A Puppy for Christmas

I have been known to rail against the idea of people giving dogs as gifts. So many times we get parents who insist that their child is going to do all the work and the dog will be a lesson in responsibility. Poor dog! Or a grandma wants to adopt a puppy for a grandchild, or someone emails us that they "just need a dog by Christmas - any available dog will do."  So you can see why I got a little skeptical when the applicant wanting to adopt Apple said that she was going to be a Christmas surprise.

But if a person is going to give a puppy as a gift, this family is a great example of doing it the right way.  Their decision wasn't made overnight - they'd been considering what kind of commitment a dog would mean for several months and checking into information on breeds, etc.  Their kids were in school and far from the grabby toddler stage that can be tough on a dog. They understood that they were the ones who would be fully responsible for care of a dog and this wasn't something that you depend on a child to take care of.  Great, thoughtful parents who wanted to give their boys the pretty spectacular gift of the experience of growing up with a dog.

We even got to take Apple with us on the home visit and she met the kids under the guise that I was a friend of their aunts, who happens to work with service dogs, and needed to test Apple to see how she was with kids. I clandestinely did the home visit while they played with her and they proved to be gentle, sweet boys who will be really great with this tiny but rambunctious girl.

Apple's t-shirt to wear home on Christmas Day

And I left, really happy for Apple's future, and excited about how surprised the boys would be when they learn that Apple will be joining their family.  She'll head home to them in the afternoon tomorrow, after the initial hubbub of Christmas morning and I couldn't be more happy for her. Have a great life, sweet girl!