Thread by @ChrissieBodz

Gather round, children, huskies, and #uglydogs, and hear my merry tale.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the lodge @AlpineCreekLdg
Not a creature was stirring note even a Claude @claudebondy1
The booties were hung in the cabin with care
In hopes that fresh snowfall soon would be there

The doggies were nestled all snug in their homes
While visions of meatorade sloshed in their domes
And Blair @BlairBraverman in her longjohns and I with bed-head
Had just settled in for a long twitter thread

When out in the yard there arose such a howl
We sprang from the couch to see what had gone foul
On with our jackets, we raced out the door
Revved up the engine, flew downhill full bore

Northern Lights on the highway, all covered in snow
Gave green glowing luster to pawprints below
When what did we spy coming in at a jog
But a miniature sled and ten tiny sled dogs

With a smart little lead dog so wise and so happy
I knew in a moment she must be sweet Pepe
More rapid than wolves her teammates they came
And she barked and she howled and she called them by name

Now Jules Verne! Now Tenzing! Now Biggie, Slim, Forrest!
On Grinker! On Weegee! Zagat, Stieger, and Dora!
To to Triple Bob Bar, just follow my flow!
Now Hike! Alright! Hike! Alright! Hike! Alright! Whooooaaa

As straw that gets caught in the wind that does fly
When it's kicked out of dog houses and lifts to the sky
So up to the lodgetop the puppies they flew
With the sleigh full of fish snacks and human snacks too

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the rail
The whipping and whapping of each happy tail
As we ran in the lodge door and began to advance
Through the woodstove came Pepe with an elegant prance

She was dressed all in gold from her paws to her head
Her glam harness and booties just about *sleighed* us dead
A dropbag of booties she had strapped to her back
A thoughtful bright gift of a resource we lack

Her eyes, how they twinkled! Her clean teeth, how white!
Her pink nose like blush! And her marvelous stripe!
Her kind little mouth was open in smile
An ice beard on her chin from the cold final mile

A treat of sliced fish she held in her jaws
And the smell unsurprisingly stunk up the lodge
She had perfect small paws, and a soft wooly coat
That warmed you to touch it and led me to dote

She was healthy and fit, a responsible leader
And I bowed in her presence, so honored to see her

A paw on my hand and a gentle face kiss
Soon led me to understand her Christmas gift

She spoke not a word, but we knew what she'd done
She'd trained all the puppies, every last one.

And dropping the booties, then wiggling her nose
She gobbled her fish and up the chimney she rose
She hooked in to the gangline, to the team howled "Gee!"
And away they all ran at IDEAL racing speed.

But I heard her call out as she raced out of sight,
"Merry Dogmas to all, and to all a goodnight!"