Don't forget "Mr. Brown" this Christmas!

"Woohoo!!  The UPS man is here!"

Let's face it...whether you're a city merchant awaiting a big delivery of goods, or a ruralite who lives 100 miles from the nearest department store,  everyone gets excited when the big brown truck rumbles up the driveway.  You don't have to be a kid to appreciate the suspense of what's in today's brown box.

Dogs share this excitement.  While some fear the rumbling, high-profile rig and the stranger in a brown uniform (who's usually carrying something), others can't wait to greet the driver with wild barking and wagging.

Astute delivery people know that dogs go with the territory, and that it's in their best interest to make friends with them.  That's why so many of them carry a pocketful of dog biscuits to distribute among your noisy, teeming pack when they step out of their trucks.

UPS and other delivery people purchase their own dog biscuits to dispense to your dogs.  When you consider how many biscuits they hand out each day, the dog biscuit bill can get pretty large for a driver.  So here's a way to spread good cheer to your delivery people this Christmas:  give them each a big box of dog biscuits, and mark it with a tag "from your dog."  You need not buy gourmet cookies, and they need not be large.  In fact, if you purchase a bulk box of dog cookies from Costco, for example, break the cookies into two or three pieces before you give them to your UPS guy.  They'll go a lot farther.  Plus, there's less chance of your dog (or another) getting more than he needs or should have.  With dogs, after all, it's not the quantity of treat that matters; it's the mere act of getting something that counts.

Get your festive holiday bag o' treats ready and hand it to your UPS guy the next time Sparky alerts you that he's rumbling up the driveway.  He and Sparky will both appreciate it!