 |
| Don't you just want one?! |
For over thirty years, our family raised Old English
Sheepdogs.
Smart, dependable, protective, gentle and very hairy.
In our opinion, the best breed in the world.
In that time, we placed little balls of fur into many, many
homes.
Some stories . . . . stick out in our memories . . .
Our very good friends, a wonderful family of four, were
fellow OES aficionados.
They, in particular the father of the family, had unselfishly
come to our aid on many occasions.
And we wanted to do something nice for him/them.
Knowing his/their love for ‘sheepies’, I consulted with his
sweet wife about the possibility of surprising him with one of our puppies as a
Christmas present.
She was totally on board.
Christmas approached.
The puppies grew.
Finally, they reached the golden age of eight weeks.
It was time.
We loaded our family – and puppy – into the van and headed
into the city.
Now, the actual formula . . .
We would present ourselves as a group to the front door of
the home and proceed to ‘carol’ them.
Someone in back would hide the puppy until the climactic
moment.
You know how, in movies, puppies are given and things turn
out perfectly?
Well, sometimes it happens in real life.
We assembled.
Rang the doorbell.
And, when it opened, launched into our specially-adapted
version of We Wish You a Merry Christmas:
We wish you a merry
Christmas!
We wish you a merry
Christmas!
We wish you a merry
Christmaaaaas!
And here’s your
sheepdog!
The puppy was produced on cue.
Smiles and tears.
Lots of hugs.
And our family faded into the soft, Christmas night.
It was a beautiful, perfect experience.
Sometimes, you have those . . .
The puppy, Alonzo, served and loved his family for a great
many years.
But there is one more thing to add.
I’ve been asking my children about their favourite Christmas
memories.
And this one tops the list.
Christmas and children and puppies.
They just go together.
That does sound like a sweet memory for your children. Awww.
ReplyDeleteBringing joy to others always creates beautiful memories.
ReplyDeleteLove this story ... sniff!
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely story. We gave my parents a kitten one year, in a similar manner (although without the singing, because no one can sing in my family :). He was one of the best presents ever!
ReplyDeleteOh God, you made my heart melt with this story Diane! Such a blessing, and the nicest thing to do. xx Abby
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. But. Do you have to yank on my heart strings with every post? Sweaty eyeballs here.
ReplyDeleteOh Diane it was the very best Christmas and he was the very best dog you could have ever wished for. I will never forget that night and the special love and joy watching your family carol our family. It emulates the spirit of Christmas in the most loverly way. Maybe some day one of our kid's or Grandkid's will gift so eine with a ."sheepie" for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteOh Diane it was the very best Christmas and he was the very best dog you could have ever wished for. I will never forget that night and the special love and joy watching your family carol our family. It emulates the spirit of Christmas in the most loverly way. Maybe some day one of our kid's or Grandkid's will gift so eine with a ."sheepie" for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely, thoughtful thing for you and your family to do. I can only imagine that it was one of their favorite Christmases. Giving, it's what Christmas is all about. Thanks for sharing your post at the Over the Moon Link Party.
ReplyDeleteI can just see that as you write it - I was waiting for it to be a disaster and I was so relieved when it all went according to plan (and created such happy memories)
ReplyDeleteOne of my brothers had an OES when I was really little and because it towered over me I was terrified and mom made him find another home. I always felt bad and now I would love to have one. I'm actually trying to get to the shelter this week to get the husband a puppy for Christmas. I hope ours goes as well as yours!
ReplyDelete