Chocolates Anyone?

It was around Christmas time. Snow covered the ground. Houses were decorated and cozy. Family and friend gatherings filled the calendar.

We were up visiting my aunt and uncle for the weekend. Their home was always a special place to us. They were so welcoming, generous, and joyful. We had the best fun with them.

We had taken our little dog with us. Her name was Mopsie, and did she ever look like a mop at times. She was a white little Bichon Frise. She was a great dog and a part of our family.

Sunday rolled around and we were all headed off to my aunt and uncle’s church. However, Mopsie had to stay back at the house. But she was always good left on her own. We didn’t have to crate her or anything.

We came back about an hour or two later to quite a surprise. Our normally calm dog greeted us at the door quite expressively. She jumped up at us, then proceeded to race through the house like a horse at the raceway. As we entered the kitchen, we saw hints of little gold wrappers. We followed the trail that led down the stairs into the basement, ending at their Christmas tree.

Mopsie decided to have a little Christmas party for herself while we were away. She found a present beautifully wrapped under the tree. A present that had been purchased for my aunt’s Baba (grandma), who unfortunately, had passed away a few weeks before we arrived. The present had still been kept under the tree.

Mopsie delicately pulled the present from under the tree and slid it across the floor. There was a wire framed ribbon wrapped around the present. Mopsie somehow managed to pull the present out and left the ribbon perfectly intact and standing upright, like the box was still in it. She unwrapped the gift and opened up the plastic box to expose all the golden wrapped Ferrero Roche chocolates. Then the party began.

From what I recall, she managed to eat at least half to three quarters of the box before we returned from church. She carried the chocolates to different spots of the basement and kitchen as she continued on with her little celebration. It made me think of Kevin from Home Alone as he partied in the house by himself when he realized he was left behind.

Needless to say, she was absolutely wired from all the sugar. She continuously raced around my aunt and uncle’s house until we were ready to head home. It was sad that she picked Baba’s chocolates to eat considering there were other goodies under the tree she could have found. But the irony left us all in gales of laughter that she picked that one, and it so happened to be the finest chocolates available.

Thankfully, Mopsie survived the overload of chocolate intake. My Mom phoned the vet and had her checked out. There were actually no repercussions from her gorging, to which we were grateful for.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with our aunt and uncle, as well as Christmas that year. But I think my favourite moment came a bit later.

My aunt phoned us one day to share a funny story. My uncle and aunt had their pastor and wife over for dinner one night. My aunt always has the most elegant table presentation, with lots of little extras to fill the meal with. For instance, she would get the cutest little umbrella toothpicks to put in our fruit dishes, or a smattering of delicious bite sized desserts on a fancy platter.

She did it as well the night the pastor and his wife came over. There were a few Ferrero Roche’s untouched from the Mopsie fiasco, so she thought she’d place some around the dinner table. They finished the main course and were enjoying some tea and coffee when the pastor unwrapped one of the chocolates. He went to take a bite and noticed something looked odd. He asked my aunt, “Why are there teeth marks in this chocolate”? She burst into laughter and had to confess the story. Thankfully, they all found it quite humorous!

We all had a good laugh when we heard that story. I can’t help but think of it every time I see a box of those golden wrapped chocolate delights. Of course, our dog would go for the finest chocolates being offered. She apparently had good taste.

A word of advice: If you’ve got a furry friend around this Christmas, you might want to think twice before you leave him or her to roam the house alone before the presents have been given to the correct recipients.