And how do dogs celebrate the holidays, anyway?

By Strider the Dog

Dear Strider,

I am totally up a wall. Too many jobs and not enough help at this time of year. I volunteer at three different nonprofit orgs, if you can believe that. It’s nuts. Do you have any idea how many holiday parties that means? And the closer we get to Christmas, the more everyone else seems to be checked out, leaving me with extra work. I try to wear my jingle bell earrings and get happy, but when I see stuff in my email inbox where it looks like no one is listening to me, I can’t help but get frustrated. Even angry. It makes me think this volunteering thing is for the birds. But somebody has to do it!

Do you have any ideas for me on how to get through this stressful time? I read you from time to time, when I have time, so I know it’s possible your cedar tree friend might have some philosophy to share.

Thanks for letting me vent at least.

— Tired Volunteer

Dear Tired,

Wow.

First let me thank you from the bottom of my paws for volunteering. Where would we be without volunteers? Woody the Puppy Intern never stops talking about his time at Sanctuary One, and all the great volunteers who taught him what “kisses” means. And FOTAS! Not to mention our own Ashland.news.

But there are too many to mention, and not enough volunteers to go around. So I totally get your feelings of overwork. Especially this time of year. My friend Koda’s guardian works so hard at her office, that when the holidays come, and it’s tree trimming time and fairy light strewing time and gift giving time, she just comes over to our house and falls into a chair to talk it over with Tod. Koda and I sit staring at her adoringly. That seems to help.

Do you have a chair you could sit in where a person and/or a dog could look at you adoringly and tell you how wonderful you are? Maybe you could sit in it for longer than usual, and not check your emails? Koda’s guardian is very big on ignoring her emails from time to time. She says everything gets done in the end, why worry? And she loves to sew and play the guitar, which she also does when she’s stressed. Maybe you have some creative activity you love where you could just ignore your stress and enjoy yourself? Music is always good. I love music.

I also asked the Old Cedar Tree what they had to say about this bad situation. After they agreed with me that volunteers are the best, they had this to say: “Sometimes with humans, the more they do, the more they think they have to do. Then they get tired, blame themselves for not working hard enough, and make the mistake of redoubling their efforts. This leads to more frustration, even anger, and more mistakes, which just make them more frustrated and angry. It seems to be a human thing. Maybe tell your friend to just force themselves to chill, take some deep breaths, and relax. Don’t forget, winter is the earth’s way of telling us all to slow down.”

I think that’s great advice. Don’t you?

Good luck.

Dear Strider,

We love your column at our house. And we have a question for you. Do you dogs celebrate the holidays? If so, which ones? And what do you do to mark the occasion? Inquiring minds want to know! Also, happy holidays to you and Woody the Intern!

— An Inquiring Mind

Dear An,

Thank you so much for the holiday wishes and the praise! We dogs love both. Especially since we celebrate every single day that we’re alive and well and with our loved ones. Holiday time is the greatest thing for that, because our loved ones tend to gather ’round the hearth those days, and we can just lie next to the woodstove imagining what treats are in store for us later. As you know, I prefer duck jerky, and Woody the Intern is very big on cow hooves (which you can buy at the Grange Co-op, in case you have a dog who is hinting big time at your house).

So Woody the Puppy Intern and I wish you and yours, and everyone in the Rogue Valley and beyond, the happiest, merriest, warmest set of winter days and holidays ahead.

See you in the new year!

Want to send holiday wishes to Strider and Woody the Puppy? Or just want to exchange a casual time of day? It’s all good when you email our advice columnist [email protected].