Kiwi has a heart of writer... Here is the letter which she sent to her friends of the French Club of the Coton of Tuléar! She tells them its first winter in a country of snow and sun, Quebec.

My name is Diabolo Swing Ombrella, but in my new home, I am known by the Quebecoise as Kiwi. I was born in France in a town called Orgeval near Paris, in October 1998. I left for my new adopted home at the beginning of December. I have only a few memories of my first home, but they are happy memories.

I have thoughts of racing and playing with the other Cotons and memories of all the kisses I received all the time. . . (in Quebec, we call that "beaux becs".) My adopted home is like a winter fairy tale, for five months of the year at least! My mistress, Sara, said that I arrived with the snow. I did not travel to my new home alone. Sara also chose one of my brothers. His name is Sunny. Sunny is spectacular and very handsome! But Sara says that I am perfect and much more intelligent . . . You will find more about that later. Back to my story . . .

My new home is in Lac Nominingue, Quebec, Canada. Our house is right on a lake, but when I arrived in December, there was no water in the lake and everything, everywhere was white. It is a good thing that our house is blue and very tall, otherwise I could not have seen it! The first thing Sara did was to put me on the white ground. Oh! It was soooooooooo cold . . . but also very soft. Sara told Sunny and I that the white stuff was called "snow" . She told us that we have snow five months of the year, so I had better get used to it - quickly! I must say that I was a bit sensitive to the cold snow at first. I did not like it. Sunny, however, immediately adored it! Of course he has a big, thick coat and doesn't feel the cold the way I do.So, I was a little cold, but Sara promised I would get used to it and I DID! I did not have a choice. There was no more newspaper training inside - that was finished. I was a big girl now and I had to follow the rules!!

One morning, Sara told us it was Christmas. She said, as a special present we got a foot of snow. It was time for us to play like fools. Sara opened the door which led to the terrace. Everyone started running. Sunny, the big show-off who likes to be the leader, sprang off the terrace first! He landed poufff! Into the snow. He did not know how deep it was. He disappeared into the mountain of snow. He looked back and noticed the older Cotons did not jump off the terrace...they knew how deep it was! We all laughed at Sunny until our Dad, Paul, came to rescue him! Then Dad helped the rest of us to get into the yard. After a few minutes, all the Cotons launched themselves in all directions. We played until we were exhausted. I never had so much fun in all my life. After playing in the deep snow we were completely soaked! We were all good Cotons and sat under the drier. That was our Christmas present to Sara!

January arrived and with it came very cold temperatures. Some days were minus 40 degrees. But, I was corageous. I lowered my head and went outside like the others. I didn't stay long, just as long as necessary!!!

The fast ones: Deano, Natacha, Océane,Sunny

But, I must say that my coat became increasingly thick and I no longer felt the cold as I did when I firt arrived. I told you earlier that the lake had no water. When I first saw it, it was covered in the same blanket of white as the rest of the ground. But, it got even more magical in my fairy tale home. As the temperatures grew colder, the lake, which had been water under the blanket of snow, froze solid! It was as hard as the ground and we were now allowed to run on it! I just love it! Nothing is more pleasant in the world than to go run on the lake. Every day, in early afternoon, Sara divides the clan into two groups: the fast ones and the slow ones. The fast ones are the males Deano and Sunny and the females are Natacha and Oceane. The slow group includes all the babies, the moms in gestation and me. I have been in the slow group because I am very small and because I want to remain with my best friend, Chaton, who is one month younger than me. When it is our turn to run on the lake, we can run straight ahead as far as we want to!! We can run until we are exhausted! It is so beautiful on the lake - it takes my breath away every time! It is a huge lake, surrounded by tall green pine trees. There are not many houses. Sara lets us run and run in all directions. Sara says it's the only way to get us quiet in the evening! She says it is in our genes - the Diabolo Swing kids have a lot of energy to burn.

My best friend "Chaton"

Last week, my best friend, Chaton, left Lac Nominingue to live in Florida. Her new mistress called to say that Chaton would not make wee on the grass. "What is grass?" I asked Sara. She explained to me that in Florida, the weather is always warm and you cannot walk on the lakes there. ara said that the ground is green with short, fuzzy stuff that tickles the paws . . . I was amazed!! She even said that it will be like that here soon. You know what - I don't believe Sara! I think she is telling me stories - I live in the winter fairy land. Oh! I have to go now!! It is time for the daily walk and today - I am running in the group of the "fast ones."

Kisses Kisses

Kiwi