Cookie Monsters

When I was little, ok up until the age of about 10, when my family went out to dinner, my parents had to monitor how much sweet tea (the table wine of the South) I would drink prior to eating my meal. Why? Well, I had a tendency to drink so much tea without anything in my stomach that it would make me puke, which would quickly put an end to our family dinner out, usually before it actually started. I just couldn't help myself - it was too good to stop, no matter how sick I felt.

I think today many of the 31 greyhounds who attended our first ever Howl-a-day Cookie/Treat Exchange might be able to relate to my childhood habit. Greyhounds of every shape and color were treated to an afternoon of fellowship and festivities at the Five Seasons Brewery beer garden. Many were decked out in their holiday finest. There were of course the traditional reindeer antlers, as we all know greyhounds make the perfect substitute to pull Santa's sleigh, well - as long as they can wear coats. Seka even trotted out her antlers, but refused to let me take her photo.

There were Santa hats and even a full Santa's Little Helper costume, with a boa collar and beard. I saw a few elf hats with pointy ears, made especially for those greyhounds who don't have the type that stick up by themselves. But I think everyone in attendance agreed that the camel costumes took the cake. Who would have thought that greyhounds would make fantastic camels? Fawn colored ones sure do, especially when you put dangly tassles around their ears. These guys were the camels for the three wise men in their church nativity last weekend. Oh, and that's Dr. Spock sporting that costume - his ears naturally do that all the time, so it was perfect for his camel head dress (no greyhound ears were injured in the wearing of this costume).

But of course we were there for the cookies. Everyone enjoyed exchanging a sampling of our favorite homemade dog treats, along with the recipes. My girls loved Luke's Mackerel Smackerels. I mean, who doesn't love a good ol' fashioned fish cookie? Click here if you would like our recipes for Roxy's Gingerbread Bones and Seka's Kissable Garlic & Cheese Balls. It's our holiday gift to you!

Seka totally enjoyed herself. She just layed on her bed and requested that her treats be placed next to her face for consumption. Roxy, on the other hand, was too nervous about the roof falling in on her to appreciate what was going on. In fact, at one point the poor thing was shaking and drooling so bad that she crawled in my lap and just shook like leaf for about 15 minutes. This was her first outing to a greyhound event that was held indoors. We need to do a lot more work with her at places like Pet Smart before we do another indoor group event again (insert cry to Jen for help here).

The loot the girls came home with looks more like a trick-or-treat bag instead of Christmas candy. And if left to their own devices, they would still be eating out of the basket right now. But just like me, they've had to learn that a little goes a long way when it comes to some things that you like - or at least if you do have to get up from the table and puke don't tell your parents or you'll have to leave the Western Sizzlin' without going to the soft serve ice cream bar.