The crazy things our pets do
I know it's not remotely time to think about Christmas but my coworkers and I have recently been talking about our pets behaviors (and the funny things they do) so I thought I would share a funny story, about my first Christmas with Calvin, with you.
Chris and I adopted Calvin in November of 2003. The holidays were approaching fast and this would be our first Christmas away from our families. Though, somehow Calvin helped soften the homesickness.
Our parents were obviously missing us for the holidays because we had more presents than we knew what to do with. When Christmas morning came we dove in head first and when we were done the floor was covered in wrapping paper. We laughed as Calvin try to maneuver through the chaos.
As Christmas day wore on, it was time to get ready for work (some of us newspaper folks have to work on Christmas day). We decided to pickup the huge pile of paper later, so we kissed our little Calvin goodbye and we were off.
When we got back, Chris found something very strange in the bedroom...
a chocolate cake donut placed perfectly on my pillow. (We had donuts for breakfast, but we barely ate any because they weren't very good).
Chris said "Why did you leave this donut on your pillow?" and of course I said "I didn't do that, are you sure it wasn't you?"
Calvin, on the other hand, looked very interested in the whole situation. We were both puzzled by the random donut but we dismissed it as a strange mishap.
I walked to the other side of the room to grab my pajamas and Calvin raced past me to a tee-shirt laying on the floor. I pick the tee-shirt up and I'll be darn, there was another DONUT!
I show it to Chris, and now we were both speachless. Of course Calvin disappeared from the room but by this point, believe it or not, I was still blaming Chris.
I kept thinking at any moment he was going to tell me truth and reveal his big joke. But when I turned around I discovered yet another donut, IN CALVIN'S MOUTH.
I made him drop it and Chris and I could not believe what we were seeing. I started to walk around the room to see if Calvin would lead me to more, and he did, to 9 other donuts to be exact. Three in the closet , a couple by the bed, quite a few under a pile of laundry and more hidden throughout the living-room.
If you are wondering how he got these donuts, we accidently left them under a pile of wrapping paper and Calvin apparently took it upon himself to "save them" for later. Because of this I will never forget my first Christmas away from my family and I laugh every time I tell this story. He has not shown this type of behavior since.
ANGIE BRENNAN, a Sun-Sentinel page designer,
lives with four dogs and one boyfriend. And has a lifetime of animal stories to share.
DIANE LADE, a reporter on the Sun-Sentinel's Help Team, has lived with cats, dogs, reptiles, fish, an iguana, and an armadillo.
CYNDI METZGER, editor of the Sun-Sentinel's Outlook section, is smitten with Bella, her poodle who regularly ignores requests to sit, stay and get off the ivory-colored sofa. 
JOHN TANASYCHUK, a Sun-Sentinel lifestyle writer, has lived with cats as long as he can remember. He and his partner currently share their home with three.
