There was a time, many many years ago, when my children were little, my husband and I were young, and our house was ruled by a rollicking, happy-go-lucky yellow lab puppy named Hudson.
Our holidays were filled with decisions about how to wrap without the puppy destroying the paper, how to set up the nativity scene without the puppy chewing the sheep, and how long could we get away for family visits or caroling and leave the puppy alone in the house.
One evening the kids were asleep, the day’s chores were done, and Mike and I snuggled together in the darkened living room, an old holiday classic on the television.
The warm holiday spirit settled around us despite strains of Alistair Sim bah-humbugging on the screen. The Ghost of Christmas Past had just floated in through Scrooge’s window–when our tree shook.
That tree was dead as a doornail, as Scrooge would have said. Yet it was moving.
Mike jumped.
I shrieked.
And the tree wagged.
A whip of a yellow puppy dog tail poked out from under the tree.
“Hudson, what are you doing? Get out of there!” I said.
But it was too late. My grandmother’s delicate gold glass globe fell and smashed into dozens of shards. Was Hudson afraid? Not at all.
He continued investigating this interesting new décor–didn’t trees belong outside?–and every time his chubby, squirmy body moved, another ornament crashed to the floor. We finally cornered our naughty pooch, removed him from the scene and swept up the mess.
We came up with a solution for this problem. The first, and most obvious, was to move all irreplaceable, delicate, and expensive ornaments up out of his reach.
And second, we lined the lower branches of the tree with silver bells of all shapes and sizes. The ringing alerted us any time Hudson got near the tree so we could step in and redirect his attention.
You know that other great classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and the line “Every time a bell rings, an angel earns his wings”?
Well, in our house, every time a bell rings, a puppy is getting into mischief.
Although our dogs today are docile seniors, our tradition lives on, and we still line the lower branches of our tree with silver bells, every year.
Here are more tips for pet-proofing your Christmas tree:
1. Cut off lower branches.
2. Make sure your tree stand is heavy duty and sturdy to keep climbing cats and curious puppies from tipping it over.
3. Use unbreakable ornaments on the lower portion of the tree.
4. Attach ornaments firmly. Duct tape, perhaps?
5. Avoid tinsel. Although many of us love the shimmering look of tinsel on a tree, tinsel is hazardous to pets. Cats especially like to chew it, and if swallowed it can cause an intestinal blockage.
6. Don’t decorate with edibles–candy canes, popcorn and chocolate decorations are tempting to pets.
7. Try bitter apple spray (available in pet shops) on your tree and ornaments. Most pets don’t like the smell or taste and will not try twice.
8. If you don’t want your pet drinking all the water, cover the tree stand with a towel or other sturdy material.
