Since I did a post last week with our cat ornaments and holiday figurines, I figured I should give the dogs equal time this week. We’re pretty much a cat family – nothing against dogs! We just never adopted any. I only had two dogs as a child – Teddy, who loved to chase cars, so we won’t say any more about him – and Sara, who was wonderful but when we moved from upstate NY to Alabama we had to leave her behind. We gave her to the son of one of our neighbors (I had a HUGE crush on him!) and from the photos and letters over the years, she was wildly happy herding cows and living the country life. She looked a lot like the dog in the figurine above.

The only other significant dogs in my life were my maternal grandmother’s Boston terriers, all named Christopher, who I just really never cared for, and my grandfather’s rescue dog Spooky, who I loved with a wild passion. If all dogs were like Spooky, I’d have had a pack! My best friend nowadays has two Wheaten Terriers and I do adore them.

OK, so I enjoy this Dept 56 figure from our Christmas village, of the boy walking a few popular breeds of dog.

A lot of the figures in our village are “found” objects from when I used to go thrifting all the time. We were big eBay sellers for a few years. I think this chipped guy is the RCA dog, but I’m not positive.

And we have some Hallmark Merry Miniatures….

And our Nativity scene is primarily the Fontanini 5″ scale figures. We have two dogs for that, who accompany the sheepherders. (Only showing you one dog since they’re identical.) I always wish the figurines were painted more lifelike colors  but such is life.

This Dalmatian may not be the official Disney version but we loved her long red scarf…we did have “101 Dalmatians” on repeat viewing for years in this house. And “Homeward Bound”….

And last but not least, this Snoopy as Robin Hood has several threads to his tale. I loved Robin Hood as a kid…and who doesn’t love Snoopy? But actually this ornament was a gift from me to my Dad in the 1970’s because he taught me to shoot archery.He and my Mom met as summer camp counselors in the 1950’s. He was the chief archery instructor. Over the  course of the summer, my Mom got jilted by her boyfriend and Dad was right there to offer his strong shoulder for her to cry on. One thing led to another and…So romantic. Like a romance novel! When I got married, my Mom returned this ornament to me for our tree.

Happy holidays to everyone!