All Creatures November/December 2020

NOW THAT EDWARD GRINNAN has moved on to other projects, I’m taking over writing this editor’s note—something I would never have imagined I’d be doing just a few years ago. I had been an editor at Guideposts but left in 2011 to explore a new opportunity. I adopted a puppy, got married and had two kids. Then I got laid off, and by 2016 I found myself at a standstill in my career. I cared for my toddler and infant and picked up as many freelance assignments as I could. My husband took over with the kids when he got home from the office, and I’d squirrel away to our bedroom to do more work. I stayed up until the wee hours finishing assignments and looking for a steady job…

Pets are part of the family, and Shannon Barry of Hamilton, Ontario, wanted her hairless guinea pigs (aka “skinny pigs”) to join her and her husband in their activities—from watching television in the den to vacationing at their cottage. But how would their 10-year-old chocolate Lab, Sasha, react? Shannon took spotted Spencer and fuzzy-faced Sydney out of the cage and carefully introduced them to Sasha. The gentle Lab proved to be no threat. “Sasha is very protective of them. She thinks of them as her pups.” The three pets became fast friends. They love to lie together in front of the fireplace and share snacks. “Sasha hates vegetables. But she’s been known to steal a big dandelion leaf away from Sydney. Then Sydney will go and steal it right back!”…

The Friendly Beasts Jesus, our brother, strong and good,Was humbly born in a stable rude,And the friendly beasts around him stood,Jesus, our brother, strong and good. “I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown,“I carried his mother uphill and down,I carried his mother to Bethlehem town;I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown. “I,” said the cow, all white and red,“I gave him my manger for his bed,I gave him my hay to pillow his head;I,” said the cow, all white and red. “I,” said the sheep with curly horn,“I gave him my wool for his blanket warm,He wore my coat on Christmas morn;I,” said the sheep with curly horn. “I,” said the dove from the rafters high,“I cooed him to sleep so that he would not cry,We cooed him to sleep,…

I PICKED UP our long-haired chihuahua from the airport on a spring day in 2006. I had found him online and fallen for him. Poquito Ricardo (“Little Richard”) —jokingly named after our friend Richard, who made fun of the dog’s size (“He’s a rat dog!”)—flew in from North Carolina. I quickly learned how tough he was. He never cried. He wasn’t afraid of going for walks on our dangerous, winding road. And he stole the role of alpha dog from his big brother, a King Charles spaniel. There was no question: Poquito was in charge. When he suffered kidney failure and pancreatitis at 14 years old, Poquito never showed he was in pain. Despite his strength, he passed away in November 2019. I was heartbroken. I commissioned a watercolor painting…

EVERY YEAR, Donna Foy of Franklin, Virginia, and her three Landseer (black-and-white) Newfoundlands put a little extra muscle—and a lot of fun—into holiday preparations. Donna, coordinator of the Colonial Newfoundland Club’s annual Christmas Tree Pull, chooses a day in December for her dogs, Emma, Sailor and Liza, and others to lend a paw at a local Christmas tree farm. Once a family selects its tree, the farm staff loads it onto a cart, and then a Newfoundland pulls the cart to the car. The dogs love to work. “Pulling a cart is in a Newf’s DNA,” Donna says. The event also raises awareness for the Newfoundland breed—“gentle, people-loving dogs.” Last year 12 dogs from the club participated, six hauling trees and the others greeting the crowds. They pulled almost 60…

HAVE YOU heard of “Shocking Around the Christmas Tree”? It’s the Tennessee Aquarium’s unique holiday program. Next to the electric eel tank, a Christmas tree lights up every time the eel, named Miguel Wattson, releases a jolt of electricity. Electric eels emit the strongest shocks when they’re eating or excited, so the tree’s lights glow brightest at Miguel’s mealtimes. Miguel has been at the Chattanooga aquarium since 2014, but 2019 was the debut of the display, which uses sensors to turn his shocks into light and sound (“kaboom!”). “Miguel shocked about 37,000 Yuletide visitors with his Clark Griswold impersonation,” says Casey Phillips, the aquarium’s communications specialist. “We’ll definitely be doing it again this year.” Phillips also serves as Miguel’s alter eel-go by writing tweets on his behalf. “Miguel’s first stunning…