen ham sandwiches that had lay in his reach, that made his body resemble a peach.
All round and hairy he lay in the way and was too full to even attempt to play.
Until that was, his best friend came along and started to sing him an encouraging song.
His ears pricked up and he gazed at her face, wanting her to come and rest in his space.
A bond like this, warms even the coldest of hearts, especially when their mischievous adventure starts.
Mix the energy of a three-year-old child and a labradoodle together and there is one thing that you will never hear and that is peace and quiet. Their mischievous footsteps that fail to tiptoe through the house means that they are in pursuit of happiness. A thrown ball here and a shared pack of crisps there, makes two beautiful souls come together and fill each other with joy.
My beautiful granddaughter was only nine months old when our almost Shetland pony sized Munch became part of our family and I wondered how they would get on. I need not have worried as it is as if their silent glances to one another communicated that they saw the world in the same mesmerising way. They loved people, loved affection and were rather partial to food. Isn’t that the bases of any good friendship? To them, it was.
The old souls that lived within each of them felt like they have lived before alongside each other in a previous life as they knew each other so well. As Munch lay stretching his long body out on the floor, my granddaughter would crawl with maturely around him not wanting to disturb him. From the first stroke that she gave him with her cute dimpled hand, she was soft and lovingly gentle and never rough. Munch in return was the gentlest of giants with her.
He always greeted her with kisses and would follow her around like a shadow. If she cried, he ran to her to see how he could help and did not leave her side until she was better. He climbed onto the bottom of the bed where she slept when she was older and remained there with Angus the cat to be the pair of bodyguards that every girl needed. The sound of her voice on the phone would set his helicopter tail off wagging in excitement as he heard his best friend. This was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Fast forward three years on and their friendship is unbreakable. She calls him her baby boy and ensures that he has everything that he needs. On Christmas Eve she tucked him in and told him to go to sleep early ready for Santa to bring him his present. As she placed his heart pillow underneath his heavy head, she whispered “I love you so much Munch”, to which he gave her a doggy kiss in return. There may never be much peace and quiet with these two around when they are together but there is always peace and love in their own shared world. What else could I ever wish for on Earth?
However, you spent your holidays, I hope that you found your own version of peace somewhere. Love and blessings.