Happy Howl-idays! Once again, Craig wanted to delegate the holiday letter among the family members to each write their own paragraph. And once again, no one wrote their respective paragraph. So this year you get the ulti-mutt letter, written by me, Silver. 

We all had a doggone good year in 2021! In January, Tina and Tazia took the trip of a lifetime to Alaska for nearly two weeks. I was a little jealous because they went on a helicopter tour of glaciers, snowmachining on a frozen lake, and even mushed with some Iditarod-trained huskies. I’d like to think I could have been one of those dogs in my younger years, but I was never fond of the cold. 

In fact, I was a snowbird for much of the year. I spent the first few months of 2021 with Quinton in Las Vegas. He and I were the perfect roommates and bonded over our shared love of carrots, flirting with ladies on our walks, and catching some zzz’s in bed after a long day. In March, our landlords – Craig and Tina – took me back to northern Nevada since the winter was so mild last year. This allowed me to visit my favorite spot – the Carson River. They were living in a condo, but since Tina decided to make the move to Carson City permanent, they were determined to buy a house. The new house is fine, but the backyard has a huge grassy area for me to roll around in, a cabin, a pond (that they won’t let me swim in – grrr), and a chicken coop (which has no chickens as they are worried I might want to try my paw at hunting). Craig and Tina have spent the past few months renovating the house, while I have spent my time visiting with the frogs, lizards, snakes, and birds that seem to enjoy the yard as much as I do.

Craig still works for the Nevada Department of Education as the Director of Career Readiness, Adult Learning, and Education Options. He was busy during the legislative session and successfully lobbied for the passage of multiple pieces of legislation to support career and technical education. When he isn’t busy doing paw-some things at work, he enjoys Zwift cycling, playing with Legos, and doing lots and lots of yard work. Craig still goes out geocaching, but in my old age, I have trouble keeping up on longer treks. Tina now joins him for the longer walks while I enjoy some quality alone time, though they didn’t go on nearly as many hikes as they would have liked because of all the smoke from the wildfires this summer – it was so bad some days that they didn’t want to let me go outside. I thought I would get some quality alone time with Craig when Tina went to Minnesota with her mom, Aunt Tasha, and her mom’s BFF Tina for a family reunion. I heard they had a good time visiting with the folks up there; however, Craig ditched me to do a bike race up to Lake Tahoe with a friend from Vegas, so I stayed with Quinton. Craig came home exhausted, but he’s planning on doing it again anyhow.

Tina left her teaching job in March and now also works for the Nevada Department of Education. She serves as an Education Programs Professional in the Office of Educator Development, Licensure, & Family Engagement. Although her office in Carson City is only a few blocks away from the house, she is still able to work remotely most of the time. Thank goodness, as I think I’d be lonely if l had to stay home all by myself every day. Tina spends her free time remodeling the house and crafting, going on walks with Craig, hanging out with Aunt Tasha, and telling me not to eat the grass in the backyard while Craig and Tina are doing yard work. 

Quinton must have missed me terribly because he just moved back to northern Nevada. He left Fleet in Vegas to work for Freightliner in Vegas, but then Quinton was recruited by one of his former customers in Reno to be the lead mechanic for a shop up north. He lives with a buddy in Reno, but at least I get to see him a little more often. Quinton keeps himself quite busy with work, fishing, eating healthy (meal prepping), and working out. I wish I had the energy still to be so active.

Tazia lives in Washington, DC, and sends me toys via Amazon Prime every few months. After spending nearly two years working at a big law firm, she decided to transition to a career in public service. Tazia now works as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also decided to take classes at Georgetown Law to earn a certificate in securities and financial regulation. I think she just loves going to school. When Tazia isn’t obsessing over securities law, she is constantly sending us pictures of her cats, Taz and Sage, and riding her Peloton bike to earn badges.

I also got to spend some quality time with other members of the family myself. In March, I hung out with Dylan (Tasha’s oldest) while Craig and Tina visited the Redwoods and the California coast. I’m not sure why they didn’t take me. I love walking around trees and swimming. In September, I got more quality time with Dylan while Craig, Tina, and Quinton took a trip to Colorado to see Craig’s side of the family (Tazia said she was too busy). I also spent some time with Grandma Lavonne while Tina and Craig were busy moving stuff from the Vegas house to the Carson house. They sold the house in Vegas, so I guess I’m stuck in snowy Carson for the winter – ooh, my aching bones! I do love visiting Grandma Lavonne – she and her gaggle of girls spoil me rotten.

Despite the chaos of the world around us, we have been paw-sitively lucky to have such a happy, healthy, and harmonious year. We woof you all a wonder-fur holiday season and a happy new year!

Silver, Craig, Tina, Tazia, and Quinton