A Puppy for Christmas

No, I am not getting a puppy for Christmas. My humans did have some fairly serious discussions about the possibility (conversations that, by the way, did not include any input from me), but they determined that the time just isn’t right at the moment. I ask you, is there ever a “right” time to get a puppy? Whatever. They seem fairly firm in their decision, so I have a feeling it may be a while until I am telling you about a new sister.

But I am very happy to tell you about a fantastic book that my human mommy read while she was on her island getaway a few weeks ago. It’s called The Puppy That Came for Christmas: How a Dog Brought One Family the Gift of Joy by Megan Rix. The book opens with these words:

“I crouched down beside the traveling crate and watched the two beautiful creamy-colored golden-retriever/Labrador-cross puppies snuggled up together. . . . Three months before, I’d never even thought about having a dog. . . . Was I ready for this? . . . As I looked down at the puppies, I had no idea that, however unprepared Ian and I were for the joys, challenges and downright disruptions of puppy parent life, it would be nothing compared with how unprepared we’d be to relinquish our beloved puppy when she passed on to the next stage of her training to become a Helper Dog for disabled people.”

Rix goes on to tell the story of how she and her husband, Ian, became involved in the Helper Dogs program, first as puppy parents to Emma and then to Freddy. They had each dog for the first six months of its life. During that time, they taught Emma and Freddy basic obedience commands, helped them become comfortable in various social situations, and, inevitably, fell in love with each puppy. She shares stories of people who have been assisted by Helper Dogs (including Emma and Freddy) and the incredible bonds they developed with their four-legged mates. Rix also reveals some very real struggles that she and Ian face in their lives. Finally, she introduces her readers to Traffy, the puppy that came for Christmas.

The Puppy That Came for Christmas is a perfect gift idea for the dog lovers on your Christmas list. At just over 200 pages, it’s a quick and mostly light read. Mommy did cry a few times, but I think that’s mostly because she missed me while she was on her trip . . . and she’s a real sap when it comes to anything about dogs. In the end, though, she had a huge smile on her face, and lots and lots of kisses and hugs for me when she got home.

Just wanted to let you know that tomorrow is a very, very big day. Tomorrow, you get to meet my human mommy as part of the Meet the Bloggers blog hop. Now, everyone knows that this is my blog and my mommy is merely my blogging assistant. But last week I read about this blog hop on I Still Want More Puppies and I decided that Mommy deserves a little recognition (but just a little). You can click here to read all about the hop and its hosts. I hope you’ll join the hop, and I hope you’ll enjoy seeing and meeting my mommy, who spends a lot of time behind the camera taking all of my pictures.

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