I was so excited by the lack of craziness around the Hospital and the house that I had nearly forgotten I had that four-legged brother of mine. Alas, I got a firm reminder and almost an electric one this weekend as my family set up the holiday decor around the Hospital. As usual, I was up front, minding my own business, chewing on the HUGE Kong Mom slipped me when my brother wasn’t looking. Mom and Dad were busy hanging lights and setting up the tree. My sister was helping my mom hang the ornaments and the puppy was in the back enjoying the sun. Mom had just put the finishing touches on the lobby and hung all of the stockings with our staff’s names on them when my human sister let the puppy in.
I heard him come through the door about the same time the whirlwind of a dog hit the tree. Now, this tree swivels making it easy to decorate and well, apparently, also to do the hula when hit by a MACK Rome. As the tree spun around, the ornaments went flying in all directions. It was like a scene from one of those Hollywood ninja movies where suddenly the air is filled with throwing stars, only in the movies, they are thrown with purpose and you know where they are going. This was more of a duck and take cover operation. The silver balls all bouncing and crashing across the floor, the gold snowflakes spinning wildly in every direction and in the middle of it all, the catalyst for this calamity getting tangled in the tree skirt. He dashed around to where I arose from the clatter of objects being hurled in my direction. He crouched down under me as if I were going to be his canine shield and protect him. Not gonna happen pup, I thought, and under the desk I went. I barely realized my mom and sister were there until they came skating around the corner on a snowflake and a prayer. The wake of destruction was wide-reaching. My sister said, “Rome is a crazy dog, Mom.” Mom, looking at the lobby and the veritable waste land that Rome had created, was merely silent. What took all morning to create had taken my brother less then 15 seconds to destroy.
My dad rushed in, hearing the commotion and seeing the devastation, turned and walked away quickly from the scene taking my sister with him. My mom was left standing there holding the tree and trying to figure out which end of this adventure was up. Dad returned and took “Senior Destruction” to the back and put him in his kennel. Mom started to clean up the carnage and right the world of holiday happiness once again. I crawled out from under the desk and came out to survey the damage. The whole bottom of the tree was empty and all the snowflakes were off the tree and strewn around the lobby. The silver and glittery balls were everywhere but near the tree and the tree-topper was now a hat for the soda cooler nearby. The tree skirt blanketed the scale a good 10-feet from the tree and the red flowers that had been dislodged from the tree were beautifying the lobby in what one can only describe as an expressionist masterpiece without a master to weld them.
I walked up to my mom as she began to reassemble the tree and nudged her hand. She looked down at me at me and said, “Pike, your brother is a wreaking ball.” I pushed a silver ball with my nose as if to say “good thing everything on the tree is plastic, right Mom?” Mom seemed to get my drift. She turned to me and said, “well Pike, plastic makes it possible.” She shrugged her shoulders, then the lights on the tree flickered and then crackled and then the lights went out, as if to punctuate the trees final curtain call.
I am happy to report the lobby has been restored and looks beautiful. Rome has figured out how to give the tree a wide berth and I have decided what I am getting my brother for the holidays.... a short leash! -RUFF!!!!
