yendi

So we went to our traditional Christmas Eve chili dinner at

shadesong's uncle and aunt's (not the same uncle and aunt we stay with in FL, but in the same town), leaving Nicky in the fenced-in yard area with the other two dogs as they spent much of last winter.

Three hours later, we got home, and Nicky was nowhere to be found. As

shadesong and Elayna looked for him (I hadn't yet realized he was missing), the doorbell rang, and it was the neighbor, carrying a very cowed-looking Nicky wrapped up in a towel.

"He was drowning."

Holy shit, did my heart skip a beat.

So we didn't get the full story until later, but what happened was this: Nicky fell in the pool somehow (in spite of having spent days near it last year and even some time this Tuesday). And he could get to the top step, but not make it out, because the water was too deep, and he couldn't get the leverage to jump because tiny chihuahua/corgi legs. So while he treaded water desperately and started to run out of steam, he and the other dogs were making such a racket that she could hear it from 200 feet away. She'd thought it was a raccoon or something that had gotten in the house, and was concerned about the other dogs, but saw that it was Nicky, rescued him, and kept him dry until she saw our car pull up.

So yeah, a year after rescuing Nicky from Florida, we nearly lost him here. Thankfully, we didn't. After some time just cuddling on the couch, he got his appetite back, and soon enough was playful again, but man, did we snuggly him that night. He spent the entire night pressed against my back in bed (while also managing to press against

shadesong -- a small dog can occupy a lot of space), and was completely back to his usual self yesterday. But man, what a scare.

Needless to say, when we head out to the housewarming party for one of the cousins, Nicky will not be allowed near the pool while we're gone.

And the neighbor -- who I last remember as a little girl playing with Elayna some twelve years ago -- is a fucking hero.

Anyway, the rest of Christmas was just fine. We ate a lot of food (and continue to do so), saw lots of family, got some nice presents (including a gift certificate to our favorite restaurant), and gave some nice ones as well. Have basically been reading and relaxing and eating, as one does. Hope everyone's doing well; have not been keeping up very much on LJ/FB/Twitter/G+/etc. Will probably remain that way for a few days.