tonight one of the "special" older congregation members carried her sweater-clad miniature poodle into the midnight christmas service to join her for the evening. as soon as she sat down, my mom, my brother and i lost ALL composure and reverence. after giggling until we had no more breath, we systemically changed the words to christmas carols to suit the situation - "what child is this" became "what dog is this..." every time the congregation stood, i heard the leash jingle, which brought about a fresh onslaught of giggling. this is the first time i've ever wished i had one of these.