The Christmas Misadventures of Nico

I start this post with the wise and kindly face of Reuben, our resident senior dog, and the avatar of sanity and reason, especially compared with You Know Who:

A few nights before Christmas, little Nico saw his opening and took it.  My Mom had just arrived from Florida.

Picking up my Mom at Philly International Airport

We were getting her settled in when we noticed that we hadn't seen Nico around for a minute or two.  Given his penchant for sneaking out the front door whenever it opens, we started running from room to room, calling his name with increasing hysteria until someone heard a vague rustling sound coming from under the bed.  

It was the paper wrappers from a box of twelve Godiva truffles: my Christmas present, which had been hidden deep in the bedroom closet.  By the time we detected Nico, he had snarfed down eleven of those yummy, decadent, dark chocolate nuggets of kryptonite.  And he was none too happy when we took the twelfth away.

One call to Poison Control later and we were rushing Nico to Old Marple Animal Hospital.  He rode happily between us, excited to be going for a late evening jaunt!

Twelve hours later, Nico was sent home from the hospital. While I never did get a taste of what turned out to be an almost thousand dollar box of truffles, I did get some lovely Christmas gifts, especially this double portrait of my Dad in World War II and his Dad in World War I:

and some books and music I was longing for:

and of course the gift of Christmas itself surrounded by family.

Still, one of the holiday's best gifts was undoubtedly the continued presence in our lives of Nico the chocolate-seeking missile:

Notice the look in his eyes.  We're pretty sure he's plotting his next misadventure.