Several years ago my mother adopted a rescued greyhound named Chang. Chang is a huge brindle boy. My first impression of Chang was that he was not very bright. But upon closer review, I discovered that he was just stubborn and manipulative. He acted innocent, but let me dispel that misconception by telling you the story of his first Thanksgiving with my mom!
She had just adopted him a few weeks before Thanksgiving and was still getting to know him when she went shopping for the Thanksgiving meal. She bought a beautiful 20 lb Butterball turkey and was looking forward to having my sister and me and a couple of friends come over to spend the holiday together. She left the turkey out on the kitchen counter to thaw out when she went to work that morning. It was the day before Thanksgiving so she was getting excited anticipating the wonderful meal she was about to prepare. When she arrived home and walked into the house she was horrified at what greeted her! Chang had gone into the kitchen and somehow dragged a frozen 20 lb turkey off the counter and into the living room and had his head buried in the half eaten half frozen turkey! He just barely glanced up from his feast when she interrupted him. She was furious and he was indifferent! She had to wrestle the sacrificial prey from his grip. Years later this is one of our favorite Thanksgiving tales to tell.
Let that be a lesson to you about making sure you don’t leave your turkey where the dog can get to it, because they will if given an opportunity. In a dog’s world finding the turkey is like going to heaven and having their favorite dream come true. They must think, “Wow, for me, all this for me and I didn’t have to chase that big mean nasty bird! Thank you, God. Thank you!” Thanksgiving must be our dogs’ favorite holiday! So beware of the turkey thieves that lurk in your home. I am sure they will be happy to share in the reason for the season and be extremely grateful for living with such generous people companions! Happy Thanksgiving!
