What Hootie Has Eatten---Strange But True Tale

Okay, Sunday morning, Dec.14th I was in the loft getting ready for church when I heard this bell ringing down below. I knew immediately that it was the bell from the snowman my cousin Ivy had sent me for Christmas & the only way it would be off our Christmas tree was if those rascal dogs had stolen it. I bounded down the stairs and both beasts ran for cover in their kennels. I found the poor little snowman/bell in front of their kennels...minus his carrot nose. Both dogs looked guilty and I reprimanded them, but alas the snowman's face was noseless. Couldn't find it anywhere. Anyway, that was that. Later on that afternoon, around 5pm(ish) I laid down on the bed to read and began to fall asleep.I had my diamond earrings on (13th anniversary gift from dear Patrick) so pulled them off and stuck them together (they were studs). Then I fell asleep. Awoke about an hour later,with no thought of the earrings. Around 10pm I felt my ears and gasped...what had I done with my earrings after taking them off?? I checked the bedding and all around the floor, but no earrings. Then I remembered that Hootie was chewing on something crunchy after my nap. I had tried to get whatever it was out of his mouth, but he swallowed before I could. MY EARRINGS!!! Now, anyone who has had a kid that had a yen for eating coins or other non-edible objects knows what follows here. You have to sift through the pooh for said object. My sifting process began with Hootie's last pooh of the day at about 11pm. Oh wow was that disgusting. I developed a routine: Pick the doo-doo out of the snow with a large Ziploc bag and gently knead the bag from top to bottom,saving the bags next to the trash can outside in case I needed to recheck in a few days. Monday morning I called Dr. Hall to see what he suggested and was told smooth objects usually take about 24hours to pass. If they didn't pass in a few days to bring Hootie in for x-rays.Right after that call Hoot had another pooh. I went through my routine and sure enough, just as the vet's office said, 24 hours later.... The snowman's nose peeked out at me through the grossness of puppy poop! Well that did give me some hope for my earrings. It is amazing what that puppy ingests and sends back out! Besides the nose, there was chunks of candle wax, a piece of metal and a wick, massive amounts of hair, grass and thread. And yes, finally on Tuesday afternoon, my diamond earrings. They were no longer hooked together and both posts were bent completely over and just one back was there (I wasn't about to hunt for the 2nd back), but the stones were still in tact and I was one happy lady. They are in a baggie right now and I'll take them to our jeweler in Phoenix soon. I've been told I should keep their story a secret until he fixes them. Hopefully I will have any suspicious residue cleaned from them. So, that is the story of the snowman nose and diamond earrings. I guess you could say it was one of those Christmas miracles we hear about. Hope I haven't grossed you out too much. Many blessings for the coming week. love, Cassie