Due to budget restraints, we could not have the full compliment of Christmastime characters. Therefore, we have only one Mage bearing gifts. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy the upcoming Gift Exchange submissions.

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Thanks for copying that over, EW To see the dog that Keyop has requested from Santa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Kelpie You'll note that the article includes a warning that Kelpies can be too much for some people. Imagine the energy of a Border Collie dialled up to 11, then add six cans of Red Bull.

You know... a Kelpie might just keep up with Keyop! And loved the rounding out of this little trio of Santa fics. You almost feel sorry for Santa - except that Anderson does give him the good scotch. I'll also assume Al did end up coming to Thanksgiving (and Santa describing Al as "nice....ish". I suppose at least she wasn't holding a gun on him this time.

Thanksgiving dinner is a fic all by itself. I'll be needing a beta reader at some point once the dust from the fic exchange has settled. And, yes, I've thought for a while that a Kelpie would be about the only breed of dog that could keep up with Keyop (or Jinpei for that matter). They're bloody marvellous dogs... says the inveterate working dog tragic. (I've always had working dogs - my current girl is a 10-year-old Border Collie x Kelpie who still gets around like a dog half her age. I'm thinking of adopting a Kelpie pup from one of the working dog rescue organisations to keep her company.)

Aw, get Keyop that dog! I'm now terrified of Kelpies after that description of them. Having read your stories over time, it makes sense that Anderson and Jones got together.

Kelpies are actually really easy to handle. They're born wanting to work with a human handler and are basically a self-training dog. Kelpies can learn things in two or three reps, where other dogs might take several days of training to get the hang of a prompt. You can basically just tell a Kelpie what you want it to do and it'll tilt its head to one side while it processes what you've said, then it goes off and does it. As working breed dogs, Kelpies need a job. They need boundaries, activity and mental stimulation. They need to know who the Boss is, then they give that person their unquestioning loyalty for life. As well as being loyal, they are brave and very protective of children. They are suited to active owners and families who have space for a yard and who will walk (or preferably run) the dog twice a day if it isn't being used for farm work. They excel in search and rescue, detection/sniffer work and make exceptional assistance dogs for people who need a versatile helper. The breed hasn't yet become widespread in North America, but if they ever do, they'll prove very popular in dog sports such as agility and flyball. The highest price ever paid for a working Kelpie was AU$12,000. The record was set at the 2016 Casterton Kelpie Muster, a yearly festival where thousands of people and dogs come together to celebrate the Australian Kelpie, and equalled at the 2017 Muster. The kinds of people who can handle Border Collies can usually handle Kelpies, which have a slightly more easygoing temperament than the BC but a higher energy level. An Aussie farmer summarised it like this: "I had Kelpies when I was working the farm, but I have Border Collies now I'm retired. A Kelpie wants the job done yesterday. A Border Collie will settle for getting it done today."