Every year around this time I dedicate a column to the reasons why a puppy should not be under the tree on Christmas morning.
It is not my intention to discourage people from adopting a puppy, but rather to encourage people to consider the timing of the event in relation to how busy this stretch of holiday season tends to be. For most people, Christmas is anything but a relaxing, peaceful time of year. It is filled with shopping, right up until the eve of Christmas. There is a mixture of work parties, festive events with friends, and entertaining family from out of town. And let's not forget kids being out of school and the extra commitment that adds to the holiday schedule. Then it's New Year's and bam! . . . back at work. This endless activity makes it challenging to bring a new puppy or an adult dog into an unfamiliar home. That new dog, especially a recycled mature dog that may come with baggage, needs stability and calmness to bond with its new people and to feel safe. A puppy needs consistency - and lots of it - to get issues like house training and good manners off on the right foot.
If a puppy or adult dog is on that Christmas list, I typically suggest purchasing dog toys, a collar and leash, a food dish or dog bed and place that under the tree instead of a live canine. Add a card that says that after Christmas the family will go and adopt a puppy from a local rescue or shelter or contact a reputable breeder.
That has been my advice for years. But after the email I received a few days ago I am beginning to have a change of heart.
You see, not everyone's Christmas is busy and hectic. There are some people who spend Christmas alone and not only have the time to bring a puppy or adult dog into their lives, but also a big lonely heart filled with great desire to do so.
Richard (not his real name) lost his wife to cancer around Christmas two years ago. They had no children, but they had a dog that had passed on just before his wife got ill. They chose not to bring another dog into their lives due to the circumstances. A couple of years have passed and Richard has found himself wanting a companion in his life.
In Richard's email he writes, "I'm not ready to share my life with another person yet, and I may never be, but a dog . . ." He told me about his former dog and how it was like a child to him and his wife. He also shared how alone he felt at this time of year and adding to his loneliness was the reluctance of rescues to adopt dogs out.
Yes, it's true that he could have considered adopting at any other time of the year, but often it's Christmas, the season we all honour as a time for family, that opens that door of loneliness that many people have closed tight throughout the year.
"I want to adopt a dog at this time of year as a way to change how I feel.
I'm never going to forget about my wife and I don't want to," he says. "I just know a dog will help me."
I do respect the closed-door policy that rescues and most shelters have when it comes to adoptions at this time of the year, but sometimes there can be an exception to that rule. Maybe by opening the door just a crack to let someone like Richard tell you his story, you can create a little bit of Christmas magic to heal a broken heart and assist someone who wants to move forward in his life and knows that a dog will help him take those steps.
Isn't that what the true meaning of Christmas is all about? Giving the gift love?
Taking care of a dog takes your mind off of your troubles and that heavy heart for a little while and during that time you smile, feel the warmth of unconditional loving companionship and don't feel so alone.
I directed Richard to a shelter out of town that I knew would listen to him and possibly help bring some Christmas joy into his life because we all deserve to be loved, especially by a dog.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her through her website k9kinship.com.
