Lexi My Dog

by Aiden R.

I have a dog named Lexi. When I first got her in 2016 in November Lexi was a year old. She was shorter and now she is taller. I got her at a shelter. 

Her bread is American Staffordshire. People think that she looks like a Rottweiler, but she is not. An American Staffordshire is kind of in the pitbull family. The males are a bit more aggressive than females.

My dog is a good girl and licks a lot. If I am with somebody or cuddling with somebody, Lexi will hump me. In her life she sleeps, eats, snores, barks. If she wants attention Lexi will growl, do a short howl,  bark very sharply,  drag stuff down if it's near her, go on the couch and flail upside down. She is very talkative sometimes and sometimes when she is on the couch,  my baby girl flops on my mom's lap. Lexi is very loving. She has her own chair. 

Her favorite treat is crunchy bones. My dog likes dog food but other times she likes peanut butter or bananas.  Lexi, my baby girl, has a kind of a big mushy snout. My dog protects everyone very well. Her bark is scary and her favorite toys are her bones and Kong toys. One annoying habit that she needs to break is that she chews her paw and makes the couch smell like there was skunk on the couch that sprayed on it. My dog alway begs for a treat and she acts like a puppy even though she is a six year old adult dog. If she wants to play,  my dog gets snappy, snorty and all frisky. 

One of the Rarest Spinning Snowmen

by Aiden R.

One of the rarest spinning snowflake snowman is the Mr Snow Business. It’s so rarest that you can’t even see it on eBay. But there’s one on eBay that cost almost $200. The reason why I like it and I want it so bad is because it was made in 2003, looks like a 2004 trimming model but it has legs, still sings snowmiser and the cheeks light up. Snowflake lights up blue and it wears a tuxedo, its black and it wears red gloves, and lights up holly.

If you want to see a picture, Here’s a picture of it.

The Evolution of the 2004 Trimming Version Spinning Snowflake Snowman

by Ella N.

The first trimming version of the spinning snowflake snowman started in 2004 is the red vest green trim. The trimming version is like a snowman wearing a vest that has trim around. that all started when they got more of the trimming versions. The second one is the blue vest with a red base that one does not have a trim  around the vest. Then they got MORE. The last one is the red vest white trim. Now these are  kind of different because the face is small because the light up cheeks are kind of close together. They also  made the  snow woman version of these trimming models but not the red vest  white trim. All of the snow woman trimming model sing ‘’Santa baby’’ 

Fur Balls

by Ella N.

     If you had to pick between 7 puppies, how would you choose? That was what it came down to on a bright summer's evening, me standing in a pile of brown fur balls. These puppies were like furry pillows. Wait a minute, let’s rewind a little. It was March 5th when the puppies were introduced into my life. 

     My kind and caring neighbor, Shelly, wanted to foster puppies. She went from 2 puppies and a mom to 7 puppies and a mom. That was a million more than she signed up for at the time. She still accepted this regardless. She knew it was going to be a tough journey. An organization rescued the puppies and the mom off a street in Texas. They arrived at her house on March 6th. I wanted to go over and see them so badly after she got them, but I decided not to because I wanted them to get used to the new environment. Finally, March 7th came. It was a Tuesday right before school. I remember waking up super early to get ready, then waiting patiently until she texted me to come see the puppies. When I got the text, I was ecstatic and ran straight to her house. It was very windy and the trees were dancing . Shelly’s house was next door so it was not far, but I needed every second I could get to spend with them before school started.

     As soon as I got home from school, I had an amazing grilled cheese that I made. It was nice and golden on the top and had gooey cheese dripping down from the middle. After, I bolted to my neighbors house and helped feed and clean up after the puppies. After about 2 hours of sitting with the puppies, we brought them outside so other people could come over and see the puppies. A lot of people wanted to take the puppies out of the crate because it was crowded. I let them out of the cage so everyone could pet and play with the dogs. It was hard to handle 7 puppies with a lot of energy when you were lacking energy. That was how a lot of the weeks went by.

     I kept on bugging my mom to let me get puppies. I took so many cute photos and helped feed the puppies. I ended up spending all my free time with them and it showed how I was responsible. I also showed that I could manage my schedule with homework, sports, school, and puppies.

“Hey mom can we please get a dog? It is a perfect time because she is fostering them and I am being very responsible.” 

“ It is a good time and you are being very responsible but puppies are a lot of work and I don’t think you are ready.”

“ I am ready, I promise I have been helping Shelly out, you can ask her.”

“Okay, if you say you are ready, you can get the dogs”

“Thank you so much mom!”

 I flew down the stairs, screaming like a newborn baby. “I did it, I did it.” I asked my dad to fill out the adoption form online. My neighbor said that there were 3 families that wanted to adopt the 2 dogs we wanted to adopt. I kept on hoping. My neighbor, being as caring as she is, emailed the organization saying how my family was a big help to raising the puppies. They emailed back saying that we were going to get the puppies. My brother and I did not know at the time. 

     After school on a Friday, my parents picked us up and said we were going shopping. We pulled onto the pet smart parking lot. My parents told us that we got the dogs. 

“HORAYYYYYYY,” I yelled happily as I bounced around.

We got everything for the dogs that’s as needed and more. My favorite thing we got was a dark green camp tent for the dogs. It was large and as dark as green beans. When we got home my neighbor let us take the dogs even though we were supposed to get them for another week. I remember walking to my door with them. I remember exactly what I was wearing. I was wearing lavender, black pants, and a purple jacket. She let us get used to them. Some friends came over to see them. They were super crazy and were biting up the rug. They slept in a crate in my parents room. Eventually when they were potty trained they could sleep without a crate. We haven't gotten to that point yet. I remember waking up at strange hours in the night to go to the bathroom. I also remember waking up at 4:30 to hear the bark “Bark Bark”, then waking up with them on weekdays before school and almost dozing off in class. Thankfully that didn't happen.

     So in conclusion getting dogs is an amazing thing and was a life changing part of my life. In all honesty I was not prepared for 2 puppies, they are a lot of work and they are a big responsibility. Especially puppies, they are filled with energy and are not potty trained. So when I had to pick out between 7 puppies it was easier because spending a month with them I knew each of them and I knew the ones that would suit me the best. Even though I was surprised by the amount of responsibility. I could not imagine my life without my two puppies, my two puppies are a bundle of joy.

Check out last year's nonfiction submissions here!