Yorkie ‘Yankee’ Lives in Frigidly Cold Nova Scotia, Too

Clever as he is, our 12-year-old little Yorkie, Yankee, can’t talk. But he sure can bark, causing Brian to nickname him, ‘Sir-Bark-A-Lot’.

If Yankee could talk, he’d ask, “What happened to my favorite place in the house, my warm and cozy fireplace. The inside of my ears are freezing cold again”.

Though we paid for a refill on our propane-fuelled fireplace on January 8th, the truck to refill it never came, as promised. When we telephoned to ask why the refill never arrived, we were told ,“The Nova Scotia Government does not consider a propane-fuelled fireplace enough to heat a house.” We do not try to heat the entire house with it, but only our daily workplace around the kitchen table, less than a few feet away.

We would turn it on early mornings upon rising, leave it on for half an hour, and then kept warm with its electric fan for another half hour or so.

Yankee’s morning habit was to faithfully lounge in front of the fireplace until there was no more warmth.

It’s been a brutally cold fall and winter here in Nova Scotia this year, as it has been in many other places.

The first year we moved here from Ontario when Premier Doug Ford threatened to freeze the bank accounts of all who supported the Truckers Freedom Convoy, of which Canada Free Press (CFP) was one, our first winter here passed without real sub-zero temperatures—but the bitter high winds coming in off the Atlantic, were bone-chillingly brutal.

We have been Superior Propane clients for the past three and a half years.

Things got so bad this year, that two weeks ago, we copied a CFP column to Superior Propane’s CEO (Jan.10, 2026) in Ontario, hoping for help.

We paid upfront for the propane refill on Jan. 8 when we ran out. We were eventually told that their delivery would on or before Jan. 17—but all that came was the form letter listed below.

As readers can see, the form letter states that they were “monitoring our usage”, but how could they be monitoring a fireplace that had no propane?

For heating the house, we sparingly use our basement oil furnace. Sparingly because it costs $1,100 for each refill. So we only turn it on when the cold is unbearable, no matter how many layers of clothing we are wearing.

When we called Superior Propane today to ask about the status of our delivery, we were told that we are not on any delivery schedule, and that they would get back to us sometime this week, or on the weekend with a delivery date.

Temperatures for this upcoming Saturday are forecast to be 10º F with a wind chill of -11º F, so when a longstanding CFP columnist last week kindly mailed us two electric blankets without being asked, we were more than grateful.

As you can see by his picture (above), Yankee burrows his way into the bottom of the blanket on our laps the moment it is turned on, staying there for hours.

During the four years, come this May that we have returned to the province where I was raised, we have been blessed with honest workmen, hired to do work on the home we now call, “Mary’s House By The Sea”. These honest workmen include one who installs heat pumps, pushed by the Nova Scotia Government, who told us upon inspection, “Heat pumps would never work in this house, because it has too many angles, so you would be spending money on an item that would never work here.”

Far different from our Superior Propane experience, we have found that workmen in the Maritimes have never changed over the years. They are hardworking and honest; the salt of the earth.

Like many dog owners, we consider Yankee, “family”.

Living in near isolation because of widespread DTS, few people ever come here, but when they do, the little Yorkie, who struts John Travolta-like when taken out for walks, lets us know by barking up a storm.

‘Sir-Bark-A-Lot’ Yankee, like many other dogs, has too many endearing qualities to count. When brutal snow squalls hit the house windows, he sighs dramatically when looking out, looking back at us with a quizzical expression on his expressive, soulful little face.

Yankee’s manoeuvres keep Brian and I remembering that we must never lose our humor. In short, he’s a key antidote against depression whenever it hits.

Meanwhile, we know in our hearts and souls that God Almighty blessed all of humanity when He created the little creature whose name spelled backwards is G-O-D.