BRIDGTON - You think you had it rough getting through 18 inches of snow here this morning? Well, imagine trudging through it if you were just 18 inches tall.

That's what Tracy Wheeler's dogs had to deal with.

"Our little puggle is only about 18 inches high but she went barreling out into the deep fluffy snow anyway. Our other dog, a little taller, just stood there and barked," Wheeler said by e-mail from her Cumberland County home.

"I think she's about as happy about the lack of yard as I was at the prospect of shoveling all that snow. My boyfriend dug a path to the driveway and uncovered one car so he could get to work this morning. I, being a teacher, had a snow day - i.e., shovel the rest of the yard day!"

And so she dug a path for her dogs.

But the blanket of snow didn't quiet things down at her home, she said.

"Then I went out to the front to dig a path for the oil guy to bring our delivery. The roofing guy came to give us an estimate. The neighbors all came out to chat. The snow plow guy stopped by for a chat, plowed the driveway, collected his cash from the last three storms and challenged the quote from the roofing guy saying he and a friend would do it for cheaper. A couple of kids from up the road stopped by to see if they could shovel off the roof for us. I told them to check back in a month or so!"