My niece insisted...
Years ago, my niece insisted that my dog, Shadow, went door-to-door with her and her siblings for trick-or-treat. I did not expect her to do what she did at the end.
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Halloween Night
I used to treat my young niblings (nieces and nephew) to an evening of fun festivities every Halloween night. My sister-in-law graciously granted me permission to keep them out as long as I wanted when we celebrated on the weekend.
In 2007 after spending hours at the local community college playing carnival games, I decided to take my niblings (8F, 7F, and 5M) trick-or-treat in a few nice neighborhoods. I stopped at my place to pick up my then one year old puppy, Shadow. We were all dressed in costumes, including Shadow who wore a glow-in-the-dark skeleton outfit.
We stopped at a pharmacy to get treat bags. With bags and kids in check, we were ready to head to the first neighborhood!
My plan was to walk with my niblings and dog down the streets, but I would stay on the curb with Shadow while they walked up to the houses to claim their goods. However, my seven-year-old niece had other plans.
She insisted that Shadow go trick-or-treating with them. At that age, she considered him a cousin since he was my fur-baby. She wanted to use the shopping bag from the pharmacy as his treat bag because "he deserved more candy" then them.
I was against her plan. I worried that other kids would be scared to be near a large seventy-pound black lab mix. I worried he would scare anyone who answered a door. Still, my niece insisted that he deserved to join them, and that Halloween was all about being scared.
I turned down her idea and stuck with my own. She refused to join her siblings for the first few houses we stopped at to stay by Shadow's side. I tried to convince her to have fun, but she refused. She was a stubborn tiny dork with a big attitude for her age.
There was one house on this street that had a table setup in their yard. They offered kids the choice of treats or toys. Since they were alongside the sidewalk, Shadow and I approached the table with my niblings. I hoped the option of getting a toy would encourage my niece to finally join her siblings.
To my surprise, they handed Shadow a small bag filled with dog treats. It turned out that it was common for houses in that neighborhood to have treat bags for family pets that walked up to their doors.
My niece took advantage of that opportunity to convince me to let her walk Shadow door-to-door. Since I knew Shadow was a well-behaved dog, I finally caved in and let her give it a go.
At the next house, I walked up the door to keep an eye on my niece and Shadow. This was her first time walking a dog larger than her and his first time walking with someone other than me. I wanted to make sure nothing went wrong.
When the homeowners answered the door, my niblings said "trick-or-treat" as all candy desperate kids say on Halloween night. Candy was placed in three treat bags.
My niece pulled out the shopping bag and explained that it was for her dog. She told them that he did not know how to say "trick-or-treat." The homeowners were surprised, but laughed and placed candy in the fourth bag.
My niece walked towards me with a smug look on her face. It was at that point that I knew they were going home with significantly more candy than originally expected.
At the end of the night, my niblings had a lot of fun and treats. My niece somehow managed to convince people to give the dog even more candy than the kids. They were loaded! Or so I thought.
When we got into my SUV, my niece handed me the largest bag of treats and said it was for me. My niece, my pride and joy, secretly planned to get me the most candy possible because I was her "favorite auntie."
At home, I taught them how to identify 'questionable' treats and told them to put the bad ones aside. I did check after them in case they missed pieces I did not trust them to eat.
I was surprised to see a significant amount of dog treats included in "Shadow's bag." I never knew that some homeowners were prepared to give pets treats as well.
My niblings and Shadow were very happy that night. It is one of my favorite memories of those most important to me. I could not help but share and brag about one of the best Halloween nights ever!
What's Next?
Unfortunately, I will not be taking my niblings trick-or-treating this year. Despite them being young adults now, I bet they would enjoy it if I had asked. They are good 'kids.'
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
Two of my favorite Halloweens involved dressing up, pumpkin decorating, and “spooky” treats at the office!!