Award winning author Kylie Brant writes…

I think dogs sense special events happening around them.  Maybe it’s the bustle of the preparations, but Lexie, our Polish Lowland Sheepdog, always knows when we’re preparing to go away on a trip.  She’s been known to plop down in a suitcase I’m in the middle of packing.  And she’d definitely put my bag over the weight limit!

But her favorite time of year must be Christmas.  It brings out behaviors she doesn’t exhibit the rest of the year.  Maybe because it was Christmas years ago that first started her ravenous appetite for sweets.

Chocolate is supposed to be bad for dogs, but it’s never done her any harm.  Which is fortunate, since she seems to sniff it out every holiday.  I can’t count the number of times she’s found and devoured multiple bags of small candy bars before they could make it to the stockings.  Once December hits, she starts her holiday scavenging.  She makes daily pilgrimages through all the bedrooms in search of the one I’m hiding the candy in.  And if I’m lax enough to set grocery bags down while I shut the front door, she’s pawing through all of them in search of her favorite treat.

So knowing the lengths she’ll go for chocolate, I’ve learned to place it far out of her reach.  But who knew she’d develop an equal love for candy canes?

Last week I had two boxes of Starburst candy canes, a favorite of my kids.  (And mine, too, I must admit!)  They’re individually wrapped, and the boxes are sealed in cellophane…there’s no way any smell can emanate from them.  So how did she know they were in my closet, hidden behind my boots?

I came home from work to discover one empty box, another with a lone candy cane left, and a few pieces of wrappers on the floor.  Lexie was sleeping angelically (ha!) on her bed on the landing of the stairs.  Upon closer inspection, however, I found bits of candy cane in her beard.  No amount of doggy denials could convince me that she wasn’t the culprit!

My kids rushed to her defense, of course.  They insist that she was framed.  That a candy cane burglar actually snuck into the house, snarfed down most of the candy canes and then sprinkled shards in her fur to make her look guilty.  The lawyer in the family is throwing around phrases like ‘reasonable doubt’, ‘wrongful incrimination’ and ‘alleged misdeeds’.  Leave it to sly Lexie to arm herself with a good defense attorney.  If she makes another pass at the candy this year, she’s going to need one!

Kylie Brant is the author of the acclaimed THE MINDHUNTERS series, including DEADLY DREAMS, DEADLY INTENT, WAKING THE DEAD, WAKING EVIL and WALKING NIGHTMARE for Berkley Sensation.

She is also a co-author of a brand new book you shouldn’t miss: SEAL OF MY DREAMS, which was released in November.

It’s an anthology of romantic suspense stories by eighteen top authors, and it was published for a wonderful cause.

Be sure to read the flyer here and take time to order a copy–or two or three.  What a great, last minute gift!